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Overview

The Certifications Library is the administrative hub for all certifications in SkillsDB. Administrators build the library by creating certification records — defining the name, issuing authority, type, and other metadata for each certification the organization tracks. Once a certification exists in the library, administrators and managers can assign it to employees, who then submit their proof of completion. That proof flows into an approval workflow where a manager or administrator reviews and approves or rejects the submission. SkillsDB handles the full certification lifecycle from the library: assignment, submission, approval, expiration tracking, and renewal. Every approved submission is stored with a full history, so administrators have an auditable record of who holds which certifications, when they were earned, and when they expire. Administrators have full access to the library — they can create, edit, and delete certification records and manage certification types. Managers can assign certifications to their direct reports and approve their team’s submissions, but cannot create or modify certification definitions. Employees interact with certifications from their own profile and cannot access the library.

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Prerequisites

Before using the Certifications Library, you need:

• Permission level: Administrator role
• Access: Navigate to Library > Certifications

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Managing Certification Types

Certification types are the categories used to organize your certification catalog — for example, Compliance, Technical, Safety, Leadership, or Vendor. Defining types before building the library makes it easier to filter and report on certifications later. To manage certification types:

1. Navigate to Library > Certifications
2. Select Manage Types in the top navigation bar
3. The Manage Types drawer opens, showing all existing types in order

From the drawer you can:

• Add a type — enter a name and select Save
• Edit a type — select the edit icon next to any type and update the name
• Delete a type — select the delete icon; any certifications using that type will have their type field cleared
• Reorder types — drag types into the preferred display order using the drag handle

Types appear in the Type dropdown when creating or editing a certification, and as a filter in the certifications table.

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Building the Certifications Library

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Creating a certification

To add a new certification to the library:

1. Navigate to Library > Certifications
2. Select + Certification in the top navigation bar
3. In the Add New Certification modal, complete the following fields:

4. Select Submit to create the certification

The certification appears immediately in the library table and is ready to be assigned to employees.

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Editing a certification

1. Navigate to Library > Certifications
2. Select the certification row to open the detail page
3. Access the edit option to update any fields in the edit form
4. Select Submit to save

Changes to the certification name and metadata are reflected immediately across all assignment records. Editing a certification does not affect the submission status of employees who have already been assigned it.

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Deleting a certification

1. Navigate to Library > Certifications
2. Select the certification row and access the delete option from the detail page or row actions
3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog that appears

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Assigning Certifications to Employees

Certifications must be assigned to employees before they can submit proof of completion. Assigning a certification creates an Assigned record on the employee’s profile and triggers a notification prompting them to submit their details.

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Assigning from the library

1. Navigate to Library > Certifications
2. Locate the certification you want to assign
3. In the People (#) column, select the people count to open the assignment panel
4. The assignment panel opens, showing a searchable list of all employees
5. Search for employees by name using the Search people… field
6. Select Assign next to each person you want to assign the certification to

The employee immediately appears in the certification’s detail view with a status of Assigned.

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Assigning from the certification detail page

Selecting a certification’s name in the library opens its detail page, which shows a table of all people currently assigned to that certification along with their status. From the detail page, you can also open the assignment panel to add more people.

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Unassigning a certification

To remove an assignment before a submission has been made:

1. Open the assignment panel for the certification
2. Select Unassign next to the person’s name

If the employee has already submitted proof of completion, the submission and its approval history remain attached to their record even if the active assignment is removed.

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Reviewing and Approving Submissions

When an employee submits their certification details and proof, the status moves to Awaiting Approval and the reviewing manager or administrator receives a notification in their inbox. Approving or rejecting the submission is the final step in the assignment workflow.

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Reviewing a pending submission

1. Open your Inbox from the left sidebar — pending certification approvals are listed there
2. Select the certification submission you want to review
3. The review dialog opens, showing:
   • The employee’s name and the certification details
   • Certification ID — the serial number or identifier the employee entered
   • Date Granted — when the employee earned the certification
   • Expiration Date — when the certification expires for this employee
   • Attachments — uploaded proof documents (click to download or preview)
4. Review the submitted information and supporting documents
5. Select Approve to mark the certification as approved, or Reject to send it back to the employee

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What happens after approval or rejection

If approved:

• The certification status changes to Approved on the employee’s profile
• The approval is recorded with the approver’s name and timestamp
• If the certification has an expiration date, it will automatically become Expired on that date

If rejected:

• The certification status changes to Denied
• The employee is notified and prompted to resubmit with corrected information
• The employee can review the rejection and submit updated details

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Understanding Certification Statuses

Every certification assignment has a status that reflects where it is in the lifecycle. The following statuses appear in the certification detail page and in manager and employee views:

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Tracking Expiration and Managing Renewals

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Expiration tracking

SkillsDB automatically calculates expiration status based on the expiration date on each employee’s approved submission:

• If today’s date is before the expiration date by more than 30 days: certification is active with no warning
• If today’s date is within 30 days of the expiration date: status displays as Expiring Soon (yellow)
• If today’s date is on or after the expiration date: status displays as Expired (red)

No manual action is needed to trigger expiration — the status updates automatically each day based on the current date.

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Renewal workflow

When an employee’s certification expires, they can initiate a renewal from their profile page. The renewal creates a new submission record (a new grade) linked to the same certification — the employee provides updated credentials, a new expiration date, and new proof documents. The renewal submission follows the same approval workflow as the original submission: the employee submits, the manager or administrator reviews, and either approves or rejects. When approved, the new submission becomes the active record. All previous submissions are preserved in the certification history, giving a complete audit trail of every renewal cycle.

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Navigating the Certifications Library

To access the Certifications Library, select Library > Certifications from the left sidebar.

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Group By

The library supports three grouping modes via the toggle at the top of the page:

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Library table columns

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Filtering

Select Filter in the toolbar to open the filter menu. Available filters: Name, Description, Labels, Issued By, Type, People (#).

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Importing and exporting certification data

Select Import/Export in the top navigation bar to access import and export options. To export the library to Excel:

1. Navigate to Library > Certifications
2. Select Import/Export in the top navigation bar
3. Select Export
4. An .xlsx file downloads containing the visible data

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Common Questions

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