> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Skills
> Manage your organization's skill library — create, organize, assign, and analyze skills from a central catalog.
**Quick Summary:** The Skills Library is your organization's master catalog of skills. Administrators can add and manage skills, assign them to people, and analyze proficiency across the organization. Employees can browse the library to discover and add skills to their own profile.
# Overview
The Skills Library is the centralized catalog that holds every skill available in your SkillsDB environment. It serves as the authoritative source for all skills used in assessments, career profiles, learning plans, and skills matrices across your organization.
Every skill in SkillsDB originates from the Skills Library. When a skill is added to the library, it becomes available for assignment to individuals, inclusion in careers, and use in assessments. Skills in the library can be tagged with labels for organization, enriched with learning resources, and analyzed for proficiency trends across your workforce.
The Skills Library is primarily an administrative tool, but it is also a discovery resource for employees. Employees can browse the catalog, filter by labels, and add skills to their own profile directly from the library view.
**Who uses the Skills Library:**
* **Administrators** build and maintain the library — creating skills, assigning people, managing labels, and exporting data.
* **Managers** use the library to view and manage skill assignments for their team members.
* **Employees** browse the library to explore available skills and add relevant ones to their own skills profile.
***
# Navigating the Skills Library
To access the Skills Library, select **Library > Skills** from the left sidebar.
#### Group By
The library supports three grouping modes via the toggle at the top of the page:
| Mode | Behavior |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Alphabetical** | Default. Skills are sorted alphabetically and grouped into collapsible sections labeled A through Z. Each section header shows the count of skills. |
| **Label** | Skills are grouped by the labels applied to them. |
| **None** | A flat list with no grouping. A **Save View** button appears in the top bar when this mode is active. |
#### Columns
| Column | Description |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | The skill name. Select the column header to sort ascending or descending. Select a skill row to open the skill detail page. |
| **Description** | The skill's description text. |
| **Labels** | Tags applied to the skill for organization and filtering. Labels can be edited inline directly from this column. |
| **Experts (#)** | The number of people designated as experts for this skill. |
| **Training (#)** | The number of learning resources linked to this skill. |
| **People (#)** | The number of people assigned to this skill. Select the count to open the assignment drawer. |
| **Actions** | Row-level action icons for managing the skill. |
#### Filters
Select **Filter** in the toolbar to open the filter menu. Available filters:
* **Name** — Filter by skill name (is, is not, contains, does not contain).
* **Description** — Filter by description text.
* **Labels** — Filter by label values.
* **Experts (#)** — Filter by expert count (is, is not, above, below).
* **Training (#)** — Filter by training resource count.
* **People (#)** — Filter by assigned people count.
***
## Adding a Skill
Administrators can add new skills to the library at any time. Adding a skill makes it immediately available for assignment, career inclusion, and assessment throughout SkillsDB.
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills**.
2. Select **+ Skill** in the top navigation bar.
3. In the **Add new skill** modal, enter a **Name** for the skill. The name field is required.
4. Optionally, enter a **Description** to explain what the skill covers or how proficiency is measured.
5. Select **Submit**.
When the skill is added successfully, a confirmation message appears and the new skill populates in the correct alphabetical section of the library.
**Tip:** Use clear, specific skill names that match the terminology your organization already uses. Consistent naming makes skills easier to find in assessments, careers, and the skills matrix.
***
## Editing a Skill
Administrators can update a skill's name or description after it has been created. Editing a skill updates its details everywhere it appears in SkillsDB — including careers, assessments, and learning plans.
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills**.
2. Select the skill row you want to edit.
3. On the skill detail page, access the edit option for the skill.
4. In the **Edit skill** modal, update the **Name** and/or **Description** as needed.
5. Select **Submit**.
The skill is updated and the confirmation message "Skill updated successfully" appears.
**Important:** Renaming a skill updates the display name across all areas of SkillsDB, including assessments, career profiles, and reports. Ensure the new name does not create confusion with existing skills before saving.
***
## Organizing Skills with Labels
Labels are tags you apply to skills to categorize and organize your library. Applying labels makes it easier for administrators, managers, and employees to filter and find relevant skills.
Labels can be edited inline directly in the Skills Library table without opening a separate edit modal:
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills**.
2. In the **Labels** column, select the label area on the row of the skill you want to tag.
3. Add or remove labels using the label selector that appears.
4. Changes save automatically.
To filter skills by label, select the **Labels** filter in the filter bar and choose one or more label values.
**Note:** Labels are created and managed separately from the Skills Library. To create new labels or manage existing ones, navigate to **Company > Settings > Labels**. For a full guide, see Labels.
***
## Assigning Skills to Team Members
Administrators and managers can assign skills directly to people from the Skills Library. When a skill is assigned to a person, it appears on their skills profile and becomes eligible for assessment and grading.
#### Opening the assign drawer
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills**.
2. In the **People (#)** column, select the people count for the skill you want to manage.
3. The **Assign Skill** drawer opens, showing a list of all people in your organization.
#### Assigning and unassigning individuals
In the assign drawer:
* Select **Assign** next to a person's name to assign the skill to them. The count in the library updates immediately.
* Select **Unassign** next to a person's name to remove the skill assignment.
* Use the search bar at the top of the drawer to find a specific person by first or last name.
#### Bulk operations
To assign or unassign multiple people at once:
1. Select the checkboxes next to the people you want to include.
2. Select **Bulk Assign** or **Bulk Unassign** at the top of the drawer.
**Important:** If a skill is assigned to a person through a career or job role, the **Unassign** button for that person is disabled. Career-assigned skills can only be removed by updating the person's career assignment. This constraint prevents unintentionally breaking career-based skill configurations.
***
## Adding a Skill to Your Profile (Employees)
Employees can browse the Skills Library to discover skills relevant to their role and add them to their own skills profile.
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills**.
2. Browse or filter the library to find a skill you want to add.
3. In the **People (#)** column, if the skill is not yet on your profile, an **Add Skill** button appears.
4. Select **Add Skill**. The skill is added to your skills profile and the column updates to show "Added."
Once added, the skill appears on your skills profile and becomes eligible for self-assessment grading.
**Note:** If you see a checkmark labeled "Added" in the People (#) column, the skill is already on your profile. You do not need to add it again.
***
## Exploring Skill Details
Selecting any skill row in the library opens the skill detail page at **Library > Skills > \[Skill Name]**. This page provides a complete view of the skill — including proficiency data, learning resources, and analytics — for administrators and managers.
The skill detail page is organized into tabs, accessible from the dropdown in the breadcrumb navigation at the top of the page:
| Tab | What it shows |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Overview** | Summary stats, a bar chart of average employee vs. manager grades, and a right panel with Skill Details (Employee Grade, Manager Grade, Benchmarks, Training Cost), Related analytics by Role and Group, Average Grade chart, and a list of assigned people. |
| **Proficiency** | Full table of every person assigned to the skill, showing their employee grade, manager grade, benchmark grade, and any skill flags applied. |
| **Resource** | All learning resources linked to this skill, organized by type. |
| **Analytics** | Bar charts showing grade averages broken down by Name, Department, Region, Division, and Job Role. |
| **Activity** | Activity log for this skill. Only visible to administrators and users with full access. |
#### Overview tab stats
The Overview tab displays eight stat cards to summarize how the skill is performing across the organization:
| Stat | Description |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Resources** | Total learning resources attached to the skill |
| **Skill Gaps** | Number of people whose self-grade is below their benchmark grade |
| **Assigned** | Total number of people assigned to the skill |
| **On Target** | Number of people whose self-grade meets or exceeds their benchmark |
| **Experts** | People with a grade of 4 or higher (employee or manager assessment) |
| **Mentors** | People flagged as Mentor for this skill |
| **Focused** | People flagged as Focused for this skill |
| **Interested** | People flagged as Interested for this skill |
**Note:** Benchmark grades are configured per skill and career level by administrators. The threshold scale (e.g., 1–5) is set by your account admin. Contact your admin if you have questions about how grades are defined.
***
## Adding Learning Resources to a Skill
Managers and administrators can attach learning resources to any skill directly from the skill detail page. Learning resources help people develop proficiency in the skill and appear in individual learning plans.
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills** and select the skill.
2. Select **+ Add Resource** in the top navigation bar.
3. In the **Add Resource** modal, enter the resource details including title, description, resource type, URL, cost, and other optional fields.
4. Select **Submit**.
The resource appears in the **Resource** tab of the skill detail page and is available to all people assigned to the skill.
To view all resources for a skill, select the **Resource** tab on the skill detail page. Resources are organized by type: Learning Content, Web Resources, Training Materials, Examples, and Other.
**Tip:** Mark high-quality resources as Featured to ensure they appear prominently in the resource list. Featured resources are highlighted and easier to find for people working on that skill.
***
## Applying People Flags to a Skill
Managers and administrators can apply skill flags to specific people directly from the skill detail page. Flags designate roles such as Mentor, Focused, or Interested for a skill, and contribute to the stat counts shown in the Overview tab.
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills** and select the skill.
2. Select **Flag People** in the top navigation bar.
3. In the **Flag People** modal, search for the person you want to flag.
4. Select the appropriate flag to apply.
5. Select **Save**.
The applied flags update the stat counts in the Overview tab and appear in the Proficiency tab table.
For a full explanation of how skill flags work and how to configure them, see Skill Flags.
***
## Importing and Exporting Skills
#### Exporting
Administrators can export the skills library to an Excel file for reporting, auditing, or sharing with stakeholders.
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills**.
2. Select **Import/Export** in the top navigation bar.
3. Select **Export**.
The export downloads immediately as an Excel file. The file includes all skills currently visible in the library, including any filters applied at the time of export.
**Tip:** To export a subset of skills, apply filters before selecting Export. Only the filtered results are included in the exported file.
#### Importing
Administrators can import skills in bulk from the Import/Export dropdown.
1. Navigate to **Library > Skills**.
2. Select **Import/Export** in the top navigation bar.
3. Select **Import**. This navigates to the import page with the Skills tab preselected.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to upload your file and map columns.
***
## Reviewing Skill Requests
Employees can submit requests for new skills to be added to the organization library. Administrators review and approve or reject these requests from the Skill Requests management page.
To review skill requests as an administrator:
1. Navigate to **Manage > Skill Requests** in the sidebar.
2. The Skill Requests table shows all pending and processed requests, including the skill name, description, the person who requested it, and the date submitted.
3. For requests with **Draft** status:
* Select **Approve** to accept the request and add the skill to the library.
* Select **Reject** to decline the request.
* Select the pencil icon to edit the skill name or description before approving.
4. Confirm your action in the confirmation dialog that appears.
When you approve a request, a confirmation message "Skill request approved successfully" appears. When you reject a request, the message "Skill request rejected successfully" appears. Approved and rejected requests remain visible in the table with their updated status.
***
# Common Questions
Skills in SkillsDB use soft deletion — they are not permanently removed from the database when deleted. Contact your SkillsDB account manager or support if you need to remove a skill that was created in error or is no longer relevant. Before removing a skill, consider whether it is referenced in active careers, assessments, or learning plans.
If the **Unassign** button is grayed out for a person in the assign drawer, the skill is assigned to that person through a career or job role rather than individually. Career-assigned skills can only be removed by changing the person's career assignment. Navigate to the person's profile and update their career configuration to remove the skill.
Yes. All employees can browse the full Skills Library at **Library > Skills**. Employees can view skill names, labels, descriptions (if the Description column is enabled), and add skills to their own profile using the **Add Skill** button.
Select **Filter**, then choose the **People (#)** filter and set it to **is** `0`. The library updates to show only skills with zero assignments. This is useful for identifying skills that were created but never put into use.
Yes. A single skill can be included in multiple careers and sections. The Skills Library is a flat catalog — skills exist independently and are linked to careers without being duplicated. Changes to a skill's name or description are reflected everywhere the skill appears.
The Skills Library (**Library > Skills**) is the catalog where administrators create and manage skills, labels, and assignments. The Skills Matrix is a reporting tool that shows how people are graded across a set of skills for a team or career. The library is the source; the matrix is the analysis view. For more information, see Skills Matrix.
Yes. From the skill detail page (**Library > Skills > \[Skill Name]**), select the **Analytics** tab to view bar charts broken down by name, department, region, division, and job role. The **Proficiency** tab shows a full table of individual grades for all assigned people.
***
# Related Articles
Configure and apply skill flags such as Expert, Mentor, and Focused
Create and manage labels for organizing skills
Build career structures that reference skills from the library
Analyze skill proficiency across your team or organization
Understand how skills are graded through self and manager assessments
User guide for browsing and discovering skills
***
# Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization's SkillsDB administrator or contact [SkillsDB Support](https://www.skillsdb.com/support).