Skills Tags in the Skillable TMS allow organizations to associate specific, measurable skills with Studio labs and then surface those skills throughout the TMS experience. Skills are first configured on labs in Studio and are then synced into the TMS, where they can be displayed, searched, and—when criteria are met—earned by learners. This creates a clear connection between hands on lab activity and the skills learners are expected to practice or validate.
From a value perspective, Skills Tags make training more transparent, discoverable, and outcomes focused. Learners and instructors can immediately see which skills are addressed in a lab or across a broader learning experience, such as a course or class. Administrators benefit from being able to organize, search, and report on training by skill, rather than relying solely on course or lab titles. Over time, earned skills can also be reflected on a learner’s transcript, helping organizations demonstrate skill attainment rather than simple participation.
Skills Tags benefit multiple roles within the TMS. Administrators can search for labs, courses, classes, enrollments, and course assignments by skill, making it easier to design or assign training that aligns with specific competencies. They can also identify users—students or instructors—who have earned particular skills. Instructors gain visibility into the skills associated with each lab activity, which helps set expectations and reinforce learning objectives during delivery. Learners benefit by understanding what skills they will practice in each lab and by seeing a consolidated view of the skills they have earned over time.
Requirements and Setup
Before Skills Tags can be used in the TMS, there are two required setup steps. First, skills must be tagged on the lab in Studio. If a lab does not have skills configured in Studio, there will be no skills to display in the TMS. Second, Skills Tracking must be enabled at the organization level in the TMS. Once this setting is enabled, any Studio labs that include skills will begin displaying those skills for the organization.
An administrator can do this by:
- Navigate to edit the Organization profile
- Open the Preferences tab, under the Miscellaneous heading check the Enable Skills Tracking option
- Save
Where Skills are Displayed
After Skills Tracking is turned on, skills appear in several places across the TMS. At the lab level, skills are shown on the Lab Details page and on individual lab activities. These views only display the skills associated with that specific lab. Skills also appear wherever lab activities are embedded, such as within courses, classes, enrollments, and course assignments.
In addition to showing skills on individual lab activities, the TMS includes a dedicated Skills section on higher level entities such as courses, classes, class enrollments, and course assignments. This section aggregates all of the skills from every lab included in that experience, giving users a single, consolidated view of the skills covered across the full set of labs rather than requiring them to inspect each activity individually.
Skills can also appear on a user’s transcript, but only when the appropriate criteria are met. For labs that include an exam or assessment, the associated skills are added to the transcript only after the learner passes the exam. For labs that do not include an exam or assessment, the skill is added once the lab is completed. This ensures that skills shown on the transcript reflect either successful validation or confirmed completion, depending on the type of lab.
Searching and Filtering by Skills
Finally, Skills Tags can be used for searching and filtering throughout the TMS. Administrators can search for labs directly by skill, filter courses, classes, enrollments, and course assignments by any skill included in their associated labs, and search for users based on skills they have earned. Filtering behavior is context aware: at the lab level, filtering applies to skills on that specific lab, while at the course, class, enrollment, or assignment level, filtering applies to any skill included across all labs in that experience.