Skills and skill level sets: create, manage, and delete

Introduction

Offering the option to create courses and training plans with a skill-based approach, the Learn365 skills framework enables you to reward learners when they complete training. The skills framework can also be used to track the skills that learners have acquired. Another way of rewarding learners is by issuing certificates on successful completion of their training.

When the skills framework is configured, learners will be awarded one or more relevant skills at a certain level when they complete a course or training plan. Before they take training, learners can see which skills will be awarded when they complete a course or training plan. Additionally, it's possible to use the Learn365 skills framework to estimate users' current skills and plan their further development.

In this article, we provide an overview of skills and skill level sets, prerequisites for employing the skills framework, show you how to create, import, and manage skills and skill level sets, how learners can add and adjust their own skills, and how to filter and search for skills.

When creating skills, this article describes how to do this without using AI. For information about how to create skills with AI, see this article. Once you've created skills with AI, you can return to this article for more information.

 

 

How skills and skill level sets work

Required role: catalog admin. Course admins can configure skills for the course once the course is created.

When creating or editing a course or training plan, you can enable the Skill option to award users one or more skills of a certain level when they complete the training.

You can also enable learners to evaluate their skills and add those they think are missing, for example if they've completed external training and want to add the skills achieved in this training in Learn365.

 

Here is an example of how skills and skill level sets can work in practice:

Your organization starts to use Learn365. To train all employees in using the platform, you create a course called "Introduction to Learn365". For this course, you create and use the skill "Learn365 User" and set the skill level as "Beginner". On completion of this course, learners will be awarded the skill "Learn365 User \ Beginner".

Next, you need a certain group of employees to learn how to create and manage training in Learn365. You enroll this group of employees in the course "Create and manage training in Learn365" and award learners the same skill "Learn365 User" for completing the course, but set the skill level as "Advanced". On completion of this course, learners will be awarded the skill "Learn365 User \ Advanced".

 

 

You can configure how long awarded skills will be valid. You can also revoke skills that have been awarded to learners.

For information about how to configure skills for courses, see this article. For information about how to configure skills for training plans, see this article.

 

Manage skills (admins)

Required role: catalog admin.

Skills are set at catalog level.

In the Learn365 Admin Center, go to Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skills.

 

 

 

Create skills

Required role: catalog admin.

This section describes how to create skills in Learn365 without using AI.

For information about how to create skills with AI, see this article. Once you've created skills with AI, you can return to this article for more information.

1. In the Learn365 Admin Center, go to Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skills > Add skill. The Add skill panel opens.

 

 

2. Complete the fields.

• Name. This field is required. Enter the name of the skill. This name is displayed in the Skills section on course and training plan home pages and in the Skills section on My Training Dashboard.
  

   

• Skill Level Set. From the drop-down list, select a skill level set. The Default skill level set is selected automatically. This skill level set includes the following levels: Unassigned, Poor, Below Average, Average, Above Average, and Outstanding.
  If you want to add a different skill level set that has different levels, either select it from the drop-down list or create a new one in the Skill Level Set section.
  
  
• Categories and Tags. You can add categories and tags to enhance the search experience. Learners can filter skills by category on My Training Dashboard.

 

 

3. Select Save.

For information about how to award a skill to users when they complete training, refer to the Skill option in this article.

 

Import skills

Required role: catalog admin.

The Import skills feature is an efficient way of adding multiple skills to a catalog at a time. Skills are imported via a .csv file.

 

The .csv file and its data structure

It’s essential that your .csv file is structured exactly as described in this section.

 

 

• The top row of the .csv file must contain the following line:
  

  Skill;Skill Level Set;Categories;Tags

• The Skill and Skill level set fields are required.
• The Categories and Tags fields are optional.
• The Skill, Skill Level Set, Categories, and Tags fields must be separated by a semicolon (;). If a skill has no categories or tags, add a semicolon (;) in their place.
• All fields are case-insensitive.
• Enter one skill per row.
• The skill names listed in the file must be unique.
• Only one skill level set can be recorded per skill.
• The skill level sets used in the file must also exist in the catalog.
• The Categories and Tags fields may contain multiple values, separated by a comma. If the categories or tags listed in the .csv file don’t exist in the catalog, they will be created automatically.

 

 

 

Upload a .csv file

1. Go to the Learn365 Admin Center > Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skills.

2. Select Import skills. The Upload file panel opens.

3. On the Upload file panel, select Upload CSV file. Alternatively, drag a .csv file into the marked area on the panel.

4. Select Upload.

Select skills to import

Once the .csv file is uploaded, the Select skills to import panel will open, where a table will show the Title, Skill level set, Categories, and Tags.

 

 

The gray bar will show the number of skills that can be imported, as well as the number of skills that can’t because of errors, if any. Select the black checkmark icon to see only error-free skills. If there are no error-free skills, the black checkmark icon won't be shown.

 

 

You'll see the black triangle icon if any of the skills contain errors. Select the icon to see only skills that contain errors.

At the bottom of the page, you’ll see Total skills.

On the skills grid, hover over the red triangle icon to see the reason for the error.

 

 

Only skills that don’t contain errors can be imported. To import the rest of the skills, you must first resolve the errors.

Select the Edit (pencil) icon if you want to make changes to the skill. The Edit skill panel opens.

On the Edit skill panel, you can rename the skill, change its skill level set, add or remove categories and tags, and delete the skill.

When you’re happy with your changes, select Save.

 

 

Select the skills you want to import. The Selected tab shows your selection of skills.

 

 

Select Discard or the x in the top right-hand corner to return to the Manage skills page without importing the skills.

Select Import when you’re ready to import the selected skills. You'll see the skill import status under Notifications (the bell icon). Once imported, you can manage skills in the usual way.

 

Sort and search for skills

Required role: catalog admin.

On the Manage Skills page, you can:

• Sort skills by selecting the Name or Skill Level Set column headings. By default, skills are ordered alphabetically by name.
• Enter a skill name, category, or tag in the Search field to filter skills.
• Select the view (eye) icon next to a skill to see which courses and training plans use it.

   

  

 

If a skill doesn't have an eye icon, this can be because:

• The skill isn't used in training or hasn't been awarded to a user.
• The skill was used in training and was awarded to a user, but the training was deleted. In this case, you can still track the awarded skills for the training via the user's transcript.
• The skill was awarded to a user by a catalog admin without the user being enrolled in specific training.

 

Delete skills

To delete a skill from a catalog:

1. In the Learn365 Admin Center, go to Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skills. The Manage Skills page opens.

2. Select the relevant skill. The Edit skill panel opens.

3. Select Delete skill in the Actions section.

4. Confirm the deletion by selecting OK, or Cancel.

 

 

Remove skills from training

You can remove skills from training if you decide to stop awarding a skill to users when they complete a specific course or training plan.

There are two ways to remove skills from a course or training plan.

 

a) When editing training:

1. In the Learn365 Admin Center, go to Training Management > select the relevant training.

2. From training management panel, select Manage Course/Training Plan Settings.

3. Select the Settings tab.

4. In the Skill section, remove the skills from the Skills field using relevant cross icon. If you remove the only skill in the course or training plan, you'll need to select another skill before you can save because this field can't be empty. Alternatively, you can stop awarding skills for this course or training plan by toggling the Skill option Off.

 

 

b) From the Skills framework in the Learn365 Admin Center, remove a skill from several courses or training plans at once:

1. In the Learn365 Admin Center, go to Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skills. The Manage Skills page opens.

2. Select the view (eye) icon next to the relevant skill to see which courses and training plans use it.

3. Select the cross icon near the relevant course or training plan.

 

 

4. Select OK to remove the skill, or Cancel.

When you remove the skill, learners will no longer be awarded it when they complete the training, even if the user was already enrolled in the training (with a Not started or In progress training) when the skill was removed from the course. However, any previously granted skills for this training remain in the user's records.

 

Award and revoke skills

When creating or editing training, you can choose when a skill will be revoked, either by setting a fixed date or specifying a number of days after learners complete their training. If the Skill option in the training is enabled, the skill is automatically awarded to users who complete this training.

You can also award skills to, and revoke skills from, specific users in the following ways:

 

From the Users page

Required role: catalog admin.

• You can award skills to users even if they aren't enrolled in any training that awards this skill.
• You can revoke skills from users.
• From View Learner's Progress, you can manually mark a user's course or training plan as complete. If the Skill option is enabled for the course or training plan, the user will automatically be awarded any associated skills.
• From View Learner's Progress, you can manually delete a learner's training progress. The status of any skills awarded for this training will change from Valid to Planned.

 

From the Line Manager Dashboard

Required role: line manager.

• You can award skills to users even if they aren't enrolled in any training that awards this skill.
• You can revoke skills from users.
• You can approve or reject skills requested by learners.

 

From the Course/Training Plan Progress dashboard

Required role: catalog admin or course admin.

• If you manually complete a course or training plan for a user, they'll automatically be awarded any associated skills if the Skill option is enabled for the training.
• If you manually delete a learner's training progress, the status of any skills awarded for this training will change from Valid to Planned.

 

Manage skill level sets

Skill level sets are are used to define the degree of skills that can be awarded to users, for example beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Skill level sets define the levels at which the skill can be acquired. Each skill will have a specific skill level set attached.

 

Add skill level sets

Required role: catalog admin.

You can add multiple skill level sets to a catalog. However, only one can be marked as the Default skill level set.

1. In the Learn365 Admin Center, go to Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skill Level Sets > Add skill level set. The Add skill level set panel opens.

2. Complete the fields.

• Name. This field is required. Enter the name of the skill level set. This name is displayed only in the Learn365 Admin Center when catalog and course admins create or manage skill level sets, or when they add a skill level set to a skill.
  
  
• Is Default. Choose whether the skill level set should be set as the default one in the current catalog using this toggle. A catalog can have only one default skill level set.
  
  
• Levels. Define the levels for the skill level set. By default, there's space to enter three levels but you can add more. The minimum number of levels you can define is one.
  For each level you want to add, select Add level and enter a name. For example, you can have four levels in a skill level set and name them Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert.
  The level name is associated with the skill name and can be seen by learners and admins. Learners will see this information on course and training plan home pages (for training that awards a skill with this skill level set) and in the Skills section on My Training Dashboard.
  Select the Delete (cross) icon next to any level you want to delete.
  Drag the levels into the required order. When a catalog or course admin applies the skill and its levels to training, the skill levels will be displayed in the order defined here.

 

 

3. Save the created skill level set. To discard changes and close the window, select the close icon in the top right-hand corner of the panel.

 

Edit skill level sets

Required role: catalog admin.

1. Go to the Learn365 Admin Center > Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skill Level Sets.

2. From the Manage Skill Level Sets page, select the skill level set you want to edit.

3. On the Edit skill level set panel, make the relevant changes.

4. Select Save.

 

 

Delete skill level sets

Required role: catalog admin.

1. Go to the Learn365 Admin Center > Catalog settings > Skills framework > Manage Skill Level Sets.

2. From the Manage Skill Level Sets page, select the skill level set you want to delete.

3. In the Actions section of the Edit skill level set panel, select Delete skill level set.

4. Confirm the deletion by selecting OK, or Cancel.

 

 

Track and report on skills

How admins and line manager can see users' skills

Admins and learners can track their skills and their skill status. Tracking skills can help line managers estimate users' current skills and plan their further development.

Admins can download reports that help to track skills in the following ways:

1. In the Learn365 Admin Center, Microsoft 365 global admins and catalog admins can:

• Track a specific user's skills and download a report to their local device in PDF format by going to the Learn365 Admin Center > Users > select the relevant user > View Learner's Transcript. For more information about viewing a user's transcript, see this article.
• Filter users according to the skills they've been awarded and download the results to their local device. For more information, see this article.

2. From the Line Manager Dashboard, line managers can:

• Track a specific user's skills and download a report to their local device in PDF format. For more information, see this article.
• Filter users according to the skills they've been awarded and download the results to their local device. For more information, see this article.

 

How learners can see and manage their skills

Learners can see their skills and statuses in the following ways:

• From My Training Dashboard:
  • In the Overview section.
  • In the Skills section.
  • In the Transcript section.
• On course and training plan home pages, users will see the skills that will be awarded on training completion in the Skills section. If users have already completed the course or training plan, they'll see the skills they've been awarded.
• On the course catalog page, they can search for and filter training according to the skills the training awards on completion.

Learners can add their own skills and adjust the level of their current skills via My Training Dashboard. This would be particularly helpful if learners complete external training and want to add their acquired skills in Learn365. For an overview of the self-evaluation of skills process, see this article.