In today’s changing job market, skills are the new currency. Organisations and people need better ways to find, build, and manage skills. This is why at KIC we built a tool that offers a fresh approach to skill management: The Skill Framework Builder.
Start building your custom skill frameworks today.
Skill Finder: Smart skill discovery made simple
The KIC’s skill management system began with the Skill Finder created for the LCAMP project. The project faced a specific challenge: How could we link various manufacturing courses from different countries to the ESCO skill framework?
Skill finder solved this with semantic AI search. It understands context and meaning beyond keywords. This helps users find relevant skills that might not show up in basic searches. We linked course descriptions to standard skill frameworks.
The Skill Finder has been available as a standalone tool for over a year. It’s proven valuable for finding skills and has led to more innovations.
Skill Framework Builder: create your own skill organisation
Building on Skill Finder’s success, we recently launched the Skill Framework Builder, which we unveiled at our Micro-Credentials Masterclass in Zagreb in March 2025. Our tool marks a big step forward in custom skill management.
While the ESCO framework offers 13,939 skills, we saw a key limit. Even this large collection can’t cover all special needs across different sectors.
We made the Skill Framework Builder to solve this problem. It lets you create custom skill frameworks that match your exact needs.
Making truly custom solutions
The real power of the Skill Framework Builder is its flexibility. You can:
- use skills from existing frameworks or create new ones
- create custom categories for better clarity
- add skill levels to move beyond “has skill/doesn’t have skill”
Standard exports for machine reading
A key feature is the ability to align custom frameworks with standard export formats. The tool can export to rich skill descriptor (RSD) schema as a collection. This creates machine-readable exports that work with other systems.
This standard format is vital if you want to:
- connect your skill frameworks with hr and learning systems
- share frameworks across different tools
- future-proof your skill data as tech evolves
- enable advanced analytics based on skill data
By supporting these standard exports, the Skill Framework Builder ensures your custom frameworks remain useful long-term.
Real-world uses
The uses of such custom frameworks span many sectors:
- education: can align courses with skill frameworks relevant to the industry
- healthcare: can create frameworks that combine clinical skills and specific protocols
- manufacturing: can develop frameworks that cover traditional and industry 4.0 skills
- cross-sector organisations: can create unified frameworks for various departments
The road ahead: Future plans
The KIC has big plans for expanding the skilldata.info system:
Job builder
Coming in version 2, the job builder will help create detailed job profiles based on custom frameworks. Each profile will be defined by its framework of skills. This moves beyond traditional job descriptions to a more precise approach.
Connected learning pathways
Looking ahead, we plan to develop a complete learning pathway system, including:
- assessment tool: a system to help assess skills against custom frameworks
- Pathfinder: a tool to upload your CV and auto-extract skills
- course catalogue: a system that connects skill gaps with relevant learning options
This approach will create a complete system from skill finding through job definition, assessment, and targeted learning.
Start building your custom frameworks today
The Skill Framework Builder is available now on skilldata.info. It’s a free, powerful solution for all who need ways to find, build, and manage skills. No matter if you’re a small business, a large company, or a school, now’s the time to create frameworks that truly reflect your needs.
By starting with the Skill Framework Builder today, you’ll address current skill management needs. You’ll also be ready for the job profiles, assessment tools, and learning recommendations coming soon.
Start building your custom skill frameworks today.
