Why Skilltype Exists

Every professional has a story. For most of us, it's still being written. The century-old signals used to evaluate our work are often lazy proxies for what we've done, what we're doing, and where we're going. Skilltype exists to rethink our professional journey around what's in our control: Professional development. Professional development has evolved from the occasional, physical and credential into the perpetual, digital, and experiential. We are building a new experience that not only embraces this shift, but advances it in preparation for the future of work.

Unlocking Expertise

Everything Skilltype does is centered around expertise. What expertise you have, what expertise do you want to learn, and what expertise is most in demand. We developed a proprietary expertise API to describe people, organizations and other objects across the profession. Using a common descriptive framework for expertise allows us to develop a shared understanding of the supply and demand of expertise. Coupling this with modern innovations in technology and policy will unlock new opportunities to advance our careers and organizations.

Developing Lifelong Learners

Balancing work and life for the average professional makes signing up for several-month learning commitments unattractive without some financial incentive to do so. As a result, we forgo many learning opportunities in exchange for gaining experience. Skilltype challenges this common scenario by asking, what if we designed learning from the ground up for the modern professional?

Modern content consumption takes place on the way or in between, impromptu or on a binge. Skilltype is replacing yesteryear's ways of acquiring knowledge, placing everyone on the path to becoming smarter, more capable, more productive professionals.

Creating Learning Organizations

Our organizations face pressure from all sides: hiring freezes, budget cuts, predatory suppliers, delayed retirements, and talent shortages. While many factors remain outside of our control, creating a learning organization is a proven solution for navigating uncharted waters.

The hard work of developing a strategic plan, procuring the right products and services, and putting managers in the position to lead should have a much greater return on investment. Skilltype leverages these efforts to equip your people with the expertise required to achieve your goals.

Who’s Behind Skilltype

Skilltype was founded by Tony Zanders — a global software executive and award-winning ed tech entrepreneur. After concluding a career at Ex Libris and EBSCO in 2018, he spent the better part of two years assembling both a team and community of libraries who believed in the vision to reimagine how librarians learn and work.

During this time, he led a group of 10 academic libraries through an 18-month research and development process, including Brandeis University Library, Gonzaga University Library, Oberlin College Library and Conservatory, Wayne State University Library System, DALNET, UNC Chapel Hill Libraries, University of Rhode Island Libraries, Tulane University Libraries, University of Cincinnati Libraries, and Michigan State University Libraries.