SkillsCommons
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersLong Beach, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
SkillsCommons firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SkillsCommons
- Legal name
- SkillsCommons
- Website
- https://skillscommons.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where SkillsCommons is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Long Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SkillsCommons business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: Primarily funded through U.S. Department of Labor TAACCCT (Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training) grants. The program represents nearly $2 billion national initiative funding 256 community college projects.
- Consulting Services: Fee-for-service consulting offerings including Partnership Development, Strategic Planning for OER Initiatives, Professional Development, and Operational Support for workforce development initiatives.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Open Educational Resources |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
SkillsCommons product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SkillsCommons operates the world's largest open library of workforce training materials and Open Educational Resources (OER), curating thousands of free resources developed through the U.S. Department of Labor's TAACCCT program. The platform offers customized OER repositories and portals, apprenticeship and work-based learning program tools, e-Academy training centers with 400+ open courseware collections, affordable learning/textbook affordability programs, and consulting services for workforce development initiatives.
Product overview
SkillsCommons is a workforce development platform powered by the world's largest Open Educational Resources (OER) repository of workforce training materials. The platform operates as a platform-plus-services architecture centered on the SkillsCommons OER Repository, which serves as the core open library containing thousands of training materials from the U.S. Department of Labor TAACCCT program (nearly $2 billion initiative). The main product modules include: OER Repositories and Portals (customized repositories for organizations like the U.S. DOL, Colorado Community College System, and Ohio Manufacturers' Association); Apprenticeship and WBL Portals (technology and services for apprenticeship program development); SkillsCommons e-Academy (featuring the Jumpstart to Successful Instruction courses and over 400 Open CourseWare collections covering business, healthcare, energy, IT, manufacturing, and public administration sectors); Affordable Learning Solutions (textbook affordability programs); Solutions Now! (quick-customization templates); and Consulting Services. The platform also offers specialized apprenticeship resources including welding, industrial safety, soft skills, and work-based learning materials, along with the WISE Pathways community for women in manufacturing. Materials are provided under Creative Commons licensing and are designed to be SCORM-compatible for LMS integration.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SkillsCommons OER Repository
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly $2 billion in federal workforce development materials curated and made freely available
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use SkillsCommons
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SkillsCommons technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature4 records
SkillsCommons partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- California State University (CSU)coreSkillsCommons is a project of California State University MERLOT, operated through the CSU Long Beach Center for Usability in Design and Accessibility. CSU provides institutional backing, infrastructure, and access to the broader California State University system resources.
- Ohio Manufacturers' AssociationflagshipOMA partnered with SkillsCommons to create a customized portal providing hand-selected, curated training resources for Ohio manufacturers and their workforce partners. The portal supports OMA's mission to protect and grow Ohio manufacturing through quality open training materials.
- Colorado Community College SystemflagshipSkillsCommons created a system-specific OER repository for CCCOnline allowing the 13 Colorado community college system's faculty to build and share OER collections across the state. The CCCS LOR addresses enhancement of students' educational experience by sharing resources among system colleges.
- CASTminorCAST (Center for Accessible Special Education Tools) is a SkillsCommons affiliate providing expertise on accessibility and Universal Design for Learning to ensure materials are accessible to learners with disabilities.
- Community and Technical CollegescoreOver 700 U.S. community colleges partnered with local industries through the TAACCCT program to develop curriculum aligned with workforce needs. These institutions contribute materials to the SkillsCommons repository and serve as delivery partners for workforce training.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SkillsCommons competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Pressbooks: Pressbooks is an open-source book publishing platform widely used to create and adapt OER textbooks, with integrations into LMS platforms. It is comparable as an enabling technology layer for OER production and distribution, complementing SkillsCommons' repository approach.
Direct peers
- LibreTexts: LibreTexts is an OER textbook and courseware platform covering STEM, humanities, and other disciplines for higher education. Like SkillsCommons, it is open-licensed, customizable, and aimed at reducing textbook costs while supporting faculty adaptation and remixing.
- Curriki: Curriki is a nonprofit OER library providing free, open learning resources for K-12 and adult learners. It overlaps with SkillsCommons as an open-licensed educational content repository, though Curriki skews toward K-12 and SkillsCommons toward workforce/post-secondary.
- Saylor Academy: Saylor Academy is a nonprofit offering free, self-paced college-level courses built largely from open educational resources. It overlaps with SkillsCommons' e-Academy open courseware and similarly targets adult learners and institutions seeking low-cost, open learning pathways.
- MIT OpenCourseWare: MIT OpenCourseWare publishes free course materials from MIT courses. It is one of the most recognized open-courseware initiatives and shares SkillsCommons' model of openly publishing higher-education and professional learning materials for free reuse.
- OER Commons: OER Commons is a curated digital library of open educational resources for K-12 and higher education, with metadata, alignment tools, and content discovery. SkillsCommons overlaps directly in the workforce/OER repository niche, and both serve educators seeking openly licensed teaching materials.
- MERLOT: MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching) is the parent network within which SkillsCommons operates. Both are open educational resource platforms serving higher-education faculty and institutions with free, peer-reviewed learning materials. SkillsCommons itself is integrated with MERLOT for discovery and distribution.
- OpenStax: OpenStax, a Rice University-based OER publisher, provides free, peer-reviewed textbooks and accompanying course materials. Like SkillsCommons, it serves higher-education institutions and learners with open-licensed, customizable content aimed at reducing textbook costs and expanding access.
Broad incumbents
- Khan Academy: Khan Academy is a much larger, broadly recognized free online learning platform with extensive video lessons, practice exercises, and adaptive tools across many subjects. It competes for institutional adoption of free learning content at the K-12 and early-college level and dwarfs SkillsCommons in reach and brand recognition.
Regional players
- WorkforceGPS (U.S. Department of Labor): WorkforceGPS is a U.S. Department of Labor–sponsored online technical assistance and workforce development resource portal. It is a directly comparable government-affiliated workforce training resource hub and shares the same target audience of workforce development professionals as SkillsCommons' DOL TAACCCT repository.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SkillsCommons social profiles
Digital presenceSkillsCommons compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
SkillsCommons financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SkillsCommons leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
SkillsCommons funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SkillsCommons M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SkillsCommons
What does SkillsCommons do?
SkillsCommons operates the world's largest open library of workforce training materials and Open Educational Resources (OER), curating thousands of free resources developed through the U.S. Department of Labor's TAACCCT program. The platform offers customized OER repositories and portals, apprenticeship and work-based learning program tools, e-Academy training centers with 400+ open courseware collections, affordable learning/textbook affordability programs, and consulting services for workforce development initiatives.
Is SkillsCommons a public or private company?
SkillsCommons is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was SkillsCommons founded?
SkillsCommons was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SkillsCommons based?
SkillsCommons is headquartered in Long Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does SkillsCommons make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are consulting Services.
Who are SkillsCommons's main competitors?
Pressbooks is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are LibreTexts, Curriki, Saylor Academy, MIT OpenCourseWare, OER Commons, MERLOT and OpenStax. Khan Academy is listed as a broad incumbent. WorkforceGPS (U.S. Department of Labor) is listed as a regional player.
Does SkillsCommons have an API?
No public API is recorded for SkillsCommons.