SkillsAware Named Finalist in 2026 EdTech Cool Tool Awards for Professional Skills Solution

Recognition highlights the critical role of AI-native skills infrastructure in modernising global workforce capability

SkillsAware, the human-centred, AI-native skills recognition platform, has been named a Finalist in the Professional skills (workforce, upskilling) Solution category of the prestigious 2026 EdTech Cool Tool Awards. This recognition by EdTech Digest underscores SkillsAware’s mission to provide the essential Skills Infrastructure required to transition the global economy toward a skills-first future.

Now in its 16th year, The EdTech Awards is the world’s largest recognition program for education technology, celebrating the best and brightest tools, leaders, and trendsetters in the sector. Being named a finalist in the Professional Skills category confirms that the industry is ready for high-fidelity, evidence-based data to solve the complex wicked problem of skills visibility.

“Productivity rises when we can see skills clearly,” said Yasmin King, Co-Founder and CEO of SkillsAware. “SkillsAware is the skills infrastructure that makes existing workforce systems work better – grounded in recognised standards, powered by data-rich, machine-readable skills that organisations can trust. The result: faster recognition of prior learning, smarter talent decisions, and a workforce that fully comprehends its own potential.”

SkillsAware acts as an interoperable layer that sits alongside existing HR platforms, learning management systems, and workforce planning tools. While traditional systems often only see a person’s last job – leaving up to 80% of their actual skills undiscovered – SkillsAware uses Agentic AI to capture evidence from formal work, volunteering, and informal life experiences.

The platform converts these life-wide experiences into an auditable profile and a quantifiable Skills IQ Indicator. Crucially, the system maintains a Human-in-the-loop (HITL) architecture, ensuring that while AI accelerates the administrative burden, human judgement remains the ultimate authority for validation.

“Our mission is to build the infrastructure layer that enables skills visibility,” said Dan McFadyen, Managing Director of Edalex and Co-Founder of SkillsAware. “Seeing our technology empower SkillsAware to become a finalist in the Professional Skills category confirms that the industry is ready for high-fidelity data to solve complex workforce challenges.”

About The EdTech Awards

The EdTech Awards from EdTech Digest is the largest, most competitive, and most comprehensive recognition program in all of education technology. Celebrating its 16th year, the program shines a spotlight on cool tools, inspiring leaders, and innovative trendsetters across the K-12, Higher Education, and Skills & Workforce sectors.

About SkillsAware

SkillsAware is an AI-native skills recognition engine developed through a collaboration between SkillsIQ, a skills-focused not-for-profit, Edalex, an award-winning EdTech and SkillsTech company and Dr Mark Keough, and builds on decades of technology and skills expertise. Its SkillsTech platform and associated services captures and maintains an evidence-based indicator of the plethora of skills that individuals accumulate progressively. SkillsAware enables organisations to identify the skills that exist within their workforce and highlight strengths and gaps so they can plan for the future. SkillsAware assists with skills-based hiring and resourcing and supports and contributes to productivity, performance and reward goals. SkillsAware has relevance for individuals, small, medium and large enterprises and industries in the recognition of current capability, prior learning and experience.

Learn more – skillsaware.com