Free Skills Matrix: An Online Tool Designed for the Industry
Create your free skills matrix online—no credit card required, no time limit, and no need to set up an IT project. Import your existing Excel file with a single click, map skills and authorizations, and track deadlines and the versatility of your teams. It’s the first free skills matrix tool designed for the manufacturing industry, and you can map out your first team in just one morning.
Free. No credit card required. No installation required.
Import your Excel file with a single click
Most industrial sites already maintain a matrix in an Excel workbook. The tool uses this file as a starting point so you don't have to re-enter everything.
- You import your existing workbook, and the tool creates the employees, skills, and permissions it contains
- The initial template is based on your website's template, without a generic template that needs to be customized
- Your online matrix will be ready for use as soon as the import is complete
A Excel skills matrix template It starts with an empty grid that you have to fill out and then maintain manually, whereas the import feature starts with the grid you’ve already kept up to date.
What's Included in the Free Skills Matrix
This is a free skills matrix software program available online: you create an account, log in, and the data is stored on a server rather than in a file saved on a computer.
Your organization, department by department
The organizational chart reflects the departments and teams at your site. Each employee profile is assigned to its respective scope, which allows you to display a team’s matrix directly during a production meeting.
Your skills and certifications, along with your proficiency levels
Skills are listed in columns, employees in rows, and the proficiency level is shown at the intersection. The table is recalculated with each entry, without the need to copy formulas or maintain conditional formatting. Authorizations are managed separately from skills, since they have an expiration date.
Tracking Authorizations and Their Expiration Dates
Each registered certification has a validity period, and the dashboard distinguishes between those that are about to expire and those that have already expired. A CACES certification, electrical certification, or driver’s license therefore no longer appears as valid once its expiration date has passed. A spreadsheet does not provide this indication, which explains why an expired certification is often discovered during an audit rather than beforehand.
The versatility rate, calculated automatically
The tool calculates the versatility rate of your teams based on the levels entered. You can identify skills that rely on only one person and those that are sufficiently covered to accommodate an absence or departure. This skills gap analysis is updated with every entry, allowing you to plan training or pair up staff as soon as a vulnerability arises.
Your training sessions, verified using a checklist
You create training sessions and validate them using checklist-style questionnaires, which leaves a dated record of skill development in the same place as the competency matrix. When the competency matrix and training records are stored in two separate files, they must be reconciled before each audit—a task that is eliminated when both are combined in the same tool.
Your colleagues, in the same matrix
You invite your team leaders and area managers, and each person updates their own area of responsibility. This way, the updates are distributed among the people who know the field, whereas a matrix maintained by a single person in the quality department quickly becomes outdated.
Create my skills matrix for free
Everything an Excel file will never do
An Excel template is fine for a first draft, but as people make changes to it, the number of copies multiplies, and it becomes difficult to know which one is the official version.
| What you're trying to do | Skills Matrix in Excel | Free Online Skills Matrix |
|---|---|---|
| Determining Which Version Is Authoritative | As many versions as there are recorded copies | A single shared database, accessible to everyone in one place |
| Check if an authorization has expired | The cell remains unchanged after the due date | The dashboard distinguishes between items that are due and those that have expired |
| Update from the field | Only one person has the file | Each team leader updates their scope |
| Calculate a versatility rate | Formulas to write and then correct after each line is added | Calculated automatically each time data is entered |
| Keep track of training sessions | A second file, in another folder | Training sessions and checklist-based validation in the same tool |
| Building on What Already Exists | This is already your file | One-click import, no need to re-enter data |
| Grant access to a new supervisor | Send a copy that will no longer be synced | Invite him to review the updated matrix |
Create Your Free Skills Matrix in Four Steps
Allow about 30 minutes for the first team.
- Create your free account using your work email address and enter your organization's name.
- Import your existing Excel file, or create a single department if you're starting from scratch.
- Check the skills and authorizations listed in the file, and keep only those that are actually useful for management.
- Discuss the proficiency levels with the team leader, then ask him to stick to his scope.
It’s better to start with a narrow scope and about ten well-defined competencies, then expand the matrix to other teams once the first version is reliable. A matrix that’s too detailed from the start is often abandoned before it’s fully up to date.
Why Is This Skills Matrix Free?
Over the past twenty years, the industry has digitized its machinery, workflows, and quality control, while tracking operator skills has often remained confined to a spreadsheet. The team that developed this tool has been working with industrial sites on skills management for six years, and the same observation kept coming up: the skills matrix is considered essential, but few sites have a reliable, up-to-date version. Making the tool free—with no time limit and no credit card required—allows any site to get started without a budget. Kévin and Adrien, co-founders of Mercateam, discuss this decision in the launch video.
Where is your team's data hosted?
The data is hosted in Europe. One matrix contains named evaluations, which constitute personal data under the GDPR; this is an issue that the Works Council or the Data Protection Officer will review during the rollout.
- European hosting and access traceability
- An employee may obtain a copy of the data concerning him or her, including an assessment of his or her skills, such as the as the CNIL points out
- A centralized database makes it easier to respond to this request, unlike a file that is circulated via email
Create your skills matrix for free
Creating an account requires no budget, no scope of work, and no approval from the IT department. Import your file, invite the relevant team leader, and you’ll quickly see which skills in your workshop rely on a single person.
Relive the launch of the free skills matrix
Kévin and Adrien, co-founders of Mercateam, present the free skills matrix in a video that’s just over a minute long.
Kévin starts with a situation all too familiar to production managers: a matrix stored in an Excel file, which is often out of date just a few weeks after it was last modified. On the shop floor, this can lead to a production line shutdown because the only trained person is absent, or to an operator taking a shift whose certification has expired without anyone noticing.
Adrien notes that the skills matrix was the first feature Mercateam delivered to industrial teams six years ago. He announces that it is now the first free skills matrix tool designed for the industry, with no trial period or time limit.
The demonstration then shows the three uses of the tool:
- Importing an existing Excel file, which automatically creates teams, skills, and authorizations
- the dashboard, which alerts users to authorizations nearing expiration and displays the versatility rate
- an invitation from a team leader, so that the matrix is shared and kept up to date by those who are familiar with the field
The video concludes by emphasizing the choice to make it free: factories have digitized their machines and quality control processes, and tracking operators’ skills should also be possible—without a budget or a credit card.
FAQ
Is the competency matrix really free?
Yes, and this is not a free trial. Creating an account and building your skills matrix are free; the registration form does not require a credit card, and there is no time limit. You enter a work email address, specify your organization, and then import your file or enter your first skills. The tool covers skills mapping, authorization tracking, and training sessions.
What is a skills matrix?
A competency matrix, for a given team, cross-references the required competencies in columns and employees in rows, showing the proficiency level at each intersection. It helps identify competencies held by only one person, employees who need development, and the gap between the required level and the actual level achieved. In industry, it also serves as supporting documentation when an auditor asks what the competencies associated with a position are based on.
How is this different from a free Excel skills matrix?
An Excel template provides a spreadsheet that you must fill out and maintain yourself. Over time, local copies multiply, multiple versions coexist, and there are no alerts to notify you when an authorization is about to expire. An online competency matrix maintains a single source of truth, recalculates gaps with each entry, and displays authorizations nearing expiration on the dashboard. If you start with a spreadsheet, the import process pulls its content without requiring re-entry.
How many employees can I manage?
The tool is designed for a production site and its teams. It is suitable for mapping conducted on a department-by-department basis within a single plant.
Can I manage multiple websites?
The tool covers a single site. Comparisons between plants and the sharing of a common skills repository across multiple sites are not included.
What can't the tool do?
It is designed for mapping skills and authorizations. It does not offer assignment scheduling, leading indicators, advanced search, document management, or content validation. Workstations, granular rights management, questionnaires scored by points or percentages, and PDF or Excel exports are not available. Deadline tracking is accessible via the dashboard, without email notifications. This feature set allows you to quickly determine whether the tool meets your needs.
Does the competency matrix help in preparing for an audit?
It allows you to document your teams’ competencies and keep track of related training and certifications—elements that most quality standards require you to be able to present. The matrix alone does not make a site compliant with a standard; rather, it provides an up-to-date document to present to the auditor. However, a document that contradicts the reality on the ground undermines confidence in the entire documentation system.
How long does it take to create your first competency matrix?
It takes about 30 minutes to map a team of about 10 employees across about 10 skills—and even less if you import an existing file. The time required depends mainly on the clarity of your skills framework. The rollout can then proceed department by department, reusing the skills framework that has already been entered.
Should teams be trained to use the tool?
Data entry is done with a single click—no formulas, no prior configuration, and no IT project required. A team leader can independently enter the levels for their area of responsibility from the very first use, which makes it easier to update the matrix over time.
What happens if my needs increase?
For many sites, mapping skills is sufficient. If you ever want to create work assignments based on available skills, track metrics across multiple plants, or link skills to the rest of your operations, the full Mercateam platform takes over and incorporates the skill map you’ve already created. You can then Talk to a Mercateam expert to define the scope.
Is my data secure?
The data is hosted in Europe, with traceable access logs. A matrix contains evaluations that identify specific individuals and constitutes the processing of personal data as defined by the GDPR. The CNIL notes that an employee may obtain a copy of the data concerning them—including their skills assessment—upon request. A centralized matrix facilitates responding to this type of request.
How do I manage authorizations and their validity dates?
A skill is permanent, whereas a certification has an expiration date: a CACES certification, an electrical certification, or a driver’s license must be renewed at a fixed interval. Each registered authorization therefore includes its issuance date and expiration date, and the dashboard alerts users to those nearing their expiration. In a spreadsheet, an expired authorization remains displayed without any indication.