SkillsTown Inspire

SkillsTown Inspire is the learning platform at the center of SkillsTown, which describes itself as "dé online opleider" (the online training provider) for organizations in the Netherlands that want to make learning "toegankelijk, meetbaar en impactvol" (accessible, measurable and impactful). Inspire comes bundled with a library of more than 1,000 online trainings, and sits in an ecosystem with an authoring tool (Create), a learning analytics tool (Reveal), content collections, custom video production and a customer success team. The buyers are employers and institutions: the site is organized around use cases such as onboarding, compliance and upskilling, and around sectors from education and healthcare to retail, government, childcare, youth care, staffing and logistics. The site is offered in Dutch, English and Belgian Dutch and French versions.

The platform

The Inspire page lists four headline points: access to 1,000+ trainings, full personalization to the organization's house style and learning goals, smart monitoring and analytics, and learning paths built to measure. In more detail, the page says:

• 1,000+ current trainings, "ontwikkeld door experts" (developed by experts) and "verdeeld over zeven effectieve leervormen", spread across seven learning formats. The homepage names some of them: microlearning, video and podcasts.
• An included learning platform that works for employees and administrators alike and is accessible on any device, which the homepage spells out as desktop, tablet or mobile.
• Agenda and event management, to keep track of participation, availability and progress, which the page pitches at HR and L&D departments that organize live sessions.
• LTI integration, so that external learning resources, HR systems or the organization's own content can be connected through LTI links and stay in one central place.

The FAQ adds four direct answers. On engagement: "We stimuleren gebruik met gamification, interactieve leervormen en persoonlijke dashboards" (gamification, interactive formats and personal dashboards). On connecting to an existing LMS: "Ja, Inspire integreert eenvoudig met bestaande systemen via een LTI-koppeling." On adding the organization's own trainings: yes, through the authoring tool Create, which is used to build content and learning paths. On certificates: "Ja, na afronding van trainingen en leerlijnen ontvangen medewerkers certificaten", so employees receive certificates after completing trainings and learning paths.

Create, Reveal and the content collections

SkillsTown splits its offer into technology, content, productions and customer success. On the technology side, Create is the authoring tool ("Creëer eigen leercontent"), Inspire the learning platform ("Jouw eigen leerplatform"), and Reveal the analysis tool for learning analytics. The Inspire page says the integrated content tools let an organization build and distribute its own e-learning modules, instructional videos or micro-courses, which is how internal knowledge such as processes and culture ends up in the platform next to the library.

Content comes in two collections: GetSkilled, "Content voor alle leerbehoeften" (content for all learning needs), and GetSpecialized, sector- and theme-specific content. On top of that sit three production services: custom productions for personalized trainings, SkillsTown Blueprints ("Bewezen content, direct inzetbaar", proven content ready to deploy) and studio productions that put an organization's own message on video. Themes highlighted in the menu include artificial intelligence training and management development, with leadership described as both operational and inspiring.

Use cases

The homepage presents four use cases, each with three points:

• Upskilling and reskilling: personalized learning paths, a broad learning library, continuous development.
• Compliance: automatic updates, real-time monitoring, and "Gecertificeerde trainingen" (certified trainings).
• Onboarding: digital onboarding modules, insight into progress, flexible learning tracks. The Inspire page adds that new employees get a structured, interactive onboarding track from day one.
• Employer branding: a strong learning culture, personal learning paths and an attractive employer brand, framed on the menu as less absenteeism and more job satisfaction.

The site footer also links to pages on accreditations and on the service level agreement (SLA).

Implementation and support

SkillsTown promises "Volledige verzorging" (full care) "Van onboarding tot activatie", with support from Learning Professionals and didactic experts. The customer success side covers personal guidance, implementation ("Van start tot lerende organisatie", from start to learning organization), measurable impact and a support desk. A blog post by Lisan van der Lee, a learning professional at SkillsTown, shares tips for implementing an online academy, starting with defining measurable goals, which gives a sense of how the team works with clients. The same blog lists the reasons SkillsTown's customers most often give for an e-learning platform: a broad offer of soft and hard skills development, flexible learning that fits individual schedules, and a place where HR, L&D or management can create and share internal learning material.

Prices are not published; the route in is a demo or an advisory call. The site promises that "Binnen 30 minuten weet jij hoe wij jouw medewerkers dagelijks kunnen inspireren", meaning a 30-minute demo shows how the platform would work for the organization.

Customer stories

The homepage carries a run of client cases:

• De Nederlandse Kluis made learning part of the working day with one theme per month.
• TKB improved onboarding and gave employees more control over their development.
• Talentenregio made learning accessible for 27 government organizations through one platform with several learning formats.
• STL got 81% of employees learning within 7 months, without making the trainings mandatory.
• Brunel built the Brunel Academy, reaching all its people in the Netherlands with one digital package for the first time.
• Aloysius Stichting uses online learning for staff in education.
• Berenschot broadcasts webinars for HR managers and directors in collaboration with SkillsTown.
• CAOP, which supports HR in government, education and healthcare, started with an online Summerschool during the coronavirus period and kept the platform as permanent development.
• CMIS Group was the first Dutch organization to start SkillsTown's online corporate MBE program, a management program combining theory and practice.

Who SkillsTown Inspire suits

Inspire suits a Dutch or Belgian organization that wants a ready library and a platform in one contract, with Dutch-language content for its sector, and that also wants to publish its own onboarding and process training through Create. Healthcare, childcare, education, government, retail, staffing and logistics employers will find sector content waiting, and HR teams that run live sessions get the agenda function in the same place. The government case with 27 organizations shows it can serve networks as well as single employers.

An organization that only wants an empty LMS for its own content, or one that needs training mainly in languages other than Dutch, should check the fit during the demo, because the value of the package lies largely in the Dutch library and the guidance around it.