Skills & Certifications

Your skills and certifications directly influence which jobs you are offered and whether companies can book you. NexusRMS tracks both your professional skills (with proficiency levels) and formal certifications (with expiry dates and document uploads), feeding them into matching algorithms and compliance checks.

Skills management

Skills are managed on your Profile page and stored in the skills array on the NodeUser model. NexusRMS provides over 60 predefined skills organised into eight categories:

• General — Production Manager, Project Manager, Stage Manager, Event Coordinator, Site Manager
• Structure — Layher, Staging/Layher Crew, Ground Support, Truss Assembly, Scaffolding
• Rigging — Head Rigger, Rigger, Chain Motor Operator, High-Level Access
• Power — Event Electrician, Power Distribution, Generator Operator, Cable Management
• Lighting — Lighting Designer, Lighting Technician, Lighting Operator, Follow Spot Operator, LED Technician
• Set — Carpenter, Set Builder, Scenic Artist, Props Master
• Video — Video Technician, Video Operator, LED Screen Technician, Camera Operator, Vision Mixer
• Audio — Audio Engineer, Audio Technician, Monitor Engineer, RF Technician, System Technician

You can also add custom skills by typing a skill name that does not appear in the predefined list. Custom skills are stored alongside the standard options in the same skills array.

Proficiency levels

Each skill is assigned a proficiency level, displayed as coloured chips on your profile:

• Beginner — Basic understanding and limited practical experience
• Intermediate — Solid working knowledge with supervised experience
• Advanced — Extensive experience with the ability to work independently
• Expert — Industry-leading expertise, capable of training others

Proficiency levels are self-assessed. Be honest when setting these — companies may verify your abilities during initial engagements, and inaccurate claims can damage your reputation and rating.

Years of experience

Each skill entry also tracks years of experience independently. This allows you to hold an Advanced proficiency in a skill you have practised for three years, separately from an Intermediate proficiency in a skill you have 10 years of experience with. Both proficiency and experience contribute to the matching algorithm’s scoring.

Verified skills

Companies can verify your skills after observing your work. A verified skill displays a verification badge on your profile along with the verifying company and date (verified_by, verified_at). Verified skills carry more weight in the matching algorithm and signal to other companies that your claimed proficiency has been independently confirmed.

Certifications

Certifications are managed in the sidebar block on your Profile page and stored in the qualifications array. NexusRMS supports 15 predefined certification types:

1. Forklift Licence
2. IPAF (3a and 3b)
3. First Aid at Work
4. PAT Testing
5. Electrical Safety
6. Manual Handling
7. Fire Safety
8. Working at Height
9. Confined Spaces
10. Asbestos Awareness
11. COSHH
12. CSCS Card
13. Driving Licence
14. HGV/LGV Licence
15. Rigging Certification

Certification fields

Each certification entry records the following details:

• Type — The certification category from the list above
• Certificate number — The unique reference on your certificate
• Issuing authority — The organisation that issued the certification
• Issue date — When the certification was granted
• Expiry date — When the certification expires (used for automated tracking)
• Document upload — A scanned copy of the certificate, stored in S3
• Linked skills — An array of skills that this certification validates
• Requires renewal — Whether the certification needs periodic renewal
• Renewal period — How often the certification must be renewed (in months)

Certification statuses

The system calculates each certification’s status automatically:

• Active — The expiry date is more than 30 days in the future
• Expiring soon — The expiry date is within 30 days (triggers a warning)
• Expired — The expiry date has passed
• Pending renewal — The certification is expired and flagged for renewal
• Suspended — Manually suspended by the freelancer or a company

The days_until_expiry value is calculated dynamically from the expiry date.

Auto-reminder emails

NexusRMS sends automatic email reminders before certifications expire:

• 90 days before — Early notice to begin the renewal process
• 30 days before — Urgent reminder that the certification is expiring soon
• 7 days before — Final warning before expiry
• On expiry date — Notification that the certification has expired and may affect your bookability

The same reminder schedule applies to PLI expiry (pli_expiry_date).

Compliance impact

Expired certifications generate warning-level compliance issues. Combined with expired PLI (which generates a critical-level issue), they can prevent companies from booking you. The compliance system checks the getComplianceStatusAttribute on the NodeUser model, which returns one of three statuses:

• Compliant — No issues. can_book is true.
• Attention needed — Warnings exist (expired certifications, missing emergency contact). can_book remains true, but companies see the warnings.
• Non-compliant — Critical issues exist (expired PLI, unconfirmed right to work). can_book is set to false.

How companies see your skills

Connected companies can view your skills and certifications through the crew management interface. Your skills are displayed as coloured proficiency chips, and certifications show their current status. The FreelancerMatchingService uses this data to calculate a match score (0–100) against job requirements, considering skill overlap, proficiency levels, years of experience, and verification status.

Companies can also view a skills matrix of all connected freelancers, making it easy to identify who is qualified for specific roles.

Tips

• Keep certifications up to date — Renew certifications before they expire. The 90-day advance notice gives you plenty of time to arrange renewal training or assessments.
• Upload certificate documents — Companies value documentary proof. Uploading scanned certificates to S3 makes verification instant and eliminates delays when you are booked for a job.
• Set proficiency levels honestly — Over-claiming proficiency can lead to poor job matches and negative reviews. Accurate self-assessment leads to better experiences for everyone.
• Link certifications to skills — Connecting a certification to its related skills strengthens your profile in the matching algorithm and signals to companies that your skills are formally validated.