Buyer FAQ

What is Skillyard?

Skillyard is a national online directory of independent UK training and coaching businesses. It exists to make it easier for buyers to find the right trainer for their needs and to help independent trainers get discovered by businesses that might otherwise never find them.

Is it free to use?

Yes. Browsing categories, filtering results, contacting trainers and using the finder tool are all free for buyers. Skillyard is funded by a subscription paid by the trainers who list on the site, not by fees on buyers or commission on bookings.

How do I find the right trainer for my needs?

You have three main options. If you know the category you can browse it directly from the categories page and use the filters to narrow by region, delivery format and funding options. If you know what you want, or need a trainer in a particular town, the search box handles free-text queries such as "first aid Bristol". If you're not sure or don't know how to describe what you need, the finder offers an AI-powered search to make sense of what's in your head and point you to relevant listings.

Related: Browse categories, Finder

Can I use an AI assistant to find a trainer on Skillyard?

Yes. AI assistants and agents such as Copilot, ChatGPT and Claude can search Skillyard directly through its open API, using the same categories and location rules as the rest of the site. They see the same listings in the same daily order as you do, with nothing boosted by payment and no sponsored listings. Ask your AI agent for a shortlist of trainers that fit your need and it will point you to each trainer's listing page or website so you can get in touch.

How do I use the Skillyard API?

You don't need to do anything. Just ask your AI assistant to search Skillyard for the kind of training you need. For example, tell your AI to "search Skillyard for first aid trainers in Bristol" and it will find the API and use it for you. Your AI assistant needs to be able to search the web for this to work. If you are a developer and want the technical details, they are on the developers page.

Related: Developers

How are trainers listed on Skillyard?

Trainers submit their own listing through the trainer sign-up form. Every listing is reviewed by our team of human reviewers before it goes live, to check that the trainer is a genuine independent UK training or coaching business, that the listing is accurate and that it fits our editorial standards. Listings that don't fit are rejected with feedback.

Are trainers vetted or checked?

Every listing goes through a manual review at the point of submission. The review checks that the business is real, that the trainer is an independent operator rather than an aggregator or lead-generation platform and that the listing details are accurate. Skillyard does not, however, assess the quality of a trainer's delivery. That is for you to judge through your own conversations, references and calls.

Related: How we verify listings

What does "independent" mean here?

Independent means the businesses listed deliver the training themselves, rather than selling other people's. Sole traders, small partnerships and independent training firms all qualify. What you won't find on Skillyard are aggregator marketplaces and lead-generation platforms, websites selling training delivered by someone else or government-run further education establishments, schools, colleges and universities.

How do I contact a trainer?

Every listing shows the trainer's direct contact details, typically an email address, phone number, website and any social profiles they've chosen to include. You contact the trainer directly. Skillyard does not sit between you and the trainer, does not track the conversation and does not take a share of any work that follows. If you use an AI assistant to find a trainer, it will point you to the listing page or the trainer's website, where the details are.

Can I save trainers to come back to later?

Yes. On any trainer's page you can add them to your shortlist and a link will appear in the menu to view the trainers you've saved. It's useful for comparing a few options before you decide who to contact. Your shortlist is completely private. Trainers can't see who has shortlisted them and we don't record or store any of that information at our end. It lives only in your own browser. This means you don't need an account and you won't find yourself being chased because you showed interest in a business. But this also means that your shortlist won't follow you to another device and it'll be cleared if you wipe your browser data. So if you've built a shortlist you want to keep, either export it via the options on the shortlist viewer, or reach out to your favourites before you clear it.

Does Skillyard take a fee from the training I book?

No. Skillyard is funded by low cost trainer subscriptions, not by commission on bookings. When you engage a trainer you found through Skillyard, the price you agree with them is the price you pay them. Skillyard is not part of that conversation.

How is the order of listings decided?

The order in which listings appear on a category page shuffles daily. This gives every trainer a fair chance of visibility over time and prevents the biggest companies from dominating the results permanently. Filters and search work the same way underneath. No training providers can pay to rank higher, there is no option to sponsor listings or pay for higher tiers. Our aim is to connect you with the right training provider, not the one who had the most money to spend on getting to the top of the search results.

Related: How we rank

Can I leave a review of a trainer?

No. Skillyard does not currently host reviews or ratings. Review systems on training marketplaces tend to reward volume providers over specialists and can be cheated in ways that mislead buyers. We may introduce a considered approach to feedback in future, but only if we can do it in a way that helps buyers rather than distorts the market.

What if I can't find what I'm looking for?

Try the AI finder if you haven't already. It's designed for exactly this situation. If the finder doesn't help either, get in touch with us through the contact page. We'll either point you to trainers we know but haven't yet indexed, or make a note of the gap and work to fill it. Skillyard is still growing and we appreciate the feedback.

Does Skillyard cover the whole UK?

Yes. Skillyard is a national directory covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Training providers show on their listing where they are based and the areas they cover. This could be a single region or the whole of the UK, so you can filter by location to find providers who work in your area. Trainers who deliver online are indexed too and you can filter by delivery format to find them.

How do I know a trainer's information is up to date?

Trainers manage their own listings and are expected to keep them current. We check them as well. A member of our team reviews every listing at least once per quarter. Each business is also asked to regularly confirm that its listing is still live. Every listing page shows the date it was last verified by our team and the date it was last confirmed as active. If a trainer's subscription lapses, their listing is removed. If you find a listing that looks out of date, or a link that no longer works, please let us know through the contact page and we'll look into it.

Does Skillyard guarantee results?

No. Skillyard is a directory, not a broker. We help you find independent trainers who fit your needs, but the outcome of any engagement is between you and the trainer you choose to work with. We recommend having a call with two or three trainers before deciding.