LinkedIn releases skills tool for professionals 

The product, according to the company, is designed to surface the top people, top locations, related jobs, and groups associated with thousands of skills which members have identified as areas of expertise.

These tools will help members stay ahead of the competition and discover hot skills professionals are adding to their profiles – from application development to business intelligence to calligraphy.

“Through LinkedIn Skills we believe we have a whole new way of understanding the landscape of skills - who has them and how they are changing over time – and how truly diverse the universe of skills actually is, whether it’s java or ballet,” comments DJ Patil, chief scientist, LinkedIn.

     I t also provides top related skills for a given industry with trending information on which skill is growing or declining in that industry. Hiring managers can also benefit from the ability to identify top candidates and talent who possess the specific skills the professional organization needs. The networking major claims that the product offers the ability to add new skills to the profile, surface the top professionals who have similar expertise and related companies where the desired expertise will have the most impact.