Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions



1. What happened to Skills Matter?


In November 2019, the future Skills Matter became uncertain as Skills Matter Ltd. was called into Administration.

Almost immediately a group of us got together to see what we could do to save the community.

On 22 January 2020, under a new joint venture known as the Quad4 Group, we completed our purchase of the the Skills Matter assets. We intend to continue supporting the global engineering community through Skills Matter's portfolio of events, and by growing the Skills Matter online platform.

2. Who are the Quad4 Group?


Quad4 Group was formed by a group of entrepreneurs with a rich history in supporting technology, skill transfer and community. Some of us spend our days working with code, while some of us are more comfortable in the boardroom — but all of us believe that engineers are the engine of tech innovation. So we understand how rare it is to have access to an amazing community like Skills Matter!

To ensure we can continue to offer the high-calibre events you came to know and love from Skills Matter, the new company will be shepherded by a core team of familiar faces from Skills Matter.

3. Why did the Quad4 Group buy Skills Matter?


Everyone behind the Quad4 Group are longtime admirers of Skills Matter: We believe that community is the best tool engineering teams have to discover ideas, share best practices, and break down barriers. There’s a certain magic that happens when you get a room full of developers working together to solve a common challenge.

We don’t simply want to restore the Skills Matter community and platform, we want to help it grow. We want to see it flourish. The new company will combine the best of Skills Matter’s previous programming with an increased focus on skills transfer.

Learning and sharing skills is inherent in Skills Matter’s DNA. We truly believe in the power of that community-based learning, and we want to see it continue.

4. So are you called Quad4 Group or Skills Matter?


The Quad4 Group has acquired the Skills Matter platform and will be offering a portfolio of events and services under the name Skills Matter – as well as running the Skills Matter website. Though we are a new entity, we will be proudly operating under the Skills Matter brand.

5. This is great news! How can I help?


We have been moved by the outpouring of support we have received from the community. Of course we didn't do it alone on the first go-round, and we can't do it alone on this next part of the ride. Skills Matter was built by all of you, and we want you to join us for the next stage of our adventure. Please be patient with us while we get things up and running again. We will be reaching out to groups and individuals in the near future and will provide regular updates via twitter and email. In the short term please spread the word let people know we are back in town!

Also, if there’s anything specific you think you can help with, don’t wait for us to call! Give us a shout at relaunch@skillsmatter.com

6. When will I be able to watch SkillCasts?


Right now! We’ve been hard at work to get SkillCast video library back online, this has been objective number one for us. The library has been restored, though some videos that were unavailable in the previous library remain unavailable.

The knowledge and ideas contained in those talks are an invaluable resource to the global engineer community. They represent the contributions of thousands of amazing people and it has pained us to know that your hard work has been inaccessible over the past few months.

For those of you who have asked, we are working to ensure they never again become unavailable. We are also working on a new feature for the platform that will make SkillsCast assets available to the speaker who gave the talk.

7. I’ve found a bug, how do I let you know?


You can share the location or a screenshot via bugs@skillsmatter.com We prioritised getting the site and SkillsCast content back over perfection, so we really appreciate your help working out any glitches.

8. What’s going on with [name of conference]?


The conferences that Skills Matter Ltd. had scheduled for December 2019 and all of 2020 have all been postponed, but will be rescheduled. A list of these events is available here.

9. Will these conferences be going ahead?


Yes! We are working to relaunch all Skills Matter’s conferences as soon as possible. It’s still early days — we’ve only just begun reaching out to everyone — but we are excited to reconnect with the experts and community heroes who power our conferences.

We will be announcing the first of our 2020 conferences in the coming weeks.

10. I was scheduled to speak at a conference. What does this mean for me?


The answer to this question will be different for each of you.

We value and appreciate all the time and effort you put into preparing your talks. We know many of you were disappointed when you heard the conferences were in jeopardy — especially first-time speakers — and we wish it wasn't necessary to reschedule these events. We don't presume that everyone who was scheduled to speak at a conference will have the time, ability or inclination to do so at that event's relaunched incarnation.

We hope to include everyone who wants to partake. That said, given that many of these events are being rescheduled for many months after their original date, our programming committees and you as a speaker will have many factors to weigh — including your schedule, interest in the topic, and advances in the technologies, frameworks and methadologies covered by our conferences.

It is still early on in our plans. We are currently reconvening our programming committees, who will advise what topics each conference should explore in 2020 and 2021. Though as we launch new conferences over the coming months, we will be reaching out to each of the formerly-scheduled speakers directly. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us directly.

11. Will you still be offering workshops and courses?


Yes! Empowering people to learn new skills is still the very heart of Skills Matter. And for certain skills there’s no better way to develop expertise than with hands-on expert-led training.

Behind the scenes we are in the process of reaching out to the various experts who led our courses to determine next steps. It will take us a little while to publish our full programme, but we will be announcing returning and new courses shortly.

In the meantime, we still want to support individuals and organisations with their learning needs, so please feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a specific skills need!

12. I was scheduled to lead an upcoming course. What does this mean for me?


Over the next few weeks we'll be reaching out directly to all the experts who previous led Skills Matter courses. Our aim is to reestablish a training slate as soon as possible, and we'd love for you to be part of it. It will take us some time to connect with everyone, so if you have a specific question or would like to speak sooner, feel free to get in touch.

13. What about bookings and refunds?


When Skills Matter Ltd. went into administration in November 2019, its funds were disbursed to creditors. In January 2020, the assets of Skills Matter Ltd. were purchased by the Quad4 Group. Since then, we’ve been working hard to restore the Skills Matter brand and business as a brand new company — and as such we have not received any funds from ticket sales or any other sources prior to January. 

However: we are passionately dedicated to the Skills Matter community, its mission, and its members. We want to see you at one of our rescheduled events and don’t want you to have to double dip! Although we are not able to provide refunds, we do plan to honour past, unfulfilled bookings with new bookings on our calendar of rescheduled events happening later in 2020 and 2021. In the coming weeks, we’ll be reaching out to anyone who had booked tickets with Skills Matter Ltd. for a paid event in 2019 or 2020 that was cancelled or postponed, with more details on how this will work.

If you would like to seek a refund for an event you booked with Skills Matter Ltd., please contact ReSolve, who handled the Administration and sale of Skills Matter Ltd. If you made your purchase by credit card you may be able to reclaim your money through your provider.

14. Will Skills Matter still be based at CodeNode?


In a bit of sad news, we are no longer involved in the running of CodeNode, our community's former home. We wish the best of luck to the new operators. Which means we’re on the lookout for a new home for our community! If you have any leads, feel free to let us know.

15. Will you still be hosting meetup groups?


In light of the house hunting news above, at present we are unable to host meetup groups. We do hope to begin hosting meetups at a new location in the near future.

Until then we want to help in any way we can. Let us know how we can support and promote the excellent work happening within all your tech groups around the world. We can’t say this enough: we want to hear from you!

16. How will the global COVID-19 pandemic affect Skills Matter events?


As we plan our schedule of conferences and courses, we remain attentive to individual government and WHO advice and recommendations regarding gatherings of all sizes. We choose to see the evolving situation as a positive challenge influencing our delivery mechanics – making our content and community more inclusive and accessible to all. Rest assured that the ongoing health and wellbeing of our members, speakers, team and community is our number one priority. Most likely we will offer virtual attendance tracks to all our live events which are scheduled to run towards the end of 2020. We invite you to keep talking to us, please let us know what works best for you.

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