Skills inventory
Most preparedness groups know what supplies they have but not what capabilities they can execute under stress. A skills inventory closes that gap by identifying who can do what, at what level, and under what conditions.
A strong inventory helps answer urgent questions quickly:
- Who can provide first aid right now?
- Who can repair small engines or electrical faults safely?
- Who can run communications during outages?
- Who can coordinate childcare, elder support, or transport?
Without this map, groups improvise roles in real time — usually inefficiently, always under stress.
Skills assessment template
Use this template as the foundation of your inventory. Every member fills it out for each domain where they have genuine capability. Collect completed forms digitally and print at least one hard copy for offline access.
Proficiency levels:
- Trained — holds formal certification or has completed structured coursework (cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) card, FCC license, welding cert)
- Practiced — self-taught or informally trained, applies the skill regularly with reliable results
- Instructable — can teach the skill to others; has demonstrated it successfully in real or drill conditions
Use these levels consistently. A person who watched a YouTube video is not "practiced." A person who has performed the skill under real conditions is.
Medical
| Skill | Person Name(s) | Proficiency | Notes / Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| First aid / CPR | Red Cross cert; automated external defibrillator (AED)-trained; expires every 2 years | ||
| Trauma: tourniquet + wound packing | Stop the Bleed cert; Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) completion | ||
| Childbirth assistance | Midwifery training, OB/GYN background, or equivalent | ||
| Dental emergencies | Dental professional or structured training | ||
| Pharmacy / medication management | Pharmacist, nurse, or equivalent clinical training |
Communications
| Skill | Person Name(s) | Proficiency | Notes / Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ham radio — Technician | FCC license; call sign; repeaters programmed | ||
| Ham radio — General / Extra | FCC license; HF capability | ||
| GMRS operation | FCC family license held by group member | ||
| Satellite comms | Device type; trained on messaging procedures | ||
| Mesh networking | Meshtastic or equivalent; node installed | ||
| HF / Winlink email | Winlink registered; gateway list printed |
Mechanical
| Skill | Person Name(s) | Proficiency | Notes / Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small engine repair | Generators, chainsaws, pumps | ||
| Vehicle maintenance | Oil/fluids, brakes, tires, battery | ||
| Welding | MIG, TIG, or oxy-acetylene | ||
| Electrical wiring | 12V DC, 120V AC, solar wiring | ||
| Plumbing | Pipe joining, valve repair, hand-pump install |
Agricultural
| Skill | Person Name(s) | Proficiency | Notes / Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food growing | Scale: container / garden / field | ||
| Food preservation — canning | Pressure and water-bath | ||
| Food preservation — fermenting | Lacto-fermentation, vinegar, kombucha | ||
| Food preservation — drying | Dehydrator and solar methods | ||
| Livestock | Species: chickens / goats / cattle / pigs / rabbits |
Trades and construction
| Skill | Person Name(s) | Proficiency | Notes / Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpentry | Framing, finish, cabinetry | ||
| Masonry | Block, brick, mortar, stove/kiln | ||
| Blacksmithing | Forge and tool repair | ||
| Sewing / textiles | Repair, gear fabrication, pattern use |
Childcare and education
| Skill | Person Name(s) | Proficiency | Notes / Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare | Ages served; CPR/first aid for pediatrics | ||
| Home school / instruction | Subjects and age ranges covered |
Field note
The gap you don't see is the one that kills you. Groups consistently overestimate coverage because they assume that someone who seems capable actually is capable under stress. A nurse who hasn't worked in eight years and a neighbor who "did some CPR once" are not the same as a certified, practiced responder. Verify — don't assume.
Rotation and succession planning
An inventory that lists one person per skill is an inventory of single points of failure. For every critical function, identify what happens when that person is unavailable — traveling, injured, sick, or simply off-shift.
The two-person rule: For any skill in the medical, communications, or food production domains, at least two people should be at "practiced" level or above. If only one person holds a critical skill, that skill is a liability, not an asset.
Identifying gaps in coverage
After completing the template, run this quick audit:
- List every domain that has only one name in the "Person Name(s)" column — these are your single points of failure.
- Flag any critical skill where no one is at "practiced" or above — these are coverage gaps.
- For each gap, identify the most feasible path to a second qualified person: train an existing member, recruit a neighbor, or cross-train someone already at "trained" level.
Succession depth by domain:
| Domain | Minimum depth | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma / medical | 2 practiced, 1 instructable | Responder may be the patient |
| Ham / GMRS comms | 2 practiced | Net control may be unreachable |
| Food preservation | 2 practiced | Season doesn't wait |
| Small engine repair | 2 practiced | Generator failure at worst time |
| Childcare | 2 practiced | Caregiver may need care |
| All other domains | 1 practiced + 1 trained | Reasonable minimum |
When you fill a gap, update the inventory immediately. An out-of-date inventory creates false confidence.
Annual review process
Certifications expire. Skills atrophy. Licenses lapse. A skills inventory that isn't actively maintained becomes fiction within 18 months.
January — full inventory refresh
Every member completes a fresh copy of the skills template. Do not carry over last year's form; require fresh self-assessment. This surfaces skills people have gained (a member who completed Stop the Bleed training in October) and skills that have lapsed (a CPR cert that expired in August).
Every 6 months — verify active certifications
Certifications with expiration dates need a calendar entry, not a mental note. Track:
- CPR/AED: Red Cross and American Heart Association certifications expire every 2 years
- FCC Amateur Radio license: valid for 10 years; renewal available within 2 years of expiration
- FCC GMRS license: valid for 10 years; must be renewed before expiry for household coverage to continue
- Stop the Bleed: no formal expiry, but skills degrade; re-take every 2-3 years
After any major event
Activations — actual emergencies, extended drills, or multi-day exercises — are the fastest source of skills discovery. After any event, capture what people did that wasn't previously on the inventory. The member who jury-rigged a water pump during the last storm may have mechanical skills that never made it into the formal record.
After any major membership change
New members bring new skills; departing members leave gaps. Any addition or departure should trigger a targeted inventory update within 30 days, not at the next annual review.
Example completed inventory (10-household group)
This illustrates what a real inventory entry looks like in practice — not what a complete group looks like, but how distribution patterns emerge and where to look for gaps.
| Household | Top skills | Proficiency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen | First aid / CPR; food preservation | Instructable; Practiced | RN (retired); pressure canning since 2014 |
| Martinez | Ham radio (General); GMRS | Practiced; Practiced | Call sign KD9XXX; GMRS admin for group license |
| Okafor | Carpentry; small engine repair | Instructable; Practiced | Contractor (active); maintains 2 group generators |
| Lindqvist | Food growing; livestock | Practiced; Practiced | 1/4-acre garden; 12 laying hens |
| Washington | Trauma / tourniquet; CPR | Practiced; Trained | Stop the Bleed cert 2025; CPR expires 2026 |
| Patil | Electrical wiring; solar systems | Practiced; Trained | Electrician apprentice; installed household solar array |
| Torres | Childcare; home school | Instructable; Practiced | Ages 0–12; former K-5 teacher |
| Nakamura | Vehicle maintenance; welding | Practiced; Trained | Mechanic background; MIG-only |
| Reyes | Food preservation (fermenting); sewing | Practiced; Practiced | Runs group canning workshops quarterly |
| Hoffman | Plumbing; masonry | Practiced; Practiced | Retired tradesman; installed group hand-pump |
What this inventory reveals:
- Ham radio: one primary (Martinez), no backup → single point of failure
- Trauma response: Washington is practiced, Chen can support, but no one is instructable → gap
- Childcare: Torres has depth, but no named backup → gap for extended incidents
- Food preservation: well-distributed across Chen, Reyes, Lindqvist → strong
- Medical (clinical): Chen is strong but is the only clinical-level person → succession concern
A real group should resolve these gaps before they become operational problems.
What to track
Track practical, decision-relevant information only. Core fields:
- Name and preferred contact method
- Skill category and specific sub-skill
- Proficiency level (trained / practiced / instructable)
- Availability window and known constraints
- Equipment or tool access relevant to that skill
- Backup person for each critical function
- Certification type and expiration date
Build the inventory in 4 steps
Step 1: Survey
Use the template above. Keep it concise so people complete it. Ask:
- Which skills can you perform now?
- Which can you support as backup?
- What tools or resources do you have access to?
- What constraints affect your availability?
- What skills are you willing to train others on?
Step 2: Validate
Self-report is useful but incomplete. Validate high-priority skills through light drills or demonstrations.
Examples:
- Comms operators run a 15-minute net
- Medical responders work through a first-aid scenario
- Logistics leads run a mock distribution plan
Step 3: Assign role matrix
Map each critical function to a primary owner, secondary backup, and tertiary support. No critical function should depend on one person.
Step 4: Maintain
Update at every annual review, after every major event, and after every membership change. Do not let the inventory drift.
Readiness scoring
A quick scoring method helps prioritize training:
- Coverage score: percentage of critical functions with at least one practiced person
- Redundancy score: percentage of critical functions with at least one backup
- Continuity score: percentage of functions covered across day and night availability windows
Target baseline:
- Coverage: 100% for core life-safety functions
- Redundancy: at least 80%
- Continuity: at least 70%
Use scores to drive training priorities — not as a report card, but as a tool for finding the next most important gap to close.
Training pipeline
Inventories should produce action, not records.
- Identify the top three gaps from your redundancy audit
- Assign mentors or instructors from existing members at instructable level
- Run focused mini-training blocks — two hours is enough for most practical skills
- Re-test and re-score
- Promote backups into primary roles where possible
Cross-training one backup for each critical function usually produces a larger resilience gain than adding new advanced specialties. A group with two people who can each run a tourniquet is safer than one person who has completed advanced wilderness medicine.
Training access
Many of the most valuable preparedness skills can be certified at zero or very low cost through federally and locally funded programs.
Entirely free:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ICS-100, ICS-200, IS-700 (online, self-paced at training.fema.gov)
- Stop the Bleed bleeding control training (offered by hospitals and trauma centers; 2-hour course)
- Local fire extinguisher class — most fire departments offer on request
Federally funded through local agencies:
- CERT Basic Training: administered by local fire and emergency management agencies with FEMA/DHS funding; frequently free or nominal depending on jurisdiction
Modest personal investment:
- Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED: 2-year certification; often available through employers or local chapters
- FCC Amateur Radio licensing (Technician and above): exam session fee plus FCC administrative fee; check arrl.org for current amounts and local exam session locations
The most cost-effective path to a verifiable preparedness skill set: start with the free FEMA courses online, add CERT through your local emergency management office, then assess Red Cross and licensing needs based on your group's communications plan.
Privacy and trust boundaries
Collect only what supports operations. Avoid unnecessary personal data.
Good practice:
- Keep contact and skill data separate from sensitive personal notes
- Share role-level information broadly, personal details narrowly
- Use consent for publishing names in wider directories
Quarterly review checklist
- Update member roster and contacts
- Reconfirm primary and backup assignments
- Re-run 2-3 critical skill drills
- Recalculate coverage, redundancy, and continuity scores
- Publish top training priorities for next quarter
- Check certifications for upcoming expirations (within 6 months)
Practical checklist
- Build a concise skills survey using the template above and collect responses
- Validate critical skills through short drills, not just self-report
- Map every critical function to primary and backup using the two-person rule
- Identify all single points of failure and create a succession plan for each
- Schedule January full refresh and 6-month certification check in your calendar
- Maintain offline and digital versions of the roster
- After every major event, capture skills gained and update the inventory within 30 days
An accurate skills inventory turns good intentions into operational capability. Pair it with your mutual aid agreements and communications plan to improve decision speed and execution when disruptions hit. For getting the right people talking to each other once you know who has what skills, see neighbors.