Finding Skills through Ranked Semantic Match of Descriptions

We propose a formal approach to Ontology-Based Semantic Matchmaking between Skills request and offer, devised as a virtual marketplace of knowledge. In such a knowledge market metaphor, skills are a peculiar kind of goods that have distinguishing characteristics with respect to traditional assets. Buyers are entities that need the skills of people, such as projects, departments and organizations; sellers are workers that offer their own skills. The formal framework supports the semantic match of descriptions provided by demanders and sellers of skills. In particular our approach, based on Description Logics formalization and reasoning, overcomes simple subsumption matching and allows for match ranking and categorization. The implementation of the approach in a prototype facilitator, which embeds a NeoCLassic reasoner, is also