SkillBridge

Inspiration

I’ve seen firsthand how difficult it can be for people with learning disabilities to access and retain job-related training. Despite being capable, they’re often overlooked due to traditional learning methods that don’t accommodate their needs. SkillBridge was built to close that employment gap—by offering simple, bite-sized, and voice-guided lessons tailored for diverse cognitive needs.

What it does

SkillBridge is a microlearning platform that helps individuals with learning disabilities build real-world employment skills. It uses an AI-powered chat interface and voice interaction to guide users through roleplays, job simulations, and practical tasks in a supportive and accessible format.

How we built it

We built the frontend using React.js and styled it with Tailwind CSS for a responsive and clean UI. The backend was developed using Django and Django REST Framework to manage user requests and AI responses. We deployed the backend using Render and hosted the frontend on Vercel. Voice functionality was added using the Web Speech API, enabling text-to-speech and speech-to-text for a hands-free experience.

Challenges we ran into

One major challenge was creating a user experience that felt intuitive for users with cognitive differences. We had to carefully balance simplicity with functionality, ensuring the UI wasn’t overwhelming. Integrating real-time voice input and output also required careful handling of browser compatibility and asynchronous events.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud to have created something that could genuinely help a marginalised group access better opportunities. Getting the voice interaction to feel natural and designing roleplay flows that simulate real-world scenarios was a major win. We also managed to deploy a fully functional AI-powered web app across both frontend and backend platforms.

📚 What we learned

We learned how to design more inclusively—putting accessibility first rather than treating it as an afterthought. We also got hands-on experience integrating frontend and backend systems with modern cloud platforms, and using voice APIs to create interactive learning flows.

🚀 What's next for SkillBridge

We plan to expand the range of modules (e.g., customer service, retail, hospitality) and add user accounts so learners can track their progress. We’re also exploring partnerships with disability support organizations and job networks to roll out SkillBridge in real workplaces.