Swiss startup Work-ID secures €4.2 million to tackle the skills shortage and assure no “candidate is ever overlooked”

Zurich-based Work-ID has closed a successful €4.2 million financing round to launch ‘Skills-Manager’, a tool that shows companies which people fit both professionally and personally.

Strategic investors include the Swiss Commercial Association (Kaufmännischer Verband Schweiz) and the Zurich Commercial Association (Kaufmännischer Verband Zürich), two key players in Switzerland’s education and labor market. Also among the investors is Future of Work Group AG, which includes established market players x28 AG and jobchannel ag, plus a dozen Swiss HR professionals who believe in the idea.

“The skills shortage isn’t the main problem. People and companies simply can’t find each other. The root cause is a lack of transparency,” explains Founder and lead investor Cornel Müller. “The focus isn’t on what matters: people’s abilities.”

Founded in 2025, Work-ID is a digital skills passport that grows throughout a working life, making their abilities and priorities visible, whereas Skills-Manager is a tool that shows who fits – internally and externally. So, “no suitable candidate is ever overlooked“.

New additions have also recently joined the team with Renato Profico joining as CEO. The former CEO of JobCloud and Doodle has 20 years of experience in digital recruiting and the SaaS world. “I am very excited to transform the labor market with Work-ID AG. The time is now,” says Profico.

With Skills-Manager, Work-ID says companies gain a tool to identify and leverage people’s skills. They can see every skill currently present in their organisation, anticipate shortages, and know where to find missing skills.

Alongside Skills-Manager, Work-ID AG is developing its offering for individuals: Work-ID, Switzerland’s digital skills passport. It will be available from September 15, 2025 to users with further details announced in September.

Early adopters are already using Skills-Manager, offered in a freemium model with no system integration needed. “Being able to stay in touch with people who show interest in us as an employer offers us enormous opportunities. And the fact that it’s so easy is all the more valuable,” says Remo Noser of Noser Engineering.

Work-ID AG is also integrating insights from the Innosuisse flagship project “Swiss Circular Economy for Skills and Competences”. Partners include the University of St. Gallen, University of Zurich, EPFL, ZHAW and the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training.

“For decades we’ve championed fair, progressive working conditions, equal opportunities, and employability in Switzerland,” says Sascha M. Burkhalter, CEO of Kaufmännischer Verband Schweiz.

“Not only do we want to actively counter the skills shortage, but we also aim to revolutionise and strengthen the Swiss labor market for the long term. Skills are the currency of tomorrow’s labor market,” adds Amalia Zurkirchen, Managing Director of Kaufmännischer Verband Zürich.

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