# Skills and cities

> Your community's lists of skills and cities. Members choose from them on their profile, and Milvao uses them to understand requests and find matches.

Source: https://milvao.com/help/community/skills-and-cities · Updated 2026-11-06

## Key takeaways

- Skills are the services members offer and requests ask for, like Commercial leasing or Accounting and tax.
- Cities are where members are based and which cities they also serve.
- Set up at least one skill and one city before sharing links, because members must choose both to save a profile.
- Owners and operators manage the lists in Settings, under Skills and cities. Archiving a skill or removing an unused city happens at once, with **Undo** in the message.
- Keep lists short and specific. Milvao only matches what's on them.

Skills and cities are the shared vocabulary of your community. Members pick from them on their profile, and requests are matched against them, so a member who offers Commercial leasing in Mohali can be found when someone needs an office there. You decide what's on the lists.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Members must choose a city and at least one skill to save their profile. If either list is empty, nobody can finish their profile. Add both before you share your first join link.

## Where to find them

Open **Settings** and scroll to **Skills and cities**, or click **Skills and cities set up** in the **Overview** checklist. Skills are on the left and cities on the right. The heading shows how many there are.

Each skill shows how many members have it. Each city shows how many members live there and how many serve it, for example "4 live here · 2 serve it".

## Manage the lists

| Action | Skills | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| **Add** | Type the name in **Add a skill** and click **Add** | Type the name in **Add a city** and click **Add** |
| **Rename** | Pencil button, edit the **Name**, then **Save** | Pencil button, edit the **Name**, then **Save** |
| **Archive** | Archive button. It happens at once; click **Undo** in the message to take it back | Not available |
| **Restore** | Restore button next to it under **Archived** | Not available |
| **Remove** | Not available | Bin button. It happens at once; click **Undo** in the message to put it back. Only while no member lives in or serves it |

Names are 2 to 60 characters. You can't add a skill or city with the same name as one that already exists. Milvao treats "Tax & Accounting" and "Tax and Accounting" as the same name.

### Renaming

Renaming changes what members and your team see. The entry keeps its internal ID (shown in the rename dialog), so members who have it keep it, and existing requests stay linked. Use it to fix spelling or make a name clearer.

### Archiving a skill

Archive a skill you no longer want people to choose. There's no confirmation step: the skill is archived as soon as you click, and a message at the bottom of the screen says "Skill archived." with an **Undo** button for about 10 seconds. Click **Undo** to put it straight back. After archiving:

- Members can't pick it on their profile any more, and it isn't used for new requests.
- Members who already have it keep it. It shows as "(archived)" on their member page.
- It moves to an **Archived** list under the skills. Restore it at any time.

### Removing a city

Cities can't be archived. You can remove a city only while nobody lives in it or serves it. If members use it, the bin button is disabled. If you remove a city by mistake, click **Undo** in the "City removed." message: the city comes back with the same name.

## Tips for good lists

- **Use your members' words.** "Office space" or "Commercial leasing", not "Real estate services".
- **Be specific enough to match.** "Accounting and tax" and "Legal" match better than "Professional services".
- **Keep it short.** 10 to 25 skills suits most communities. Too many and matches get thin. Members can pick up to 10 skills each.
- **Add the cities members actually serve.** For a Tricity community, that might be Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Zirakpur. Members can mark several cities they serve, so you don't need regions like "Tricity".

## How Milvao uses them

When a member writes a request, Milvao reads it against your lists to work out the skill and city needed. If a request asks for something that isn't on your lists, Milvao doesn't guess. The request goes to your team instead. See [How requests work](/help/requests/how-requests-work).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can members suggest a new skill?
Not in the app. Members can tell an organiser, and you can add it here. They can then pick it from their profile link.

### Who can change the lists?
Both the owner and operators.

### I archived the wrong skill and the message has gone. What now?
Find it under **Archived** below the skills and click its restore button. Nothing is lost while it's archived.

### What happens to members if I rename a skill?
Nothing changes for them except the name they see. They keep the skill.