diff --git a/lib/handler.js b/lib/handler.js
index 1df0ccb..9d9716d 100644
--- a/lib/handler.js
+++ b/lib/handler.js
@@ -29,15 +29,19 @@ let Handler = function () {
 
 /**
  * Initializes the handler, sets up the connection to wcs
+ * @params credentials which includes apikey, workspace_id, workspace_name, iam_apikey description, iam_apikey, workspace url, version, version_date
  */
-Handler.prototype.initialize = function () {
-    if(WaEnvUtils.isValidWaEnvVars()) {
+Handler.prototype.initialize = function (credentials) {
+    //check if credentials are coming from the handler initialize call and also valid from the index.js of the skill
+    if((credentials && WaEnvUtils.isValidWaCredentials(credentials))){
+        this.wcsCredentials = WaEnvUtils.setupWCSCredentialsfromVCAP(credentials);
+    } else if(WaEnvUtils.isValidWaEnvVars()) {
         this.wcsCredentials = WaEnvUtils.setupWCSCredentialsFromEnv();
     } else {
         let rawJson = fs.readFileSync(path.join(process.env.skillSDKResDir, nluFolder, wcsFileName));
         this.wcsCredentials = JSON.parse(rawJson);
     }
-    if (this.wcsCredentials) {
+    if(this.wcsCredentials){
         let credentials = this.wcsCredentials.credentials;
         setupWcs(this, credentials.url, credentials.username, credentials.password, credentials.version_date, credentials.version, credentials.iam_apikey)
     }
@@ -339,7 +343,8 @@ let setupWcs = function (handler, wcsUrl, wcsUsername, wcsPassword, versionDate,
             options = {
                 version: version,
                 iam_apikey: apiKey,
-                url: wcsUrl
+                url: wcsUrl,
+                export: false
             }
 
         } else {
diff --git a/lib/nlu/factory.js b/lib/nlu/factory.js
index 6f7aba7..6f5065b 100644
--- a/lib/nlu/factory.js
+++ b/lib/nlu/factory.js
@@ -96,13 +96,13 @@ class Factory {
         });
     }
 
-
-    static getNLUs(manifest) {
+//pass the credentials sent from the skill to getNLU's
+    static getNLUs(manifest, credentials) {
         return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
             let promises = [];
             let types = manifest.nlu;
             types.forEach(function (type) {
-                promises.push(getNLU(type, manifest.name));
+                promises.push(getNLU(type, manifest.name, credentials));
             });
 
             Promise.all(promises.map(reflect)).then(function (results) {
@@ -124,11 +124,14 @@ class Factory {
 
 module.exports = Factory;
 
-
-function getNLU(type, name) {
+//pass the credentials from the skill
+function getNLU(type, name, credentials) {
     return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
         let nlu;
-        if(WaEnvUtils.isValidWaEnvVars() && type === 'wcs') {
+        if(credentials && WaEnvUtils.isValidWaCredentials(credentials) && type === 'wcs'){
+            nlu = WaEnvUtils.setupWCSCredentialsfromVCAP(credentials);
+        }
+        else if(WaEnvUtils.isValidWaEnvVars() && type === 'wcs') {
             nlu = WaEnvUtils.setupWCSCredentialsFromEnv();
         } else {
             nlu = require(`${resPath}/nlu/${type}`);
diff --git a/lib/nlu/utils.js b/lib/nlu/utils.js
index 10ef8d4..c19be8c 100644
--- a/lib/nlu/utils.js
+++ b/lib/nlu/utils.js
@@ -19,6 +19,17 @@ let isValidWaEnvVars = function() {
             process.env.WCS_WORKSPACE_LANGUAGE));
 };
 
+/**
+ * check that all the WA credentials sent from the skill are valid
+ * @returns {string}
+ */
+
+let isValidWaCredentials = function(credentials) {
+    return ((process.env.WCS_USERNAME && process.env.WCS_URL && process.env.WCS_PASSWORD && process.env.WCS_VERSION_DATE
+        && process.env.WCS_VERSION) ||
+        (credentials.apikey && process.env.WCS_WORKSPACE_LANGUAGE && credentials.workspace_name && credentials.workspace_name && credentials.url));     
+};
+
 
 /**
  * Sets up the handler's wcs credentials from environment variables
@@ -55,8 +66,47 @@ let setupWCSCredentialsFromEnv = function () {
     return options;
 };
 
+/**
+ * Sets up the handler's wcs credentials from VCAP credentials read from the skill
+ * @param handler
+ */
+
+let setupWCSCredentialsfromVCAP = function (credentials) {
+
+    let options = {
+        "workspace": {
+            [process.env.WCS_WORKSPACE_LANGUAGE]: {
+                "name": credentials.workspace_name,
+                "workspace_id": credentials.workspace_id
+            }
+        }
+    };
+    // new way of wa authentication - with iam api-key
+    if(credentials.apikey) {
+        options.credentials = {
+            "url": credentials.url,
+            "version": credentials.version_date,
+            "iam_apikey": credentials.apikey
+        }
+    }
+    // deprecated way of wa authentication
+    else if(process.env.WCS_PASSWORD && process.env.WCS_USERNAME) {
+        options.credentials = {
+            "url": process.env.WCS_URL,
+            "version": process.env.WCS_VERSION,
+            "version_date": process.env.WCS_VERSION_DATE,
+            "password": process.env.WCS_PASSWORD,
+            "username": process.env.WCS_USERNAME
+        }
+    }
+    return options;
+
+};
+
 
 module.exports = {
     isValidWaEnvVars: isValidWaEnvVars,
-    setupWCSCredentialsFromEnv: setupWCSCredentialsFromEnv
+    isValidWaCredentials: isValidWaCredentials,
+    setupWCSCredentialsFromEnv: setupWCSCredentialsFromEnv,
+    setupWCSCredentialsfromVCAP: setupWCSCredentialsfromVCAP
 };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 2d2a576..3bc4eca 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "skill-sdk-nodejs",
-  "version": "0.0.18",
+  "version": "0.0.19",
   "description": "This is the SDK to be used when developing a skill for Watson Assistant Solutions using Node.js",
   "main": "index.js",
   "scripts": {