What are the main barriers to employer adoption of digital credentials?

Employers want to match skills to jobs but face a disconnect with current fragmented information. Resumes (paper/PDF) are still standard. Digital credentials aren't integrated into HR management systems, and vendors are unlikely to add support without demonstrated demand from employers.

How can universities support the adoption of digital credentials?

Universities can accelerate issuing credentials at scale, include more specific skills and competencies in digital diplomas, and ensure interoperability. They can also innovate in representing skills and competencies beyond traditional degrees.

What can employers do to encourage the use of digital credentials?

Employers can issue credentials for skills gained on the job, participate in developing competency frameworks, and begin accepting digital credentials from applicants. They can also re-evaluate hiring processes to focus on demonstrated skills rather than just degrees.

How can digital credentials promote more equitable outcomes?

By capturing learning from various contexts beyond traditional education, digital credentials can help individuals who don't have degrees gain opportunities. However, equity must be intentionally designed into the technology and implementation to avoid exacerbating existing disparities.

What is the role of trust providers in the digital credential ecosystem?

Trust providers, such as accreditation agencies or professional societies, can publish information about recognized organizations and quality guidelines. This helps in building trust and allowing for the verification of digital credentials.

Why is it urgent to address digital credential adoption now?

The shift towards skills-based hiring is already happening, often incorporating AI and inferencing. It's crucial to shape this evolution proactively to build a sustainable, accessible, and interoperable system, rather than trying to fix issues later, like those seen in healthcare records.

Key Moments

Open Learning Talks: Digital Credentials and the Last Mile to Employment

MIT OpenCourseWare

Education3 min read59 min video

Dec 13, 2022|266 views|5

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Digital credentials face adoption barriers in employment; a coordinated effort is needed for equitable access and skill recognition.

Key Insights

Digital credentials can enhance learner agency and equity by representing skills acquired through diverse learning pathways.

A major barrier to digital credential adoption in employment is the lack of integration with existing Human Resource Management systems.

Employers desire skill-based hiring and promotion but are hindered by the current resume-centric application process.

Interoperability and standardized formats are crucial for seamless sharing and verification of digital credentials across various platforms.

Governments, educational institutions, employers, and trust providers all have roles to play in accelerating digital credential adoption.

Ensuring equity requires intentional design, user involvement, and a focus on privacy to prevent exacerbating existing societal divides.

THE DIGITAL CREDENTIALS CONSORTIUM (DCC) AND ITS MISSION

The Digital Credentials Consortium (DCC), comprising universities from North America and Europe, aims to build an infrastructure for digital academic credentials. Its vision extends beyond member institutions to empower learners with greater agency over representing their learned skills and competencies. The goal is to promote more equitable learning outcomes and career pathways by creating a trusted, distributed system for issuing, storing, displaying, and verifying digital credentials.

THE "CREDENTIALS TO EMPLOYMENT: THE LAST MILE" REPORT

This report, supported by Walmart, investigates the barriers to adopting digital credentials for learner and employment records. It highlights the disconnect between the desire to hire and promote based on skills and the current availability of meaningful information. Resumes, both paper and PDF, remain the dominant application tool, indicating a need for more granular, verifiable expressions of skills and competencies.

KEY FINDINGS: EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVES AND SYSTEM DISCONNECTS

Employers want to match applicant skills to job requirements, but current systems lack the granularity and integration needed. Human Resource Management systems, widely used by large employers, often do not support verifiable or digital credentials. The report suggests that vendors are unlikely to add this functionality until employer demand emerges, creating a cycle where employers need to actively request these capabilities.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STAKEHOLDER ADOPTION

The report offers recommendations for various stakeholders. Issuers, like universities, should accelerate digital credential issuance, incorporating more skills and competencies. Employers can issue credentials for skills gained on the job, participate in competency framework development, and rethink hiring processes. Governments can support innovation and remove barriers, while trust providers can help establish reliability by publishing information about validated organizations and quality guidelines.

THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES AND THE EVOLVING EMPLOYMENT LANDSCAPE

Universities can play a role by issuing verifiable digital credentials for all programs, not just traditional degrees, and by including detailed skills and competencies. This approach helps individuals who may not have completed a full degree to still represent their capabilities. The concept of skills-based systems is already gaining traction, emphasizing the urgency for institutions to adapt and issue credentials that reflect ongoing learning and diverse skill acquisition.

DRIVING EQUITY THROUGH DELIBERATE DESIGN AND DEFERRED BIAS

Ensuring equity in digital credential adoption requires addressing technological access, user privacy, and biased data. Systems must be designed to be accessible to all, and the utility of credentials should be research-backed. Removing bias from AI and skill inferencing tools is crucial, necessitating verifiable data and learner involvement in system design. This proactive approach aims to create a more equitable system that benefits all participants.

THE URGENCY OF COORDINATION AND ECOSYSTEM APPROACHES

The future of work is now, and the skills-based system is evolving rapidly. There is an urgent need for coordination among all stakeholders to avoid replicating past mistakes, such as fragmented healthcare records. An ecosystem approach, with a shared vision and clear roadmaps, is essential to ensure sustainability, accessibility, and interoperability, ultimately creating a more equitable system that meets diverse needs and allows for innovation.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

●Books

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Getting Started with Digital Credentials

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Issue verifiable digital credentials with digital signatures.

Accept digital credentials from job applicants.

Rethink hiring processes to focus on required skills and competencies, not just degrees.

Participate in the development of competency frameworks.

Governments can support innovation and remove barriers for digital credential use.

Trust providers can publish information about who they trust and recognized organizations.

Develop maps of the skills ecosystem and enhance evidence-based research on impact.

Leverage technology for validation and demonstration of skills.

Design technology stacks that are accessible to diverse populations.

Ensure credentials are designed to preserve individual privacy.

Engage workers and learners in the development of these systems.

Ensure data informing AI and skill inferencing is verifiable.

Avoid This

Rely solely on traditional diplomas or degrees as the only measure of capability.

Screen candidates based only on degrees from a limited set of universities without considering skills.

Lock digital credentials into single vendor platforms. Ensure portability.

Build talent engagement platforms that are online-only or inaccessible.

Bake in additional surveillance into credentialing processes.

Assume that new technology inherently overcomes existing inequities; be intentional in design.

Common Questions

LERs are systems containing verifiable information about a person's achievements across education, training, and work experiences. They aim to represent a broad range of skills and competencies in a way that can be shared between institutions, employers, and individuals.

Topics

Digital Credentials Learning And Employment Records Credentialing Employer Adoption Jobs For The Future

Mentioned in this video

Organizations

Jobs for the Future

National non-profit organization focused on workforce education systems to accelerate economic advancement and support inclusion.

Digital Credentials Consortium

A group of universities working to build an infrastructure for digital academic credentials to support future education systems.

Impact Employer Network

A network of employers that JFF engages with to discuss how they can better document existing workers' skills and create internal advancement pathways.

Software & Apps

Human Resource Management Systems (HRMs)

Technology used by employers and organizations to manage hiring and career progression, which currently lack support for verifiable credentials.

No Gears

A project JFF is working on to help transitioning service members describe their military accomplishments and translate them into language relevant for civilian jobs.

Books

The Last Mile: Barriers to Adoption of Digital Credentials

A report authored by Anthony Comaiyer and others, focusing on the challenges and recommendations for adopting digital credentials in employment.

Concepts

AI and Skill Inferencing

Technologies used to analyze data and infer skills, which can be biased if the underlying data is not verifiable or representative.

Learning and Employment Records (LERs)

A system containing verifiable information about a person's achievements across various contexts, becoming a more accepted term for digital credentials.

People

Sharon Liu

Executive in Residence at Jobs for the Future, a panelist discussing digital credentials.

Anthony Comaiyer

Primary author of "The Last Mile" report.

Brandon Muramatsu

From MIT Open Learning, a panelist discussing the report.

Locations

Bentonville, Arkansas

Location of a Walmart campus.