Making the Shift: Implementing Verified Skills with Credly

    Emerging tech reshapes workforce dynamics. Discover how Credly's verified digital badges enable easy, credible skills verification for your L&D strategy to respond to a fast-changing environment.
    user-circle Credly Team
    hourglass-01 9 min read
    An employee using the Credly mobile app to view and verify their digital badge

    Emerging technologies like automation and AI are significantly impacting workforce dynamics, with up to 46% of some white-collar tasks potentially done by generative AI. This prompts organizations to rethink their hiring and employee development approaches, emphasizing specific skills over traditional metrics. However, many companies still rely on inferences about skills rather than direct assessments, which has limitations.

    The Difference Between Verified and Inferred Skills

     

    Verified Skills

    Inferred Skills

    Source of data

    Directly obtained and verified through certifications, qualifications or assessments.

    Typically, the skills are based on indirect information from users' activity, behavior, or data available online.

    Accuracy

    Generally considered accurate and reliable, as they are verified through standardized methods.

    Can be inaccurate or incomplete due to subjective assumptions or limited data.

    Context

    Often provides detailed information about an individual’s proficiency and experience.

    May lack context or depth, focusing on surface-level information.

    Validation Process

    Easy to validate through formal evaluation, testing or verification procedures.

    Difficult to fully validate immediately.

    By investing in verifiable digital badges, companies can gain a competitive edge through a more skilled, qualified, and certified employee base.

    Verifiable badges provide tamper-proof credentials that clearly communicate an individual's skills, knowledge, and achievements through detailed metadata. This verified information is far more credible than relying on self-reported or inferred skills data. By tapping into this credible, validated skills data, organizations can more effectively identify qualified candidates, match talent to roles, and track workforce development. [To learn more about the advantages of verified skills data over inferred skills, check out our blog post.]

    Verify Skills with Credly

    Digital credentials offer tangible, verifiable representations of an individual's skills and competencies, enabling companies to easily identify and work with confirmed qualifications.

    Credly's digital badges, for example, adhere to open standards and include detailed metadata specifying the earned skills, criteria met, and comprehensive insights into the credential holder's qualifications. Plus, the use of blockchain technology and expiration dates ensures these digital badges are tamper-proof, providing organizations confidence in the legitimacy of showcased skills.

    1. Verify on the Credly Platform

    Badges can be verified on the Credly platform easily using our ‘Verify’ button. An account is not needed for people who want to verify the authenticity of the badge.

    When a badge expires, an EXPIRED icon will appear next to the earner's badge, and when an individual clicks the "verify" button, they will see a verification popup showing expiration.

     

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    2. Verify via Blockchain

    Organizations can also enable blockchain validation for any digital credentials issued. Once enabled, the digital credential will be published to the blockchain upon acceptance by default or set by the badge earner. The credentials can then be verified in real-time by third parties outside of the Credly platform.

     

    When an outside user views an earner’s badge page, they’ll see a “Verify” button to accomplish that task. Information will then populate letting the user know that the earner has shared the badge to the blockchain.

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    3. Verify on Credly App

    The person viewing the digital credential can verify the digital credential by scanning the QR code or visiting the badge details page.

     

    Verify badge on Credly App

     

    Key Attributes of Verified Digital Badges

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    Metadata

    Metadata provides details about acquired skills, criteria met, and issuance dates, offering comprehensive insights into a credential holder's qualifications.
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    Skill Tags

    Skill tags are often provided by the badge issuer and indicate the skills acquired by the badge earner. These skill tags concisely summarize the individual's proficiencies in particular areas.
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    Expiration Date

    Organizations can set a time limit for each badge to discourage fraudulent activity and encourage continuous learning.
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    Sharing Options

    There are options to share badges on social media, add to an email signature or download a printable version of the badge.
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    Analytics

    You can gain access to trends and real-time data to optimize the program and improve ROI.
    To learn more about the advantages of digital credentials in your L&D strategy and skills planning, speak to our team today!

     

     

     

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