Leading organizations are using Credly by Pearson to make workforce skills more visible, trusted, and actionable. Across top issuing programs, a consistent pattern emerges: the most successful credentialing strategies are designed around business outcomes, aligned to priority skills, supported by flexible learning pathways, and measured through data. Together, these practices help organizations connect learning to workforce readiness, employee growth, and broader market recognition.
This report highlights best practices from leading Credly issuers, including Cisco, Google Cloud, ISC2, PMI, and SAP, as highlighted in Top Credly Issuers Webinar . Collectively, these organizations have issued nearly 10 million digital badges, demonstrating how strategic credentialing programs can scale skills validation across global workforces and ecosystems.
Organizations are navigating rapid shifts in work, technology, and talent expectations. As skills evolve, leaders need more than participation data from learning programs. They need trusted evidence of what people know, what they can do, and how those capabilities connect to business priorities.
Digital credentials help close that gap by making verified skills visible to employees, managers, employers, and broader professional networks.
Top Credly issuers approach credentialing as a strategic capability, not a standalone recognition tactic. Their programs are intentionally designed to connect skills, learning, workforce goals, and measurable outcomes.
Leading issuers define the purpose of their credentialing programs before designing badges or pathways. They begin by clarifying the workforce outcomes they want to influence, such as readiness, mobility, capability building, or ecosystem engagement.
Successful programs make the connection between credentials and skills explicit. By tying credentials to role requirements, labor market demand, and validated capabilities, organizations create stronger signals of what learners know and can apply.
Leading organizations recognize that skills development is rarely linear. They use credentials to support multiple entry points, role-based progression, specialized skill building, and ongoing renewal.
Strong credentialing programs use data to understand adoption, engagement, sharing, and learner progression. These insights help teams refine program design and demonstrate value to stakeholders.
The following practices can help organizations design, launch, and scale credentialing programs with greater clarity and impact.
With a strategic, outcomes-first approach, leading enterprises are improving how employees build, demonstrate, and apply skills. Credentialing programs create stronger alignment between skills development and business priorities, giving leaders clearer visibility into workforce capability, readiness, and emerging skill gaps.
Employees benefit, too. When credentials map to roles and progression, learning feels more personal, relevant, and connected to career growth. Recognizing achievement along the way also builds engagement and momentum.
Well-designed badges and certifications also strengthen proof of capability. They signal verified, applied knowledge rather than participation alone, increasing confidence in workforce skills across managers, teams, and stakeholders.
As programs scale, automation and repeatable governance help enterprises issue credentials efficiently while maintaining consistency, learner experience, and program integrity.
The impact also extends externally. Shareable credentials increase talent visibility across professional ecosystems, supporting mobility, employer brand, and broader recognition of skills.
Together, these programs create value for both organizations and learners.