SKILLS BASICS
Skills are the building blocks, the translation piece and the common language at the intersection of learners, learning institutions and employers.
The Skills Ecosystem is a dynamic and constantly evolving landscape. Credentialate sits at the centre of this ecosystem, and acts as the Skills Core, the connective tissue that integrates with each segment so that you can work within the entire ecosystem.
Credentialate makes skills visible, allowing connection from your curriculum to recognition of learning. To understand the Skills Ecosystem properly, you need to understand how skills relate to the core and secondary segments of the market. Below you’ll find a range of information and resources to help put skills and the Skills Ecosystem into context.
Skills basics FAQs
Skill data is any data point that is in reference to an individual’s skills and includes data that measures what someone can do (Miller, 2021). Some examples of skill data include skill assessment results, experience details, skill proficiency levels, information on what skills people are learning, skills developed through degrees, certifications or licenses and training. Skill data is a snapshot of skill sets at any given time and can be measured any way you need it.
Workplace skills comprise a mix of soft skills (such as teamwork, leadership) and domain specific skills (such as digital literacy, programming or first aid). Competencies represent the knowledge and behaviours required to perform the skill.
Read 21st-Century Skills – What They Are and Why They’re Important
Rich skill descriptors (RSD) are machine-readable skill definitions that can be referenced from digital credentials, learner records, pathways, and job profiles. RSD’s are published by skill authors, and conform to a standard global schema. They contain the context around skills – rich metadata and alignment to provide a universal skills vocabulary.
Unlike traditional assessments, where there is a definitive right and wrong answer, workplace and transferable skills are far more intangible to measure against. Performance-based or authentic assessments ask learners to utilise their workplace skills to problem solve typical workplace challenges and are scored against grading rubrics that allow educators to assess without bias.
Watch Authentic Assessment of Critical Skills and Career Readiness
Credentialate systematically creates a rich personal evidence record – showing alignment to a global standard skills description through rich skill descriptors (RSDs), qualitative and quantitative evidence of skill achievement, frameworks and occupational and job market data. Our recent market research survey revealed that just 33% of college graduates felt confident of their ability to speak to their strengths and differentiate themselves. With a Credentialate rich personal evidence record, learners’ skills become visible and are positioned in context with job markets.
A Provisional Evidence Record recognises progression towards mastery during a study period. Learners receive timely feedback, gain confidence as they progress and can share proof of their learning throughout and not just at the end of their studies. Provisional Evidence Records use gamification to track and drive learner progress. At the end of a course, learners receive an immutable digital credential that can be instantly verified. Provisional Evidence Records make learners’ skills visible and are positioned in context with job markets through rich skill descriptors (RSDs), detailed evidence of skill achievement including artefacts, framework alignments and occupational and job market data.
Micro-credentials are assessed, short-form courses that are typically developed to meet a specific skills gap, rather than replace the learning a full degree provides. As such, skills are integral to the creation of micro-credentials. It is usually skills that are recognised upon completion in the form of a digital badge.
Read Micro-Credentials – What They Are and Why They’re Valuable
Skills are the universal language and the bridge from learning to earning.
For micro-credentials to have meaning in the market, and provide currency for learners, they must first be mapped to skills and competencies. The skills and competency data is then aligned to industry and/or National frameworks and to labour market data, providing visibility and transparency to all in the skills ecosystem.
Read Integrating Industry, Educators and Skills-Based Curricula
Most digital badges recognise the overall course outcomes, with no recognition of individual learner achievement. With Credentialate, a personal evidence record is created for each learner, recognising the skills and competencies in the curriculum and the learner’s qualitative and quantitative level of attainment against them. Skills and competencies are aligned to frameworks, providing a meaningful benchmark for employers. Job market data is referenced, giving the learner full visibility of the learner-to-earner journey.
As learners participate in micro-credentials, alternative learning and non-formal learning activities, the evidence of that learning, in a verifiable digital badge, can be collected in a digital backpack or wallet and ‘stacked’ together. This provides learners and employers with a secure and flexible way for both parties to address the skills-gap with confidence.
If micro-credentials, alternative learning courses and non-formal activities are aligned to existing frameworks, they have the opportunity to be credited towards the attainment of a formal-learning credential, such as a 2- or 4-year degree. Credentialate addresses the gap between micro-credentials and the world of work by enabling competencies to be aligned to frameworks. Details of the framework association are displayed within the personal evidence record, providing a way for employers to more easily understand the learner’s level of skill. Frameworks from all corners of the world can be imported or alternatively, the Edalex team can provide assistance to institutions with framework data and alignment.
The Learner Dashboard in Credentialate displays provisional and earned badges, provides a cohort comparison, displays attendance statistics and is accessible by multiple stakeholders. A digital backpack is included, where learners have full access and control over their credentials – while they’re learning and as they continue on into employment or further education.
The Learner Passport is an EdTech solution that enables the collection over time of formal and/or informal credentials for academic and non-academic achievements that can be curated, displayed and shared. It comprises digital credentials, credential evidence collected from multiple sources, an online portfolio, access to the world’s largest RSD library and a comprehensive learner profile. Within the Learner Passport the kind of data that can be collected and shared includes – Personal Details; Educational Background; Learning Experiences; Achievements and Certifications; Skills and Competencies; and Reflection and Growth
Particularly for marginalised groups, the Learner Passport promotes equity and social mobility, creating a more even playing field. The Learner Passport enables recognition of learners’ skills and helps them showcase their strengths.
Competency-based education (CBE) is a framework for teaching and assessment of learning based on predetermined competencies, with a focuse on outcomes and real-world performance. CBE is a flexibile learning model where learners can progress at their own pace and depth. It recognises what the learner already knows and focuses on learners’ demonstrated capabilities of desired learning outcomes instead of standarised assessment. CBE supports learners with diverse knowledge backgrounds, literacy levels, and other related aptitudes. Learners are able to prove their understanding on more personal and authentic terms. CBE can reduce inefficiency (including time spent learning) and increase pedagogical precision and achievement.
Mastery-based education is an instructional model where learners progress through a curriculum only after they master a preceding level of knowledge or skill. Mastery levels are typically predetermined by an insitution may progress from a conceptual understanding to mastery of a subject with a number of levels inbetween. Learners move at their own pace and their learning path is determined by their progression of mastery, rather than the time they spend on a topic. Assessment in a master-based learning framework may not follow traditional lines, and could include performance-based or authentic assessments, learners may have multiple opportunities to be assessed and grading may not adhere to traditional rubrics. Mastery-based learning focuses on concepts as much as skills, as opposed to competency-based education (CBE), which focuses on demonstrated capabilities.
A digital backpack is an online space where learners can store, curate and share their digital credentials. Learners retain management and control over their digital digital backpack after they complete their learning and can continue to add credentials as they engage in lifelong learning. Digital credentials can be organised into collections of complementary skills and be shared as a skill set with prospective employers and others.
Credentialate is highly interoperable and has been designed from the ground up to integrate with existing platforms within education IT ecosystems. Harvesting can occur from leading LMSs and/or other third-party platforms, such as assessment tools. In Credentialate, harvesting and badge issuing can be scheduled or triggered by external systems – such as the Student Management System (SMS). In turn, Credentialate can provide the SMS with details on earned micro-credentials and evidence pages for inclusion in learner records.
Start with Credentialate to:
- collect and aggregate learner data from multiple sources into a centralised system
- standardise and align it to skills, frameworks and job market data
- issue a personal evidence record with qualitative and quantitative detail
- track and manage skills achievement outside of course silos
Learn More About Credentialate
Explore the skills landscape with us
The skills revolution is happening quickly. We’re continuously developing resouces, talking with leaders in the skills space and exploring the skills ecosystem as it evolves. We invite you to join us:
- Read the Edalex Blog
- Watch Video Interviews with edTech leaders
- Browse our library of Guides on foundational topics
Next Steps
