Giving learners and earners real power over their skills

Kelly Strong, community educator at Workforce Boulder County, didn’t enter the world of digital credentials because of the technology. She entered because of the skills.

Before her current role, she spent 12 years as a high school social studies teacher. It was those years in which Strong discovered that skills unlock opportunity for students to learn their lessons best. “My argument was always, the skills are what allow you to access the content,” said Strong. Whether she was helping AP students build historical writing habits or working on statewide literacy initiatives, the through-line was clear: skills empower learners to reach higher.

Due to pandemic burnout and health reasons, Strong decided to step away from teaching. She found herself in workforce development, advocating for the importance of skills. “What really struck my interest was skills-forward practices,” she recalled.

Putting learning in one place…and in learners’ hands

Strong sees digital credentials as a remedy for the fragmented nature of how learning is documented today. “You’ve got a transcript over here, a certification here, some professional learning there. They’re all over the place,” said Strong. And worse, people often lose access to records once they leave a job.

Digital credentials give learners control through portability and ownership. But ownership isn’t just about possessing a badge; It’s about understanding what it represents. Inside each credential’s schema is the language of learning: specific skills demonstrated, the evidence required, who validated it, and how. “That’s what I find to be really impactful: all this information that essentially proves, here’s what I’ve done, here’s what I had to do to demonstrate it,” explained Strong.

In turn, credentials build confidence with the learner: “It allows people to really talk about the skills they have,” she said. For Strong, this mirrors the classroom experience of helping students understand learning objectives so they can articulate their progress.

Keeping equity at the center

Strong believes that if the field doesn’t approach digital credentials equity-first, it risks doing harm. Skills-based hiring exists “to open up the talent pipeline,” Strong says, by removing unnecessary degree barriers that push talented people out before they can even apply. But the same technology intended to expand opportunity can easily reinforce inequities if access is uneven.

“There are a lot of people who don’t have a smartphone,” explained Strong. Others have devices but lack digital literacy or run into technical barriers, like emails blocked by employer IT systems. In her team’s demonstration sites, only about 30% of participants successfully claimed their credential. “It inherently creates a divide between folks who have the skills and folks who do not,” said Strong.

Cost is another barrier. Strong has worked in a government-funded workforce center where budgets are already strained. “If there’s a cost associated with it, it’s really hard to make [digital credentials] that public good that it needs to be,” said Strong. If digital credentials only scale among those who already have the technology, skills, and financial means, “we are only widening the divide.”

Helping learners show what they know and what they can do

One of Strong’s central insights is that digital credentials can help learners articulate their abilities in a more meaningful, evidence-based way. Her team focused on 12 essential skills highlighted by the Colorado Workforce Development Council — skills that appear in up to 72% of job postings.

“Anybody can say, I’m a good problem solver,” said Strong. “But it’s really different to communicate that than it is to demonstrate it.” Digital credentials help learners bridge that gap. With schema-based evidence, someone can walk into an interview and say, “Here’s the course I took, here’s the demonstration I completed, and here’s how it shows I can solve problems the way your team needs.”

At the same time, employers increasingly need verifiable proof. “Anybody can pop their stuff into ChatGPT and have a resume that directly aligns with the job posting,” explained Strong. Digital credentials offer a trusted form of validation when resumes all start to look the same.

What must change: Technology, culture and policy

Looking ahead, Strong believes fully empowering learners will require changes across three key themes:

Technology: Improving access, digital skills and interoperability; reducing cost; and addressing misconceptions. “Don’t call it an LER,” jokes Strong, reflecting how confusion can undermine trust.

Culture: Leading with skills-based hiring as the foundation, not the technology itself. Many people know about skills-based hiring and digital credentials, but they might not understand how they connect. As Strong mentioned, equity must stay at the forefront.

Policy: Major investment is needed to reskill the workforce at scale. “We have big trouble if we don’t figure out how to upskill our workforce,” said Strong. Automation is already shifting employer behavior. “We have a really finite amount of time before we miss the boat.”

Kelly Strong is a dynamic workforce development professional with a rich background in project management, instructional design, and professional learning facilitation. With experience spanning workforce development, education, and curriculum design, Strong has a proven track record of leading impactful workshops, coaching professionals, and fostering career growth. As a Community Educator at Workforce Boulder County, she facilitates high-impact learning experiences for job seekers and actively engages in state and national workforce development initiatives. A skilled speaker and leader, Strong is passionate about empowering individuals and organizations with the mindset and tools needed to thrive in the evolving world of work.