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Many organizations continue to prioritize skills-based hiring, where candidates’ skills are emphasized beyond traditional credentials, such as academic degrees. However, as I previously shared from a Harvard Business School and Burning Glass Institute study of 11,300 roles, even after removing degree requirements from select job postings, most firms saw only a 3.5 percentage point increase in hiring candidates without degrees, less than 1 in 700 hires. One approach being explored to close this gap is the use of digital credentials, which are verified, portable records of skills earned through coursework, training, or experience, often represented by a digital badge. I recently shared a 47-page report by Jobs for the Future (JFF), which provides a more in-depth exploration of these tools. Against this backdrop, Siemens recently demonstrated what this looks like in practice. The company launched Expedite – Skills for Industry, a four-course microcredential designed for engineering students, covering topics ranging from product lifecycle management to AI. It connects classroom theory to job-ready skills while also building collaboration, project management, and business process knowledge. Upon completion, learners earn a verifiable digital badge that can be displayed in portfolios or on social media to attract recruiters and inform hiring managers. As efforts like this gain traction, now may be a good time for organizations to review their hiring practices, upgrade recruiting technology, and enable systems to act on verified skills data.
