Designing a Fairer Skills-to-Workforce Ecosystem
Curated resources from the Center for Skills Validation.
Validating skills wherever they’re gained
How to ensure workforce talent acquisition is fair has been the focus of decades of research and technology developments. A new resource from the Education Design Lab pulls together curated resources from the Center for Skills Validation that have this aim in mind.
Learning from the field: A collection of skills validation publications.
Contains something for stakeholders across the skills ecosystem.
Featuring briefs, frameworks, and field-tested prototypes, the resource provides access to insights from stakeholders and the latest thinking from experts focused on validating skills wherever they’re gained.
With an emphasis on practical tools and big-picture insights, the resource will be relevant to:
Job seekers
Skills validation designers
Recruiters / Skills validators
Policymakers
Innovators
Getting the most out of the resource
With a broad range of skills-based resources available, here are some tips for approaching the resource from the perspective of different stakeholders.
Job seekers
Tip: Scan the entire resource to gain an overview of where a skills-based approach to hiring is going.
The following resources will be particularly relevant:
Skills Validation Market Scan: Mapping the landscape of tools and practices
Stories of Validation: How learners demonstrate and gain recognition for skills
We asked a few AI chatbots about skills validation. Here’s what they said
If you are interested in how your skills might be validated in future, also check out overviews of the methods and prototypes that are being developed under the Innovations in Validation: Prototypes + Learning from the Skills Validation Network section.
Skills validation designers
Tip: Focus on the Tools + Frameworks for Designers and Practitioners section of the resource.
The resources featured include:
Toward a Leveled Durable Skills Competency Framework
A Skills Validation Guidebook: 10 Steps to Design a High-Quality Skills Validator
Designing Next-Gen Skills Assessments: A Multi-Stakeholder, Iterative Approach
For an overview of emerging prototypes being developed by the Skills Validation Network, including stakeholder feedback, check out the following resources under the Innovations in Validation: Prototypes + Learning from the Skills Validation Network section:
Skills Validation Network: Year in Review
What + How: A formula for skills validation methods
Introducing Skills Quest: Turning unseen skills into validated assets
Introducing Gig Translator: Unveiling the hidden skills of gig workers
Recruiters / Skills validators
Tip: Find practical tools in each section of the resource to help you identify validation strategies.
Relevant resources include:
What + How: A formula for skills validation methods
Workforce Quality Rubric: A tool to evaluate skills assessments and validators
Can self-assertions in the hiring process be strengthened by skills validation?
Policymakers
Tip: Access insights from the Research + Insights from the Field section, including lessons from pilots, use cases and experts.
In this section you will find:
Stakeholder Insights on Skills Validation
Skills Validation Market Scan: Mapping the landscape of tools and practices
Stories of Validation: How learners demonstrate and gain recognition for skills
Design Insights: Early Lessons in Validating Skills and Lived Experiences
Innovators
Tip: Scan the entire resource to identify insights on the kind of innovations happening now in skills validation.
Learn lessons from a range of perspectives, including from…
The market
Stakeholder Insights on Skills Validation
Skills Validation Market Scan: Mapping the landscape of tools and practices
Learners
Stories of Validation: How learners demonstrate and gain recognition for skills
Tools
Design Insights: Early Lessons in Validating Skills and Lived Experiences
Workforce Quality Rubric: A tool to evaluate skills assessments and validators
A Skills Validation Guidebook: 10 Steps to Design a High-Quality Skills Validator
Designing Next-Gen Skills Assessments: A Multi-Stakeholder, Iterative Approach
Skills Validation Network: Year in Review
What + How: A formula for skills validation methods
Designing a fair skills validation ecosystem
Ensuring that skills validation works for everyone takes transformation across the skills ecosystem.
This resource from the Education Design Lab showcases some of the work being undertaken with that purpose in mind.
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Skills-based hiring series
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