⬇️ Inside this issue:

• Your cheatsheet to badge issuers shaping LERs

• Why we need verifiable skills in a world of fake resumes

• Industry Insider: Meet Ian Davidson

INTERESTING READS

🏁 The race is on to define what credentials really mean and who gets to decide.

🚫 Tired of asking for a promotion? Try this smarter strategy instead.

🤟 A shared language framework was just released to help align LERs across sectors.

💸 Most leadership training falls flat. Here’s why it’s often a waste and what actually works.

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ECOSYSTEM

The Credential Landscape: Digital badge issuers

Behind every shiny badge is a platform quietly making it work. These digital badge issuers are the engines that turn “you did it” into something portable, verifiable, and visible to employers. Get the platform right, and learners can carry their skills from classroom to career. Get it wrong, and you risk leaving them with digital stickers no one takes seriously.

This article is part of our Credential Landscape series: your insider’s guide to the LER ecosystem. Last week, we covered organizational issuers. None of these mentions are paid; we’re simply mapping the field as it exists today. Here’s your cheat sheet on the badge issuers shaping the space:

The big names everyone knows

These platforms have been around the longest, have the widest adoption, and are often the first names people associate with digital credentials.

• Credly, owned by Pearson, issues badges for a broad range of universities, employers, and associations, making it one of the largest networks in the market.

• Accredible provides both digital certificates and badges, along with a learner-facing wallet and integrations with major LMS and training systems.

• Canvas Credentials (formerly Badgr) is built into Instructure’s Canvas LMS, allowing institutions to issue badges directly from their learning environment.

The new kids on the badge block

These newer entrants are experimenting with fresh approaches, from blockchain to analytics to combined learning-and-credential platforms.

• Sertifier offers credentialing tools with built-in analytics to help issuers track how badges are being shared and used.

• Proof of Knowledge (POK) uses blockchain to issue verifiable credentials designed for portability and tamper-resistance.

• VerifyEd also leverages blockchain, with a focus on higher education and training providers that want credentials stored securely and shared easily.

• SOLO combines its own coding lessons with digital credentialing, turning micro-learning milestones into portable proof of progress.

• CertBank is a platform that manages certification and credentialing workflows for associations and education providers, with built-in tools for issuing and sharing badges and certificates.

The Open-Standards champions

These platforms put openness at the center, prioritizing interoperability, equity, and portability across systems.

• Digital Promise’s Badge Engine supports credentialing in K–12 and community learning settings, often tied to equity-focused initiatives.

• Open Badge Factory has long emphasized compliance with open standards, making it a fit for schools, nonprofits, and public-sector projects.

• Open Badge CBOX is an open-source solution designed for organizations that want customizable credentialing infrastructure.

• Navigatr helps learners and institutions connect badges and microcredentials into coherent pathways.

• ORCA (Skybridge Skills) takes a regional and ecosystem approach, supporting recognition of skills across multiple providers.

They all play an important role

Digital badge issuers are the plumbing of the skills economy. They may run in the background, but they determine whether credentials are portable, interoperable, and trusted.

Next in our Credential Landscape series we’ll cover digital wallets: the homes where all these badges, certificates, and records actually live.

TOOLS

A free skills platform that delivers

Looking to expand access to digital credentials without building every resource from scratch?

SkillsBuild offers a turnkey platform for learners to gain in-demand tech and career skills—and for institutions to offer quality content without reinventing the wheel.

🎓 Higher ed institutions can use SkillsBuild to complement career services, support non-traditional learners, or power credential pathways in growing fields like cybersecurity and AI.

🏛️ Workforce orgs and community programs can embed SkillsBuild into training efforts, expanding access to industry-backed content and verified digital credentials.

💼 Employers can point jobseekers to trusted, self-paced courses—especially for roles that don’t require degrees but still demand real skills.

Whether you’re launching a new LER initiative, building on-ramps to tech careers, or simply trying to make “skills-first” more than a buzzword SkillsBuild is a smart add to your toolkit.

👉 Explore SkillsBuild and see how it fits into your learner mobility strategy.

HIRING

🎃 The haunted résumé pile: why we need verifiable skills in a world of spooky fakes

I've always liked Halloween because it gives people permission to see themselves from a different perspective. Also I love candy! But this year, the scariest thing I've seen? The hiring landscape.

The other day I told Thania you can literally buy a fake diploma online. Like, a convincing one. With a seal (I won’t link it because I don’t want to give them any traffic). Between AI-generated résumés, deepfake interviews, and good old-fashioned fraud, we've entered what I'm calling the era of the haunted résumé pile. 

And if you think your ATS is ready for this, I have some bad news.

A recent Checkr survey found that only 19 percent of hiring managers feel confident their systems can actually spot a fake applicant. Nearly two-thirds believe AI-powered candidates are already outpacing detection tools. Meanwhile, Equifax data shows 71 percent of HR professionals have encountered misleading info, usually around education or work history. Translation: the ghosts are winning.

And it's not just embellished LinkedIn profiles anymore. Law firms are warning that generative AI now enables fake résumés, altered headshots, and even voice mimicry sophisticated enough to pass screening calls. CBS News recently reported on cybercriminals flooding remote job boards with AI-powered fake profiles using stolen identities. Some are even embedding malware in résumé PDFs, turning your hiring inbox into a literal trap.

Then there are the "accidental ghosts": real candidates whose credentials get lost in translation due to clunky legacy systems or incompatible file formats. The result? Credibility blurs, trust evaporates, and everyone's wearing a mask.

Verifiability is the whole game now

Here's the thing about skills-first hiring: it only works if you can actually verify the skills. Otherwise, it's just vibes-based recruiting with extra steps.

Without verifiable credentials, the system unravels fast. Employers risk costly mis-hires. Honest workers get overlooked because their real experience is buried in an unsearchable PDF. And the entire promise of skills-based hiring collapses if every claim requires manual detective work.

So what's the fix?

Verifiable credentials: digital records that are cryptographically signed and instantly checkable. Think of them like a tamper-proof seal on your qualifications. The W3C just released Verifiable Credentials 2.0, which makes these records more interoperable and privacy-friendly. Digital badges (the ones with embedded metadata, not just JPEGs) work the same way: they include issuer info, timestamps, and verification logic baked right in.

The magic happens when systems start speaking the same language. Standards like Open Badges 3.0, W3C VC 2.0, and emerging frameworks like LER-RS allow credentials to move across platforms without needing custom integrations. Add digital wallets (basically an upgraded credential backpack) and suddenly learners can collect, manage, and share verified records with employers who can actually trust them.

But tech alone won't cut it.

We also need governance: a chain of trust so systems (and humans) know who issued a credential, whether it's been revoked, and how it fits within different frameworks. Credential Engine calls this the backbone of sustainable ecosystems. Think caller ID for credentials: you don't just see a number, you see a verified name.

Time to become ghostbusters

The haunted résumé pile isn't a seasonal gimmick but it's a symptom of a deeper crisis. When we can't verify what people know, opportunists sneak in, real talent gets ghosted, and trust fractures.

But the good news is the tools already exist!

Verifiable credentials, interoperable standards, LER frameworks: they're all here. We just need to use them. By insisting on verifiability, we shift hiring from a ghost hunt to a system where truth actually has a shot.

If hiring feels haunted, it's time we all grab a proton pack.

INDUSTRY INSIDER

Meet Ian Davidson

Ian is the Chief Growth Officer for SmartResume and the author of the annual LER Ecosystem SmartReport. Ian spends 75% of his energy growing the SmartResume business and 25% of his energy growing the LER ecosystem overall. Ian co-leads the LER-Resume Standard Adoption Committee and is a board member for HR Open Standards. Prior to joining SmartResume, Ian served as the Vice President of Business Development for ZipRecruiter.

BY THE NUMBERS

Physician workforce has room for demographic improvement

Hispanic people make up 20% of the U.S. population but just 7% of physicians, highlighting persistent gaps in representation across the healthcare workforce. Black populations represent 12% of the total population but only 6% of physicians, and AIAN and NHPI groups are also underrepresented.

^{Source: KFF – Physician Workforce Diversity by Race and Ethnicity}

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