⬇️ Inside this issue:

• What’s the real cost of launching an LER?

• Sytease shares how veteran talent is getting lost in translation

• Our picks for what to read, watch, and listen this week

INTERESTING READS

🛡️ The Pentagon is pushing skills-based hiring in cyber to modernize its digital defense strategy.

📚 Not every educator is on board with AI. Some math teachers are opting out of tech-focused PD.

💼 Economic jitters ahead? Smart strategies to recession-proof your role before the market shifts.

FINANCES

What Does It Really Cost to Launch an LER?

Let’s be honest: asking “how much does it cost to launch an LER?” is like asking, “how much does it cost to build a website?” The answer? It depends. A lot.

Like any digital system, the price tag on a Learning and Employment Record (LER) depends on scope: How complex is the infrastructure? How many systems need to talk to each other? Are you starting from scratch or building on top of what you already have?

In an effort to demystify the dollars (and support smart decision-making), we’ve scoped out three sample LER projects—from lightweight to large-scale—to give you a sense of what real implementation could look like.

Small: a single or discrete series of badges

One non-credit badge (e.g., digital literacy or leadership)

• Approximate Cost: $15K–$30K

• Typical Deliverables: Badge design, metadata standard alignment, issuance workflow, light staff training, and roadmapping the path ahead (next steps).

• Vendors: Digital credentialing platforms, visual design, light technical setup and support.

• Outcomes: Learners earn and share verified badges that align with open, interoperable standards; the program team gains issuing capability. This is generally a good scope for pilots, idea incubators, or targeted proofs of concept.

Medium: a skills-aligned pathway

A “stack” of 5–10 non-credit badges mapped to an occupation or role - this is generally oriented into a “pathway” to show where learners start and what opportunity becomes available to them at the end of their journey.

• Cost: $30K–$80K

• Typical Deliverables: Competency framework alignment, badge sequence, learning design, communications rollout, employment mapping

• Vendors: Instructional designers, credentialing platforms with pathway logic, taxonomy consultants, workforce transformation advisors, talent marketplaces.

• Outcomes: Learners advance along a clear path with key value propositions identified; the issuer captures key data to inform success, scale, and sustainability, and employers better understand signal value.

Large: A full LER ecosystem

Integrated credit/non-credit credentials with learner control, institutional oversight (usually system-centric), and aligned employer opportunities.

• Cost: $200K–$1M+

• Deliverables: Platform integration (LMS/SIS/KMS, typically), governance models, stakeholder engagement, data privacy policies, reporting tools.

• Vendors: System integrators, policy advisors, platform providers, legal/compliance experts.

• Outcomes: Scalable credential infrastructure aligned with institutional or statewide goals

LERs don’t have to be massive to make an impact. Start where you are, scale what works, and build toward the future. Like Nathan Furr said, "Nail It Then Scale It.”

HIRING TOOL

See the skills before you make the hire

You’re hiring for skills—but are your tools actually showing you who can do the job?

Skillfully puts real candidate performance front and center. No guesswork, no keyword fluff—just clear, structured insights into how applicants actually communicate, collaborate, and solve problems in real-world scenarios.

• Evaluate candidates with dynamic, job-specific simulations

• Get skill-by-skill breakdowns and transparent scoring

• Surface top talent with data—not bias

• Make faster, better-informed hiring decisions

You can’t build a skilled workforce on résumés alone. Skillfully gives you the visibility (and the confidence) to hire based on what matters most—real ability.

👉 See Skillfully in action and put skills-based hiring into practice.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Veteran talent is getting lost in translation—What I learned from my husband’s journey

My husband had just completed ten years of honorable service in the military. He held two advanced degrees and had received over a million dollars’ worth of elite training from the Department of Defense. By every conventional measure, he should have transitioned smoothly into a thriving civilian career.

I thought we had everything covered—every resume polished, every contact leveraged, every best practice followed.

But it didn’t matter.

Even my 15 years of experience, working alongside the military community—supporting military transition programs, prepping service members for interviews, and helping companies understand the incredible value veterans bring to the civilian workforce, still I couldn't help him.

Because my husband’s experience long confirmed a deeper issue I saw within the military transition space.

His military occupation didn’t “easily crosswalk or translate to a civilian equivalency on the surface. However, he did have a skill set that was widely applicable to almost any civilian industry. Yet, time after time, he faced rejection—polite, vague messages that his experience "didn’t quite align." He was being told, in so many words, that his years of leadership, strategic global operations, and discipline didn’t translate.

This is not a unique story. In fact, one in three veterans face underemployment today—a rate over 15% higher than their civilian counterparts. While veteran unemployment is at an all-time low, that number masks the real issue. The problem isn’t finding a job; it’s being seen as qualified for the right job.

Why military skill translation is still broken

Over the years, we’ve seen growing efforts to help veterans transition into civilian employment—DoD SkillBridge programs, resume translation tools, military occupation crosswalks, and employer-led veteran hiring programs. These initiatives are meaningful, and many have achieved important wins. But they only go so far.

At the root of the issue is a systemic failure in skill translation. We lack a universal, trusted method to convert military experience into terms that civilian employers understand and trust. Veterans who served in roles without direct civilian equivalents are especially affected—often left to explain their experience on a two-page resume reviewed in seven seconds by someone unfamiliar with military language.

We’ve placed the burden of translation on the wrong people—on veterans who’ve never worked in the civilian sector and on frontline recruiters who often lack the tools to interpret military experience. We’re not failing our veterans because they lack skills and value—we’re failing them because we don’t have the right lens to see that value.

A better path forward

For decades, hiring systems have prioritized degrees and job titles over skills and competencies. For veterans, this presents a particular challenge. Their training records are vast and impressive but not built for civilian interpretation. Military titles and acronyms don’t easily map to civilian roles, and many veterans are left trying to squeeze a decade of experience into a format that employers barely have time to review.

What if we had a better way?

Skills-based hiring strategies that leverage the use of digital credentials and Learning and Employment Records (LERs) represent a new frontier in hiring—one that focuses on what someone can do, not just where they’ve worked or what their title was.

LERs and digital badges offer something that has been missing for far too long: validated skill translation. They provide a trustworthy record of a veteran’s skills, competencies, and training—expressed in language that civilian employers understand. They eliminate guesswork. They reduce friction. And most importantly, they shift the burden of translation away from the veteran, and onto a system designed to honor and highlight their full capabilities.

In my work, I’ve seen the power of these tools firsthand. They’re not just digital resumes—they’re bridges. They connect military experience to civilian opportunity in a way that is clear, credible, and actionable.

Real solutions: The Manufacturing Readiness Badge Initiative

One project I’m especially proud to support at the Manufacturing Institute is the Manufacturing Readiness Badge Initiative. With over 500,000 open jobs in the manufacturing sector, this project uses digital badges to map military experience directly to in-demand civilian roles in manufacturing. Veterans bring a wealth of skills in leadership, logistics, operations, safety, and problem-solving— skills that align perfectly with modern manufacturing requirements. 

By clearly documenting and validating those skills, we create scalable, meaningful pathways into good-paying jobs. We provide employers with the tools and confidence to hire military talent—and give veterans the dignity of roles that match their true potential.

A Call to Action

If you’ve read this far, thank you. I hope this story helps you understand both the urgency and the opportunity before us.

Veterans have served our country with honor. Now it’s time we serve them—with systems that recognize their value, with tools that unlock new career paths, and with a commitment to equity that doesn’t stop at “thank you for your service.”

LERs and digital credentials won’t fix everything. But they are a powerful and practical step forward—one we can take right now.

Let’s stop asking veterans to prove their worth and build a system that sees it clearly.

VOCABULARY

Ontology 

noun

A formal, structured way to define the relationships between concepts—such as skills, credentials, job roles, and learning outcomes. It helps machines (and humans!) understand how things connect, so systems can work together more intelligently.

🧐 Thania’s translation: “Basically, it’s how your resume and a hiring platform become BFFs. An ontology makes sure everyone’s speaking the same language when it comes to what a ‘skill’ or a ‘job’ really means.”

☕ Robert’s take: “Ontologies are essential for interoperability and AI in the skills ecosystem. They allow different platforms to ‘talk’ to each other and make smarter, data-driven decisions—matching people to credentials, credentials to jobs, and systems to solutions.”

Improve your skill-based hiring vocabulary at Learn & Work Ecosystem Library.  Search by topic | glossary.

INDUSTRY INSIDER

Meet Angela Consani

Angela Consani is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Bioscience Core Skills Institute. She’s a former microbiology professor turned systems thinker, working with schools, employers, and national partners to build more equitable, skills-first pathways into biotech careers.

We’re big on networking and connection at Skills Scoop. Each week, we want to feature professionals at all stages of their journey to foster a community where everyone can learn, share, and grow together. Want to be in the spotlight or know someone who should? Fill out this form and let’s make it happen!

READ, WATCH, LISTEN

Our recommendations to check out over the weekend, or during your next walk or workout to further your knowledge about LERs and digital credentials.

📖 Read: “Dismissed By Degrees” HBS whitepaper

📺 Watch: “North Putnam” 
A year at a public school in rural Indiana chronicles how community and education intersect in the American Midwest.

🎧 Listen: “Why Amazon is doubling down on micro credentials” by Credentials Unscripted

FOR FUN’SIES

💌 Have more feedback? Reply to this email and tell us. We read each one.

🗣️ Want to be featured as a contributor? We’re looking for industry people to write editorials. 

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