Make All Learning Count

... about learning achievements between learning institutions, businesses, and individuals. LERs include data on discrete achievements from specific education institutions and employers, building a collective profile of achievement that represents the entirety of an individual’s experience from cradle to career. LERs can also provide deeper insight to the specific skills that are represented by a degree or certification and how those skills align to career pathways. Developing and adopting LER technology will create critical benefits for individuals and employers and will improve the fairness of our labor markets and the competitiveness of our workforce.

LER technology enables us to dynamically respond to the labor market challenges of our current moment by providing a foundation upon which we can build infrastructures, systems and services that support a future in which individuals are empowered to pursue lifelong learning and career advancement, to demonstrate their capabilities on a level playing field, and support employers in finding and investing in talent. The LER gives individuals ownership of a validated and detailed record of their skills and achievements, and transparently surfaces those skills to current and prospective employers and educational institutions—all while preserving an individual’s right to own and control that data.

LERs store validated digital records that can span an individual's education, training, employment, licensing and identity in a digital wallet that can be transmitted between individuals, prospective employers and education or training providers. LERs document learning in multiple contexts -- from formal classroom education at higher education institutions to informal on-the-job training in a workplace. They can also record credentials earned through online programs or military training, as well as additional useful information like earnings. LERs have the potential to improve both hiring efficiency and equity.

LERs can improve hiring efficiency by assembling workforce development stakeholders through one platform. According to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board Digital Infrastructure Working Group, "LERs can seamlessly record, validate, transmit, and interpret information about learning achievements between learning institutions, businesses, and individuals."

LERs may improve hiring equity primarily through adherence to principles of skills-based hiring. By elevating the employability of workers without traditional education but equivalent work experience, LER systems can increase access to family-sustaining jobs for individuals who have experienced barriers to higher education. This skills-based system also accounts for increasingly common non-traditional forms of work experience, including participation in the gig economy. As a digital system, LERs can also easily conceal demographic identifiers during the hiring process, dismantling discriminatory practices that result from unconscious bias.

LERs span education, the workplace, and service and life experience. They offer several advantages to traditional CVs or resumes.

They are validated, digitally signed by the individual or organization who has issued the credential. This means that when viewing the credential, an institution or employer can ascertain that it is valid and untampered with.

They are developed in accordance with open standards – data models and frameworks that are collaboratively designed and maintained.

LERs are learner controlled. Traditional credentials may be stored in databases belonging to institutions or clearinghouses. However, once a learner receives a validated LER, they retain access to and control of that data and are able to decide how, when, and under what circumstances they want to share it with potential educators or employers in the pursuit of opportunities.

They can be issued for large scale achievements like degrees or diplomas or more granularly for individual courses or even particular skills or competencies. This means learners and earners can curate their experiences obtained through traditional or non-traditional means and employers can more easily identify talent with a desired skill set.