Key Past Work
Building Credentials for Regenerative Medicine
Workcred worked with the Standards Coordinating Body for Gene, Cell, and Regenerative Medicines and Cell-Based Drug Discovery to develop assessment-based certificate programs in cell counting and nucleic acid.
Credential Transparency Initiative
Workcred was one of the founders of the Credential Transparency Initiative (CTI), along with partners George Washington Institute of Public Policy and Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Center for Workforce Development. Funded by Lumina Foundation, the CTI sought to ease confusion among employers, students, job seekers, and workers about certifications, degrees, certificates, licenses, badges, and other micro-credentials—all of which are often difficult to understand, translate, and differentiate. The initiative grew and became Credential Engine, a separate nonprofit organization that is creating and scaling a first-of-its-kind Credential Registry that will enable users to search for and compare credentials, just as travel apps are used to compare flights, rental cars, and hotels.
Economic Opportunity Project
Workcred worked with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) on a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration to support CEO’s Economic Opportunity Project, which helps CEO’s clients – young adults (aged 18-24) recently released from incarceration – to gain skills and work experience needed for a successful transition to a stable, productive life.
As part of the grant, Workcred helped CEO staff to:
- Create a comprehensive understanding of each young adult participant's concerns, needs, strengths, capabilities, and interests;
- Analyze transitional jobs that young adult participants obtain to enable participants to communicate their skills and capabilities to prospective employers;
- Evaluate credentials for potential inclusion in career pathways programs to ensure that the credentials meet criteria for quality, validity, and market value; and
- Provide guidance on how to more effectively build and expand partnerships with employers.
Workcred assisted Houston Community College in the creation of a system-wide process for evaluating quality credentials, to help drive equity and completion in the Texas higher education system.
National Apprenticeship Program for Management System Auditors
In partnership with Workcred, the Independent Association of Accredited Registrars created the first-ever, national apprenticeship program for management systems auditors, officially recognized by the U.S Department of Labor. This program trains and prepares the next generation of talent to audit organization-wide management systems in industries as diverse as aerospace, manufacturing, health care, food processing, and beyond, and marks a major advancement for management systems auditors and the many businesses that rely on them to ensure the continuous improvement of their companies.
Reducing Hospital-Acquired Infections
In an initiative aimed at reducing hospital-acquired infections, Workcred worked with the ASSE International chapter of IAPMO to promote within the healthcare community a certification for technical tradespeople who work in healthcare facilities and must understand infection control. Specifically, Workcred consulted on the scope of the certification and related competencies; gathered support from major healthcare organizations; assisted in the development of an advisory group and developed
recommendations regarding viability and moving forward with the program.
Other key projects included:
- Exploration of the credentialing needs of older (age 50+) workers, specifically, which credentials are most useful for older workers interested in rejoining the labor force, with an emphasis on non-degree credentials;
how older workers identify credentials that may be suitable for their professional goals; what barriers exist to the attainment of these credentials; and how credentialing organizations can meet the needs of older individuals looking to re-enter the labor market.
- Conducted research to determine the benefits and barriers of developing a credential for a workforce coaching training program.
- Assisted a state in the development of an industry certification/licensure recognition program.
- Worked with national standard setting and regulatory organizations to determine whether professionals who obtain specific credentials should be considered qualified.
