What is the impact of certifications and other credentials on employment, wages, and education? Despite their prevalence in the workforce, there is no complete, centralized source of data on the outcomes or impact of these credentials.
While there have been isolated efforts to collect this data by states, as well as self-reported data and surveys from certification bodies and other credential issuers, outcomes data have historically been fragmented and incomplete.
As the number of certifications and other credentials continue to grow, individuals, employers, and policymakers are increasingly seeking data that measures the impact for these credentials. The demand for this data will continue to increase, particularly as states
develop and implement policies aimed at ensuring their residents earn credentials that lead to better wages and careers.
To help provide this much-needed transparency for these credentials, Workcred is providing strategic guidance to certification bodies in support of CredLens, a nonprofit affiliate of Strada Education Foundation that is designed to
link public and private administrative data sources, offering tailored data analytics and visualizations relating to earnings, employment, and education of credential holders for credential issuers, workforce training providers, funders, and state alliances.
CredLens focuses on outcomes across earnings, employment, & education
Key questions to answer (illustrative, not exhaustive)
Earnings
- How much does someone make after earning the credential?
- How does earning this credential change someone’s earnings over time?
- What’s the ROI & breakeven period of earning this credential?
- How much more do credential holders earn than [counterfactual comparison group]?
Employment
- Where do people work after earning the credential?
- What share of credential holders are employed within 12 months? In a new job? In an aligned role?
- What share of credential holders remain with their employer 6 & 12 months after earning credential?
- What are the most common career pathways for people who hold this credential?
Education
- What are the most commonly "stacked" credentials?
- What share of credential holders earn a license or certification related to the credential?
- For people with [credential X], how many people go on to earn [credential Y]?
Through a partnership with Workcred, CredLens has gained valuable insights into the credential ecosystem. This collaboration has enabled CredLens to work closely with a select group of credentialing bodies who are sharing their perspectives on product and overall strategy.
Together, we're working to create the transparency needed to ensure credentials lead to better wages and career opportunities for credential holders.
VALUE TO CERTIFICATION BODIES
Certification bodies can gain significant value from participating in these data-linking efforts. Certification bodies will gain insight into the impact their certification has on wages and employment, in both the short- and long-term.
Additional information that may also be available includes knowing what other credentials or education a certification holder has earned and what industry sector the certification holder is employed.
This outcomes data would provide needed information about whether earning a specific certification leads to greater economic mobility. In addition, states are developing new policies to encourage attainment of and/or restrict access
to credentials for secondary and postsecondary education. Some states have "credentials of value" lists, which typically use factors such as wage outcomes and the cost of the credential to determine if credentials are included on the list.
Without adequate data, it is difficult to develop policies that could facilitate increased use of certifications or funding to develop new certifications in the United States.
Additional benefits to certification bodies and other credential issuers are detailed in the graphic below.
An article featuring CredLens CEO, Stacy Caldwell, and other stakeholders in this space further highlights the vision behind CredLens and how it will work alongside other organizations that see the importance of gathering better outcomes data.
CredLens’ collaboration with Workcred and others is a vital step forward in improving credential quality and fostering data-driven decision-making.
WORKCRED’S RESEARCH-TO-ACTION FUND
Workcred has established a Research-to-Action Fund to help uncover evidence about the value of certifications to lead to economic mobility and career opportunities.
As part of ongoing initiatives to promote the adoption and use of certifications, the fund will support research on the information and tools needed to drive participation in linking administrative records by certification issuers at scale,
which can significantly improve the data available to individuals and employers about how certifications support career entry and advancement. Workcred’s goal is to help connect data on certifications with educational attainment and aggregate earnings data to better understand career and credential pathways.
Leadership and support for this project is being provided by several prominent assessment organizations. The support and expertise of these organizations will ensure this project will focus on the value of linking public and private data sources to better understand the outcomes of certification.
BACKGROUND
Workcred’s focus on using data to understand outcomes began with a collaboration between Workcred and the National Student Clearinghouse. The focus was to match administrative data from certification bodies, educational attainment and enrollment data from universities, and aggregate wage data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
