Workcred Goes on Air: Building a Quality Workforce with Quality Credentialing

06/02/2021

Workcred Goes on Air: Building a Quality Workforce with Quality Credentialing

Marking an exciting debut in broadcast media, Workcred staff is joining several episodes of RVN Television's Morning Coffee Expert Series to discuss various workforce and credentialing-related topics in 2021. In the first video of the series, Roy Swift, Workcred's executive director, describes how the work landscape has changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic and how certifications and short-term certificates can provide a faster pathway to good jobs.

Along with guest Lance Welter of Welter Associates, Dr. Swift discussed how the pandemic has had a major effect on frontline workers, such as those in the hospitality sector who have faced job loss and uncertainty. He noted that times of economic hardship underscore the need for upskilling, as people figure out the best and most expedient pathway for jobs with more stability. The broadcast also highlighted the shift to be more transparent with skills. Task statements, for example, clearly articulate what employees can bring to the organizations.

"Certifications and certificates are really one of the answers to short pathways to good jobs," said Dr. Swift, noting that these alternatives to degrees are available from the community college to the university level. He added that professional societies also contribute with short-term options. "Often, certifications may not require a degree, but [rather just] some experience that somebody may have. It is a matter of taking an examination and being able to demonstrate to employers and signal what the skills are that [candidates] may have."

Dr. Swift also noted Workcred's efforts in convening a network of certification bodies to explore the potential for data-linking efforts to improve understanding of the value of certifications, the labor-market outcomes of individuals who hold them, and insights into successful career pathways into the workforce. The network, funded by Lumina Foundation, is working with the National Student Clearinghouse—a non-profit and non-governmental organization that provides educational reporting, data exchange, verification, and research services—to link data from certification bodies, educational attainment and enrollment data from universities, and aggregate labor market outcomes from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Morning Coffee episode is Workcred's debut guest spot; future episodes featuring Workcred's team and other experts will cover additional key trends impacting the workforce, how to determine quality of credentials, credentialing trends, and more.

Access the first on-demand video episode, which aired in May on RVN Television.