From skills to growth

Ufi VocTech Trust and the RSA are delighted to unveil the recommendations of the Digital Badging Commission.

Over the past 18 months, the Digital Badging Commission has brought together leading minds across education, technology, policy and employment to reimagine and define the essential steps required for digital badges and credentials to transform learning, recognition, and opportunity in the UK. 

Our collective vision is clear: now is the time for digital badges and credentials to unlock a more inclusive, dynamic and skills-rich economy. 

The recommendations offer a clear roadmap to revolutionise the UK’s skills system by using digital badges to: 

• Make skills more visible, portable and economically valuable
• Support employers to source and develop the skills they need
• Enable the government to unlock talent and address the challenges of economic inactivity and regional growth

Join Ufi VocTech Trust, the RSA, Phil Smith and senior leaders from education, industry, politics and technology as we reveal the Commission’s far-reaching recommendations for practical, transformative system-wide change. 

Background

The UK’s current systems for recognising skills and experience are not fit for purpose. They are failing to keep pace with the needs of learners, employers and the broader economy, contributing to persistent economic inactivity, skills gaps and stalled productivity. The weaknesses impact everyone: individuals cannot easily demonstrate their capabilities, employers struggle to assess them, and regions and national governments lack precise data on who has what skills and where they are located. 

Since its launch, the UK’s Digital Badging Commission has engaged extensively with forward-thinking employers, pioneering education leaders, influential policymakers and technology innovators. At its heart, the DBC has pursued a bold, game-changing ambition: creating a trusted, unified approach to digital badges and credentials with the potential to transform the UK skills system. 

Our recommendations outline a roadmap to empower individuals to clearly showcase their unique talents, help employers identify the skills they urgently need, and position the UK economy to thrive with increased agility, inclusivity, and productivity. The Commission suggests that a UK-wide digital credentialing ecosystem, which combines formal qualifications and digital badges in interoperable digital skills wallets, could generate substantial economic value by addressing inefficiencies in training, hiring, and workforce mobility. Analysis conducted for the Commission suggests that such a system could reduce duplicated training across sectors, lower recruitment costs through faster hiring, and improve workforce retention through better-recognised upskilling. 

We’re pleased to announce that Phil Smith, CBE REng, Chair of Skills England, will kickstart the conversation, followed by a panel discussion featuring some of the UK’s leading voices in skills and innovation.

Keynote speaker

• Phil Smith, CBE FREng, Chair of Skills England and the Digital Skills Council

Panel members

• Dr. Patrina Law, Digital Badging Commission, The RSA
• Prof Sir Chris Husbands, Co-Chair of the Digital Badging Commission
• Rebecca Garrod–Waters, Chief Executive of Ufi VocTech Trust and Co-Chair of the Digital Badging Commission
• Alexandra Willans, Careers and Technical Education Partnership Director, Bradford Council

About the Digital Badging Commission

The Digital Badging Commission, a collaboration between Ufi VocTech Trust and the RSA, has explored how digital badges can be developed and adopted to strengthen the UK’s skills infrastructure. It is working to design a national approach to digital badging and credentials, helping to recognise learning, participation and skills wherever they happen. 

Find out more at www.badgingcommission.org

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