Burgess Owens on Learning and Employment Records for Workplace Coordination

The Role of Learning and Employment Records (LERs)

• 💡 WGU believes education should be a pathway to opportunity, which includes effectively communicating acquired credentials, competencies, and skills to the workforce.
• 🎯 Digital transcripts with verified skills provide employers with a clear articulation of what graduates are ready to do, better aligning them with job requirements.
• 🚀 LERs, specifically WGU's Achievement Wallet, help individuals navigate career options by surfacing relevant roles based on their existing skills and location.

Lessons Learned from LER Pilots

• 💬 Clear messaging is crucial for talent marketplaces and LERs, ensuring all user personas (students, veterans, employers, etc.) understand their benefits.
• 🤝 Partnerships are vital, as LERs should amplify existing efforts rather than being perceived as a threat.
• 💰 Legislation and funding are essential to signal the long-term persistence of these opportunities, encouraging investment from stakeholders.
• ⚙️ The technologies supporting LERs must be adaptable and evolve rapidly to keep pace with the conversation.
• 📊 The need for big data is paramount to understand cross-sectoral partnerships and opportunities effectively.

LERs as a Framework for Talent Marketplaces

• 🧩 Learning and Employment Records represent a common set of data and protocols for skills and competencies accumulated throughout an individual's life.
• ✅ Establishing common standards for LERs enables individuals to transfer verifiable skill data to employers and academic institutions.
• 📈 This facilitates processes like job offers and university admissions by providing accurate, verified data, thereby simplifying navigation of the talent marketplace.