Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
Publications
Creating Value: Employer Insights on Using Digital Credentials and Skills Profiles
June 25, 2025
UpSkill America, and Economic Opportunities Program
In February and March 2025, UpSkill America held interviews with about a dozen employers to evaluate and critique WGU’s Lightweight Viewer, a prototype tool that enables employers to view and use data in WGU’s Achievement Wallet, a learning and employment record platform that serves as a portable, secure, individualized repository for skills, credentials, experiences, and more. The team spoke at length with talent leaders from a variety of industries, including retail, health care, manufacturing, and fintech, who represent a range of organization sizes and geographies. We asked employers to assess where tools like the Lightweight Viewer could add value to their organizations, and where they might fall short.
A note: the Lightweight Viewer is a prototype. The name of the tool emerged from WGU’s objective of developing a simple, easy interface between learning and employment data and end users: a means of understanding how an employer would “view” an individual’s skills and credentials data. It is not designed as a marketable product but instead is intended to inform and help other organizations, including groups building LERs, human resources information systems (HRIS) and applicant tracking systems (ATS), gain insight into what employers need, which ultimately may produce better versions that will become consumer products.
This report will have specific importance for these audiences, and it is our hope that this paper will also be useful to Skills First talent management leaders and advocates, as well as anyone advancing work to recognize learning wherever it occurs. We envision this qualitative research as supporting the ongoing improvement and innovation of tools that connect high-quality Learning and Employment Records (LERs) with value creation for employers. Our hope is that using the verified credentials and validated skills within LERs to generate employment and advancement opportunities for learners and business value for employers will lead to scaled uptake and use of validated skills and verified credentials for business decisions.
About UpSkill America
UpSkill America supports employers and workforce organizations to expand and improve high-quality educational and career advancement opportunities for America’s front-line workers. We seek to create a movement of employers, civic organizations, workforce intermediaries, and policymakers working collaboratively to implement education, training, and development strategies that result in better jobs and opportunities for front-line workers, more competitive businesses, and stronger communities. Follow us at upskillamerica.org and on LinkedIn.
If we want to change how people prove their skills and find jobs, and how employers identify and advance talent, we need a system that makes skill records digital, verifiable, and easy to share.
UpSkill America’s new Upskilling Playbook is a strategic guide for organizations to build, scale, and integrate skills-based workforce development initiatives that drive business performance and career growth.
