Credly's Podcast

In this episode, Bailey Showalter from Credly helps us see how digital credentials open possibilities for a more diverse workforce.  From how digital credentials influenced her own career path to what employers might expect in the future, we dig into the value and potential of using credentials for skill-based hiring.

In this episode we talk with Dr. Marlo Goldstein Hode about the work of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Offered to staff and faculty, this DEI program offers a variety of programs for professional development.  “Everyone doesn't need to see things the same way, but at least that we can get on the same page about the basics.”

In this episode, we talk with Dean Moez Limayem from University of South Florida's Muma College of Business. Along with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jabil, USF hosted a seven week Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace certificate program that was wildly successful. Listen as we unpack what made this truly remarkable.

In this episode, Lindsay White from Degreed shares the new integration with Credly. Degreed has always been a force in helping organizations curate learning pathways that are skill-based. The integration allows users to tie these pathways to digital credentials and further recognize learning and achievement.

In this episode, Ashleigh Nicholson of the Property Council Academy in Australia shares her organization’s journey into digital credentials. Aligning the credentials with industry needs and drawing on the expertise of members as SME’s, the Property Council has seen increased growth and enthusiasm for the credentials. Their story underscores the need for ongoing marketing and highlights how credentials connect earners with opportunities.

In this episode Susan Tomlinson Schmidt from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance helps us see the value of focusing on skills through digital credentials. While her work focuses on nonprofit industry, the idea of surfacing discrete skills and competencies applies to any industry. NLA has a 70 year history of preparing leaders, and many of their current credentials are still fresh for today’s challenges.

Merrimack College has added digital badges to their career development work with students. By identifying skills employers seek, they are able to offer programs and services for students to developer and showcase their talents. In this episode, we hear how they grew their program.

In this episode, Rebecca Holdt and Heath Jamison from Antler Education explain how they are helping start-ups through education and community building. Despite pandemic challenges, their program has succeeded at breaking down the barriers to entrepreneurship so innovation can flourish.

In this episode, Rob Leach of Ormond College explains how and why they are offering digital badges for career readiness skills. Building off feedback and input from alumni of the college, Ormond supports students mastering key skills valued by employers.

In this episode, we talk with Sandi Lin, CEO and co-founder of Skilljar. A company providing world-class customer education, Skilljar now has an integration with Credly!

Marina Pullin from MCBI Learning and Development and Jungal, both Australian organizations, discusses how digital credentials help gig workers represent their skills in a verified manner. As the world of work has changed so has the importance of having a source of truth. 

When the pandemic struck, eWorks, an Australian organization aligned with VETASSESS, offered free training and digital credentials for skills needed during and after the crisis.  Prashil Singh describes the program and the impact of this organization's work and the silver lining to an otherwise awful time.

In this episode we talk with Errol Doebler, founder of Leader 193, a leadership consulting company. Having an impressive background as a Navy Seal and FBI special agent, Errol brings a unique perspective to leadership development. We need leadership more than ever in times of chaos! Along the journey, Errol was introduced to digital credentials to signify achievement in this program. This episode takes us full circle in that story.

Eastern Maine Community College President, Lisa Larson, and Dan Belyea, Chief Workforce Development Officer for Maine Community College System, explain the way they have connected digital credentials to opening up business in Maine post-Corona Virus. By credentialing workers in the hospitality industry, Maine residents will know who is ready to safety take on business.  It's an exciting story of pivoting and responding to a clear and urgent need in the community.

This is a feel great story from Bonnie Willoughby, Director of World Wide Customer Training for Cadence Design Systems.  By opening up training and testing for a limited time, Cadence has been able to empower their customers with digital credentials.  In turn, acceptance has skyrocketed and the organization sees their badges used productively.  Everyone wins!

This episode is a lesson in the value of scrappiness and earning credentials to further one's career. We feature Credly's Director of People Operations, Brittany Storie. She tells how she advanced her career by strategically earning 2 important credentials in the human resource field.

SAML is a global standard for single sign on. It allows a user to move from one system to another easily.  In this discussion, Credly's VP of Technology Alexander Hripak explains how it works and why our customers might want to implement this.

In this episode, we're joined by Kristina Luker,  Area Rehabilitation Clinical Specialist, and State Agency Administrator Manager for Legacy Healthcare Services. Kristina went from a digital badge earner at Legacy to managing the credentialing program, and talks about her plans to market the program since she's been on both sides of the aisle. Kristina also talks about how digital credentials are recognizing the work of essential employees during an uncertain time.

Most issuers give badges to individuals, but Climb Credit is using digital credentials to recognize schools and training providers that meet their stringent criteria. In this way, the lending company validates for learners the opportunities that are most likely to lead to future success. In this interview, Director of Marketing Laura Fitzpatrick, discusses their model and insights.

What comes before digital credentials? How do you go about surfacing what you want to recognize, especially if you are building a learning and development program? In this episode, we talk with Jamie Bunch, Learning and Development Manager for PlayCore. At her core, Jamie is an instructional designer who talks us through the important process of determining what matters and then designing a program around those skills and competencies.

In this episode, Daniel Doktori, Chief of Staff and General Counsel for Credly, discusses our process of seeking ISO certifications.  He explains what this means for data security and privacy and why these certifications are imperative to best serve our customers.

In this episode, Jonathan Finkelstein, CEO and Founder of Credly, shares his insights into the trends he has observed with digital credentials. We explore past, present and future.

In this episode, Philip Casesa of Focal Point Data Risk, LLC walks us through critical considerations for data security.  Everyone is in the data business these days, and Philip's insights apply to every type of user and organization.

In this episode, Jacqueline Burger, Associate Professor at Bucks County Community College, describes how their badging program grew.  Starting with a goal of recognizing skills acquired in competency based education, the college surveyed earners and helped them discover new opportunities to represent their skills sets to employers.

In this episode we talk with Liz Burns, Senior Manager of Curriculum and Credential Programs for Adobe.  Liz explains the credentialing program that awards digital credentials for Adobe employees, partners and customers who are technical, ensuring the the products work well within customer organizations. The badges verify that the individual knows the product and has the technical skills needed to get the job done.  Our discussion reveals how these badges protect Adobe’s brand and reputation.

There are many ways you might experience heartbreak on the job. In this second interview with Nayla Bahri, we discuss what to do when a job doesn't meet your expectations or you find yourself having to reinvent yourself. Finding the right support, establishing your own learning path and leveraging some of your generalized skills are strategies we unpack.

Credly's VP of Technology, Alexander Hripak, explains the newly released integration between Credly's Acclaim platform and Canvas, the LMS from Instructure.  The integration allows organizations to automate the issuance of digital badges through a rules engine.

In this episode, we are joined by Nayla Bahri, a whose research has focused on how we experience work. Nayla shares her findings and insights about what makes some workers more resilient in the face of setbacks.

Jarin Schmidt, Chief Experience Officer at Credly describes two new product features on Credly's Acclaim platform: transcripts and endorsements.

In this episode we talk with Rebecca Campbell, CPE Director for the Colorado Society of CPAs. Rebecca authored an article for ASAE late in 2018 and discussed a couple of her favorite trends to watch for in professional development.

In this episode we talk with Nate Chamberlain, an already accomplished author, speaker and Microsoft MVP. Recently, Nate tweeted about his delight at seeing the 9 badges he had earned along his journey. We talked about the importance of maintaining one's professional profile, the advantages of badges, and how he's used them in his career.

Our guest Anthony Fasano discusses the Engineering Management Institute's work with professional development for engineers. Beyond the technical knowledge, Anthony's company focuses on non-technical skills that help engineers progress.  Some might call these soft skills, but we know they are power skills. Plus, EMI will soon be recognizing these with digital credentials.

Great minds think alike! We’re joined by Sara Petry, head of product for Trilogy Ed’s enterprise products. Sara’s team is producing a webinar on the topic of soft skills on June 4, and Credly is addressing the same topic in a webinar on June 12! Sara helps us see how soft skills can be worked into a hard skill curriculum. To register for Sara’s webinar: The Lifelong Learner: Why You Shouldn’t Overlook Soft Skills in Your Workforce Development. Visit https://www.trilogyed.com/enterprise/ To register for Credly’s webinar How to Validate Soft Skills through Digital Credentials on June 12, visit https://info.credly.com/webinars

Can social media help professional associations attract new members? Who better to ask than Amy Jauman, Chief Learning Officer for the National Institute for Social Media? Amy helps us unpack the power of social media and how organizations, especially professional associations can use it to their benefit.

This episode features Sean Gallagher, Executive Director, Center for the Future of Higher Education & Talent Strategy and Executive Professor of Educational Policy at Northeastern University. Sean is the co-author of The Future of University Credentials: New Developments at the Intersection of Higher Education and Hiring and also published Educational Credentials Come of Age this past year. Sean’s expertise is the intersection of market research, labor data (employers) and higher education.

In this episode, we hear the human impact of digital credentials.  We showcase an issuing organization and an earner. Listen to how and why the Canadian Professional Sales Association spun up their credentialing program, and the difference it made in one of their earner’s career.

In this episode, we continue listening in on a conversation between Vito Borrello and Joe McClary, two association executives.  Vito is the executive director of the National Association for Family, School and Community, and Joe McClary is the chief executive officer for IACET. The topic shifts to why digital credentials are perfect for recognizing the skills and competencies Vito hopes to surface.

How should an organization go about identifying (and eventually) recognizing the competencies that a particular profession might need? That is the question Vito Borrello began with.  Vito is the executive director of the National Association for Family, School and Community.  In this episode, Vito talks with Joe McClary, chief executive officer for IACET.  Joe shares his insights and experiences with Vito, and the discussion touches on competencies, certification, and accreditation. There are valuable lessons in this conversation.

CPA, CAE, CPLP …. What do those initials mean?  Bob Collins from APICS knows and shares his wisdom about professional certifications in this podcast.  This conversation was inspired by Bob’s recent contribution to TD at Work, the November issue entitled “Develop Your Career with a Professional Certification.”  Professional certifications benefit employees, employers and those looking for the right talent for their organizations. Read Bob’s publication at https://www.td.org/td-at-work/develop-your-career-with-a-professional-certification

Even small organizations benefit from digital badges.  Listen as Ben Robinson describes how his small company added value to its members by offering digital badges to celebrate the completion of his training program.  The badges have become an important part of his community and provide verified proof that the bookkeeper is well trained.

If you know what’s important to your organization in terms of skills, competencies and underlying values, you have the foundation for an award winning digital badge system.  That’s how Dr. Alyssa Ford from Legacy Healthcare System designed their successful digital badge program.  Badges are used to acknowledge competencies in clinicians and management.  Listen as she explains some of the strategies she employed to launch the program.

Who are your learners, what do they do, and where are their interests? Imagine the success if you could answer that as a training provider. In this episode, Kevin Streater, Vice President of ForgeRock University, describes why and how ForgeRock entered the world of digital badging. Among the wins: being able to lay out meaningful pathways to promote lifelong learning, thereby engaging a customer beyond just-in-time technical training.

How does a world class institution help its graduates communicate their career readiness to employers?  At the University System of Maryland, it’s through digital badges.   Dr. MJ Bishop, Associate Vice Chancellor and Director of the William E. Kirwin Center for Academic Innovation, has lead such a comprehensive digital badge program that leverages the strength of multiple institutions collaborating.  In this episode, MJ explains the process of designing and implementing Maryland’s badges to help students “get better at articulating the skills that they are accomplishing along the way.”

This interview is with Dr. Amber Garrison Duncan, Strategy Director for the Lumina Foundation.  In 2008, the Lumina Foundation asked: What is it that Americans need to access living wage jobs? The conclusion: By 2025, at least 60% of Americans will need a high quality post secondary credential.  Since the Lumina Foundation focuses on all learning beyond high school, this opens and includes a range of pathways.  Further, the foundation asked, “What are the skills and competencies needed for employment?”  Their work has shaped frameworks and policies that inform and influence the many complexities of this credentialing space.

In this episode, Executive Advisor Clarke Porter provides a bit of a history lesson concerning computer based testing and certifications.  When you think about the many certifications professionals need, and how earning a certification can change a life, assessment must be secure and scalable.  Clarke has had a significant impact in this industry.

Continuing our discussion with Dr. Nan Travers, Director, Center for Leadership in Credentialing Learning (CL2) SUNY Empire State College, we dive into what's needed for the future of work.

This episode features part of a conversation with Dr. Nan Travers, Director, Center for Leadership in Credentialing Learning (CL2) SUNY Empire State College. Nan discussed some of her work with frameworks for adult learning competencies and the importance of self-assessment.

The ACE Credit program, part of the American Council on Education, evaluates adult learning opportunities and endorses them for college credit. Director Sarah Godsey explains the program and why ACE decided to add digital badges to the mix.

In this episode, Susan hands the microphone over to Patricia Diaz to lead the interview. More than 10 years ago Susan contributed to a book titled Millennial Leaders by Bea Fields, Scott Wilder, Jim Bunch and Rob Newbold.  Patricia leads the discussion about Millennials and  business networking, belonging to professional associations, badges and mentors.

In May 2018, the European Union implemented GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).  This legislation mandates data protection and privacy and impacts citizens globally.  Credly's chief of staff and general counsel, Daniel Doktori, explains what this means to Credly users and all internet users in general.  Doktori brings it to life!

In this episode, Credly's VP of Technology, Alexander Hripak, talks us through the basics of Open Badge compliance.  To those new to badging, this should be a consideration in any product used to to issue or store badges.  Alex explains why and how the standards came to be.  Listeners are also introduced to IMS Global, the organization that now oversees the certification process.