It feels like yesterday that we were signing a contract with a new vendor, Acclaim, to provide digital badging services for our SAS Certification candidates. That was over five years ago. Since then, Acclaim joined forces with another market leader and became part of Credly. SAS has expanded our badging program to include more than just certifications; and COVID-19 accelerated our already increasingly digital lives. When NFTs are selling for 150 Ethereum ($650,000) and the Metaverse is emerging, why would you be hanging a paper certificate on your office wall? I mean who has been in your office lately?

The digital badge has replaced the paper certificate with a living, breathing, skills-based currency. Let’s unpack that. Validated skills in the form of certifications and credentials are becoming more prevalent - and possibly even preferred – to college degrees. These skills have become a currency in the job market that is facing shortages in many skill areas including data analytics. An estimated 11.5 million data science jobs will become available by 2026. Your digital badge is not only a representation of an accomplishment, but an indicator of the important skills you possess that hold value in the labor market.

It’s time to put your badge to work.

What's in a Digital Badge?

When you receive a digital badge from SAS, it is made up of underlying metadata. This includes:

• • A description of the accomplishment being recognized and a link to more detailed information.

 

• • A list of the criteria required to earn the badge.

 

• • A series of attributes describing the type of accomplishment, amount of time invested, costs, and skill level (such as intermediate vs. expert level).

 

• • A list of recommended next actions. For example, if you earn the SAS Certified Specialist Badge, it points you towards the information on the next logical step, passing the Advanced exam to earn the SAS Certified Professional Certification.

 

• A series of skills tags (and this is where the fun begins).

What should I do with the badge?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Sharing is caring.” In this case, it’s self-care. Accept your badge and share it on LinkedIn or other social media platforms to showcase your accomplishment and associated skills. Once you’ve done this, you’ve established yourself as a trader in the skills economy.

Credly has a wealth of Labor Market Insights (LMI) and skills-data housed in their platform. Through a recent partnership with Lightcast, Credly is utilizing a vast skills library to normalize skills being earned through digital badges and more tightly align them to skills being requested in open job requisitions. The bottom line, posting your badge makes it easier to find jobs that closely align with your skill set.

Here's how to leverage the power of your badge

Are you looking for your first job or maybe a new job? You can open your badge, see associated skills and click the skills tags to view more information. Each skills tag will lead to a page containing:

• • Job openings sourced from over 25,000 job boards.

 

• • Top locations where those jobs are located.

 

• • Salary ranges.

 

• • The top companies looking for those skills.

 

• • A series of related skills you may be interested in adding to your “skills wallet.”

 

• And some others related badges you may wish to earn.

From here, click the jobs that interest you, get connected with that employer and apply for a job immediately. For step-by-step instructions, watch this short video. For additional information on features and options, visit Credly Support.

What does this mean for SAS users? For those with a Machine Learning using SAS Viya Learn badge, there are more than 125,000 active job openings. For those with a SAS Programming badge, there are more than 2,900 job openings.

What's next for Credly?

Credly is currently building out additional solutions for talent acquisition.

• 1. Corporations hiring can send their job requisitions to Credly.

 

• 2. Credly will map the requirements to relevant skills and credentials.

 

3. Credly will produce a curated list of top candidates meeting the required skills.

This sounds great if you are a company or a recruiting firm, but why is this important as a badge earner? The answer is that by simply earning badges and validating the skills you possess, with little effort, you will be front and center for employers looking for candidates who meet your skills profile.