Today, internet driven educational methods have changed the face of modern education. Educational institutions and training providers are realising that a contemporary performance-based approach is essential to truly showcase the skills of their students. The need of the hour for educators is to find ways to form reliable and mutually beneficial relationships with students, employers and the wider community, while protecting themselves from fraud and other online threats.
For this reason, Certif-ID is helping educational and training institutions to digitise their certification process on the blockchain. Why use blockchain? Blockchain technology provides traceability, security, decentralisation and creates immutability of data.
Additionally, we believe that Digital Badges and Digital Certificates issued on blockchain will play a critical role in harmonising educational standards and bringing equal opportunities to professionals around the world. It will break barriers to education and employment across local and global borders.
Trustworthy alternatives to conventional paper-based certificates and certification processes
Digital credentials issued on blockchain are increasingly being considered as the future of credentialing as they facilitate recognition, ownership or proof of achievement, portability of credentials, remote access and immediate background checks.
Using Blockchain’s distributed database and decentralised architecture, digital credentials establish trust among all participants and is paving a path to a new era of digital trust and identity.
Digital credentials including Digital Badges and Digital Certificates have a QR code and a link that can be used to verify its authenticity immediately, making them tamper-proof. Only the institution issuing the digital certificate or badge has the authority to revoke or modify it.
Another challenge that digital badges and certificates can tackle is background verification. Background verification checks can be a tricky affair. There is always the issue of misrepresented credentials or those which are not verified at all. When an educational institution issues a digital certificate using blockchain technology, unalterable links and secure records are created between a candidate’s achievement and the credentials earned, thereby making it tamper-proof and impossible to counterfeit.
ASDC Recognises Automotive Skills Achievement via Certif-ID
Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) established to develop skilled manpower in the automotive sector chose Certif-ID to issue digital certificates to its graduates. ASDC embraced automation and blockchain-based digital certificates in response to the Automotive Mission Plan 2019-2026, which seeks to employ 36 million people by 2026—most in computer-enabled solutions rather than traditional manufacturing jobs.
“What’s nice is that the digital certificates that we issue now can be shared by students easily. Recruiters who have access to a digital certificate can verify an individual’s credentials instantly and make a proper hiring decision,” explains Arindam Lahiri, CEO of ASDC.
Partnering with Certif-ID, ASDC established a comprehensive online credentialing system accessible anytime, from anywhere, on any device to award digital certificates to graduates. The ability to connect the education and employment landscape was what made the project a success.
“Certif-ID exceeded our expectations. The platform provides full visibility and offers data analytics that provides us with insights such as popular courses and the number of certificates being verified,” said ASDC CEO, Arindam Lahiri. “Certif-ID has enhanced our brand reputation and has created a future-focused certification and record-keeping strategy.”
Digital credentials are not just for institutions or educators
Graduates who receive the digital certificates or badges which are information-rich records of professionally relevant achievements, skills and competencies, can confidently add them to their Certif-Id profile or SkillPass, share them with recruiters or on social media, showing off their skills in a credible manner.
“Certif-ID is unquestionably solving current challenges, from making it a possibility for educators to issue contactless digital certificates which can be verified instantly to providing a secure space for technical professionals to build a profile and gain visibility,” said Tim Miller, Co-Founder & CEO – Certif-ID.
Certif-ID employs the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO) framework as a guide to map skills and competencies to job roles. Members can use the platform to build and share profiles, take skills assessments, use CV templates, record video CVs and receive job recommendations.
Digital credentials could be key in redefining the education certification and validation processes
The widening digital landscape demands educators to highlight their decades of experience and expertise – to build trust with students and potential employers so that they can trump the competition. Digital credentials are a way for educators to enhance brand trust, monitor the pulse of student learning, eliminate managing physical documents and mitigate risk of fraud.
Also read: Augment Learners Skills Using Digital Certificates https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/augment-learners-skills-using-digital-certificates/
Digital credentials undoubtedly offer a way for institutions to build trust with citizens. They have many uses today, and there are many exciting possibilities for their future growth. We hope you share our enthusiasm for the potential of such dynamic, verifiable credentials.
