Replay: The State of the Skills Record: Looking Ahead to 2027

The conversation around Learning and Employment Records (LERs), digital credentials, and skills-first practices has changed considerably in recent years. What began as a movement to make learning and skills more visible is increasingly becoming a conversation about how those records can support better decisions, stronger connections, and greater economic opportunity.

But as the ecosystem matures, an important distinction is emerging: Creating a record of someone’s skills is not the same as making those skills actionable.

That distinction was at the center of Territorium’s recent fireside chat, The State of the Skills Record: Looking Ahead to 2027, featuring Sean Murphy of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Sytease Geib of the National Governors Association, Deborah Everhart of Credential Engine, and Territorium CEO Guillermo Elizondo. Moderated by Territorium’s Keith Look, the conversation explored the progress being made, the barriers that remain, and the priorities that could define the next phase of the skills record ecosystem.

From individual projects to connected systems

One of the most encouraging developments is the shift toward treating skills records as part of a larger ecosystem rather than a collection of independent technology initiatives.

Sytease Geib described how states are increasingly recognizing the need for broader governance structures, shared objectives, and coordination across education, workforce development, and employment systems.

Through work involving the National Governors Association and the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), states have been exploring roadmaps that connect skills-first practices, Learning and Employment Records, and talent marketplace initiatives.

The shift is significant. Instead of asking only how to implement a particular solution, state leaders are asking who needs to participate, how skills data can be trusted, and how initiatives can remain sustainable over time.

Sean Murphy reinforced the importance of this systems-level thinking. Individual organizations may address different parts of the talent ecosystem, but the greatest impact depends on their ability to work together.

The challenge for 2027 is making those connections increasingly operational.

Interoperability is about meaning, not just moving data

Technical interoperability remains essential, but the discussion highlighted why moving information between systems is only part of the challenge.

Deborah Everhart explained how structured linked data allows information from education, workforce, government, and credentialing systems to be connected without requiring those systems to abandon their existing purposes.

Using Credential Engine’s Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), information about courses, programs, credentials, skills, occupations, and other attributes can be linked to create a more meaningful picture of someone’s learning and capabilities.

For example, a traditional transcript might show that a student completed a particular course. Connected data can provide additional context about the course’s learning outcomes, its relationship to a credential, and potential connections to occupations and career opportunities.

The panel also explored the role of artificial intelligence in making structured information more useful. As Everhart emphasized, however, the underlying skills data must be meaningful and trustworthy. AI alone cannot compensate for missing, poorly defined, or inadequately documented skills information.

The implication is clear: The quality and transparency of skills data are just as important as the technology used to exchange it.

Making skills records useful in everyday decisions

Another recurring theme was the need to shift attention from the technologies themselves to the experiences of the people using them.

Murphy argued that most people should not need to understand the technical terminology behind an LER to benefit from it. They should simply be able to use their verified information when pursuing education, training, or employment.

Guillermo Elizondo expanded on this point, describing how institutions are beginning to consider skills records for a growing range of applications, including credit for prior learning, student transfer, course selection, and career navigation.

These uses matter because they create reasons for learners to engage with their records beyond the initial issuance of a credential.

They also reinforce the importance of digital wallets and learner-controlled records that can travel across institutions, employers, and other systems.

Elizondo emphasized that increasing adoption will require incorporating these capabilities into existing institutional and workforce processes, making skills records useful in the activities people already undertake.

The broader opportunity is to make verified skills information a practical, reusable resource throughout an individual’s learning and working life.

Connecting skills to opportunity: The last-mile challenge

Perhaps the most consequential part of the discussion centered on what happens after a learner receives a skills record.

Geib pointed to a challenge increasingly familiar across the ecosystem: A learner may have a meaningful, verified record of their capabilities, but what happens next?

Can they use it in an employment application? Will an employer’s hiring system recognize it? Does the information help an organization understand what the individual can actually do?

The panel emphasized that successful implementation must account for both sides of this exchange.

Geib offered the military-connected workforce as a particularly compelling example. Service members and veterans often possess extensive documented training and experience, yet the terminology and occupational structures used in military settings do not always translate easily into civilian employment.

Better skills transparency and standardized data can help bridge that gap, allowing employers to recognize capabilities that might otherwise be overlooked.

The example demonstrates how the skills record ecosystem could address a longstanding workforce challenge by making existing capabilities easier to understand and use.

It also underscores why employers must be involved in designing these solutions, not simply invited to adopt them after implementation.

What should successful pilots look like in 2027?

The discussion concluded with practical guidance for institutions, states, and organizations developing their next skills-based initiatives.

Rather than attempting to solve every problem at once, the panel encouraged organizations to identify a clear use case, engage the relevant stakeholders, and design with future interoperability and expansion in mind.

Geib emphasized strong governance, cross-agency collaboration, and meaningful participation from learners and employers. Everhart encouraged organizations to begin by making their skills information visible and connecting it to other useful sources of data.

Murphy advocated for clearly defined challenges and pathways where multiple partners can demonstrate the value of working together.

Elizondo highlighted the importance of involving education and workforce stakeholders from the beginning, while selecting specific populations or industries where the benefits can be demonstrated and expanded.

Across these perspectives, a consistent theme emerged: Success should not be measured solely by the number of records issued or systems deployed, but by whether those investments improve how people navigate learning and employment opportunities.

Looking ahead: From records to results

The skills record ecosystem enters 2027 with growing momentum, emerging standards, expanding applications, and increasing recognition of the value of verified skills.

The opportunity now is to bring those developments together.

That means building stronger connections between education and employment, ensuring skills data is understandable and trustworthy, designing with employers and learners, and making portable records useful across more stages of an individual’s journey.

The technology is an important part of that work, but the ultimate goal is much larger.

A truly connected skills ecosystem should make it easier for people to demonstrate what they know, receive recognition for what they can do, and access the opportunities their skills make possible.

Watch The State of the Skills Record: Looking Ahead to 2027 to hear the full conversation and the perspectives shaping the next chapter of this work.

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