Skill tags make up a part of the contextual information provided for digital badges alongside the badge title, badge description, the date of issue, recipient information, expiration date, and submitted evidence from the recipient. This information helps to differentiate different digital badge awards and informs third-parties of what knowledge was gained.
What are skill tags?
Skill tags added to digital badges define the skills gained through a certification or training program. Skill tags are often granular in their description. For example, an organization offering training in Microsoft Access would use skill tags including ‘finding and replacing data’, ‘renaming fields’, ‘creating a blank form’, and ‘grouping records in a report’.
Skill tags inform candidates of the value of the certification and allow an easy overview of what in demand skills can be gained by attending the program or training. As more organizations adopt a skills-based hiring approach, skill tags are vitally important to convey the value between similar training and development opportunities.
Why are skill tags important?
Skill tags are a key part of contextual information as they inform third-party hiring or admissions administrators of the candidate’s experience and capabilities. Skill tags alongside badge descriptions are necessary for differentiating between digital badges offered from different organizations. Digital badges that are set to public (and by extension searchable in search engines) contribute to course, training, and program visibility and skill tags help define the relevance in search engine results. This means that students searching for online courses in a particular topic are likely to see digital credentials that contain rich metadata in their recommendations.
How are skill tags used?
Skill tags are added to the credential details to identify which skills recipients needed to demonstrate or learn in order to receive their credentials. The inputted skills can then be used to create live job market insights that inform what impact the organization’s credentials have on the recipient’s career potential.
What skill tags should be added?
There are no limitations to the number of skill tags that can be added to a digital credential however they should be relevant to the award. Use keyword research tools (there are many free and paid options available) to identify relevant high demand skill keywords and phrases that improve visibility for live credentials. As part of the description of skills and experience gained through the credential, consider what skills candidates list on a job application or the job related skills lists built by hiring managers. Planning and adding skill tags this way will contribute to increased visibility of the credentials and help future candidates find courses relevant to the skills they need.
In Summary
Skill tags are added to digital badges to identify which skills the candidate needed to demonstrate to achieve that credential. Adding skill tags to a digital badge helps improve the visibility of the credential and as a result, increases awareness for the issuer and their available courses and training.
Get started with digital badges and digital certificates by signing up for a trial issuer account for up to 20 unique recipients. For more information about the Accredible credentialing platform or a demo, please get in touch with our sales team.
Further Reading
Using skill tags to convey the value of credentials is just one benefit of digital credentials. Download the Digital Credential Buyer’s Guide and gain a greater understanding of digital credentials, how they are used to support high-level strategies, and how to compare digital credentialing platforms.
