The intersection of skills, education, workforce development, and assessment has gained significant traction in recent years. There are numerous initiatives aiming to improve how individuals acquire, demonstrate, and leverage skills for employability. Below is a first attempt to create a tentative list of those key initiatives, frameworks, and organizations working at this nexus. Some of them are being transformed as we speak and others are being recalibrated but in essence this list is a first step to look into the big picture.

Global and National Skills Frameworks

These frameworks define skill sets and competencies required for education and the workforce.

OECD Skills Strategy – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed frameworks to help countries design policies that enhance skill development and lifelong learning.

UNESCO Skills for Work and Life Initiative – Focuses on developing skills-based education systems that align with workforce needs.

European Skills Agenda (European Union) – Aims to improve skills recognition, digital credentials, and lifelong learning pathways across Europe.

National Skills Coalition (U.S.) – Advocates for workforce policies that align education and job market demands.

Durable Skills Initiative (America Succeeds) – Defines a framework for essential employability skills such as communication, critical thinking, and leadership.

Learning and Employment Records (LERs) and Digital Credentialing Initiatives

LERs and digital credentials help individuals showcase their skills and competencies through verifiable records.

Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR) ( 1EdTech Consortium) – A standardized approach to capturing a learner’s achievements, competencies, and experiences.

Learning and Employment Records (LER) (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Credential Engine, and HR Open Standards) – Focuses on digitized records to connect learners’ skills with job opportunities.

Credential Transparency Initiative (Credential Engine) – Aims to make credentialing systems more navigable and transparent for employers and learners.

Open Badges (Mozilla & 1EdTech Consortium) – A standard for digital credentials that allows individuals to showcase their skills in an interoperable way.

Blockchain for Education (MIT Digital Credentials Consortium, IBM, Learning Economy Foundation) – Focuses on decentralized, secure credentialing for lifelong learning.

Skills-Based Hiring & Workforce Readiness Initiatives

These initiatives focus on matching education with employment through skills-based hiring practices.

Rework America Alliance (Aspen Institute & Markle Foundation) – Promotes skills-based hiring to create equitable workforce opportunities.

T3 Innovation Network (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation) – Aims to modernize workforce data infrastructure to align education with employment needs.

Opportunity@Work (Skills-Based Hiring) – Helps employers implement hiring practices based on skills rather than traditional degrees.

Workcred (American National Standards Institute – ANSI) – Focuses on quality assurance and standardization of industry-recognized credentials.

Industry & Employer-Led Skills Initiatives

Many private-sector organizations are actively shaping the skills-based economy.

Google Career Certificates & Skills-Based Hiring (Grow with Google) – Offers credential programs that align with job opportunities.

IBM SkillsBuild – Provides free training and credentials to equip learners with in-demand tech skills.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Academy & Skills Initiatives – Offers cloud computing certifications and job placement resources.

Microsoft Skills for Jobs Initiative – Equips individuals with digital and AI-related skills relevant to modern workforce demands.

LinkedIn Skills Path – Aims to connect learners with job opportunities through validated skill assessments.

Assessment of Skills & Competency-Based Learning

These organizations focus on assessments that measure knowledge, skills, and competencies.

ACT WorkKeys & National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) – Measures essential workplace skills and certifies workforce readiness.

ETS Skills for the 21st Century & Workforce Readiness Initiatives – Develops assessments to measure critical thinking, communication, and digital literacy. The recent partnership between the Carnegie Foundation and ETS focuses on redefining educational goals and assessments to emphasize essential skills, providing a more comprehensive and authentic representation of student learning and competencies.

PISA (OECD Programme for International Student Assessment) & PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) – Measures global competencies related to workforce readiness.

EdX & Coursera Skill Assessments – Online platforms that offer skills verification and credentialing.

Lumina Foundation’s All Learning Counts Initiative – Focuses on assessing and validating learning from various sources, including nontraditional pathways.

Higher Education & Skills-Based Learning Transformation

These initiatives aim to integrate skills-based education into traditional academic models.

SkillsFWD (Strada Education Network & Education Design Lab) – Designs alternative credentialing pathways for higher education.

Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) – Promotes the development and scaling of competency-based education models.

AAC&U Essential Learning Outcomes (American Association of Colleges & Universities) – Advocates for embedding critical skills and competencies into higher education curricula.

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (New Credentialing Models) – Focuses on skills-based learning reforms.

Work-Based Learning & Apprenticeship Programs (U.S. Department of Labor & Industry Groups) – Expands skills-based education opportunities through practical experience.

Open Skills Network  (OSN) –  A coalition of employers, education providers, policymakers, military organizations, non-profits, and other stakeholders dedicated to advancing skills-based education and hiring practices. Their mission is to create a more equitable, skills-driven labor market by developing open, accessible, and machine-actionable skills data.

 AI & Skills Taxonomy Development

AI and data analytics are playing a growing role in defining skills taxonomies and job-skill alignment.

Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass) – Uses big data to analyze labor market trends and align education with workforce needs.

O*NET Online (U.S. Department of Labor) – A detailed database categorizing skills and competencies required for thousands of jobs.

LinkedIn Economic Graph & Skills Insights – Uses AI to map skill demand trends in real-time.

World Economic Forum’s Reskilling Revolution – Analyzes skills of the future and AI-driven learning models.

And Now What…?

The convergence of skills, education, workforce, and assessment is shaping the future of learning and employment. These initiatives demonstrate how different sectors—government, higher education, employers, and technology providers—are working together to build a more skills-driven economy. The shift toward competency-based hiring and lifelong learning is accelerating, making these initiatives critical in bridging education with workforce needs.