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Badges are used to publicly display a person’s qualifications, skill level, or accomplishments, such as mastery of a skill or program completion. They are intended for digital use and serve as visual proof of the recipient’s abilities. Professionals who want to advance in their jobs must find ways to distinguish themselves from their competitors and, ultimately, stand out in a crowd. They also require people to recognize the discipline, time, and effort they have put into acquiring their professional development. Furthermore, in today’s digitally linked world, professionals post almost everything online in ways that can be searched and viewed by the general public. As a result, they must have ways to express their validated advanced talents and experience on the web.
Why Do Digital Badges Matter To Organizations and Employers?
Several organizations currently provide digital badge programs to their staff. IBM has created a comprehensive digital badging program of ‘badge families‘ related to knowledge and skills in analytics, cloud computing, mobile computing, business design thinking, and other areas. The firm stated in 2020 that it has issued three million digital badges since 2015. Furthermore, Cisco, Microsoft, HP, Oracle, and SAP have embraced the Mozilla Open Badges standard, which is a free software and open technical standard for any enterprise that wishes to build, issue, and validate digital badges.
Employers who recognize digital badges improve operations by inspiring employees’ professional development, and it is a sensible method to demonstrate to the world that they employ skilled, certified experts. Digital badges assist firms in developing their brand and reaching new consumers on social media. They also enable HR departments to swiftly identify suitable individuals online, lowering the time required to recruit such candidates.
How Do Digital Badges Work?
A digital badge shows who earned the badge, how it was earned, who issued it, and evidence of work as applicable. It possesses the details such as Badge name, Badge Criteria, Badge URL, Issue Date, Issuer, and the Recipient. It is going to be a fundamental of professional development.
Digital Badging progress starts with the issuing body developing a digital badge for each course or piece of training. This includes creating the front-facing image and information about the accomplishment. Following completion of the details, the organization would issue the badge to earners using a software platform like Sertifier. Earners are notified by email or other means that their badge has been issued and that they can see their profile page. It can then be shared with the earner’s social networks or by email.
The digital badges may be:
- Membership-based: if it is provided for being a member of a sport- say volleyball or basketball.
- Competency-based: if it proves the participant’s ability in programming, project management, or any other intermediate learnings.
- Internship-based: if it recognizes the specific job-related skills during the tenure of an internship.
- Achievement-based: If it acknowledges the professional’s accomplishments over a period or as specified by the organizing body.
Who Gives Out Badges?
Badges can be distributed by any credible source! Some colleges and boot camps award badges to students who complete certain courses, whilst employers may award badges to employees who complete professional development programs. HubSpot awards badges for completing digital marketing courses, and Microsoft awards them to individuals who pass their tests. The crucial thing to remember is that a badge is only as credible as the entity that issues it.
How Can You Get a Digital Badge?
With the rise of blockchain and other verification technologies, anyone with enough proof and evidence can now obtain a digital badge that represents their abilities and knowledge. In this day and technology, there are numerous ways to obtain a digital badge. Let’s have a look at some of them and how they work.
When you do a particular number of tasks, a badge-issuing institution or person may offer you a type of digital proof that you did the work. For example, if you passed 20 written tests, you could be given a digital badge for ‘Outstanding Written Assessments.’
You can also earn badges by completing classes or other forms of learning. These badges are sometimes provided by the teachers themselves, and other times by an agency or certifying body that supervises the course.
Furthermore, some organizations may ask you to complete a project before they will issue you a badge. This is especially the case for coding projects, where your final product is usually used as proof that you know enough to code to work in the field.
Do Badges Benefit Professionals?
Without a doubt! That’s why we emphasise on badging. Because A digital badge is a validated indicator that represents skills or knowledge beyond those learned in degree, certificate, and certification programs. Digital badges recognize achievement and establish credibility. Earning one can serve as a motivator for working professionals to learn new skills.
Online digital badge programs help professionals create a flexible coursework schedule that’s built around existing business and personal obligations. Badge earners share their accomplishments by posting them on social media, online portfolios, and resumes. Earning a digital badge can lead to new connections, credit toward a certificate or degree, and a new level of interest for potential promotions.
