Connecting learning to earning: Lessons from Asia and Africa

Many organizations and governments have been exploring the use of digital learning and employment records (LERs) to support youth transitioning into employment. For over a decade, efforts to promote the use of digital credentials of various sorts have been touted to offer a promising avenue to meet the evolving demands of joining the workforce. However, many of these initiatives have only met with checkered success to date.

While these types of records can potentially enable young people to articulate their diverse skill sets and can support employers in identifying suitable candidates, presenting a holistic view of a young person’s skills, competencies, and accomplishments, replacing traditional resumes, this is easier said than done. Indeed, there is a need for concerted efforts from governments, educational institutions, and the private sector to promote the adoption of learning & employment records and to integrate them seamlessly into existing skilling and hiring practices. While many of the highest profile efforts of these sorts to date have been in the United States, there is a wealth of experience from other parts of the world that is less well known that suggests that different pathways and approaches are possible.

On June 25, the Center for Universal Education held part two of our conversation with key groups exploring the use of LERs in Asia and Africa to learn what is succeeding, and what is not, at a practical, working level.

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