Overview
Western Governors University (WGU) is working to provide a learner-owned Learning and Employment Record (LER) and Achievement Wallet to all students so that they may see the validated skills they have earned and curate them for their own use. WGU is deploying the Achievement Wallet for WGU students nationally and working students at educational institutions across the state of Indiana.
The Achievement Wallet is envisioned as a comprehensive repository that bridges the worlds of education and employment by capturing an individual's formal and informal educational experiences, professional development achievements, soft skills, and industry-specific training programs. The approach provides a more complete picture of an individual's abilities and experiences that is available with traditional academic transcripts and resumes.
It is not only students who are expected to benefit from the Achievement Wallet. Employers may use the Wallet to verify and assess credentials, skills, and achievements. This occurs by jobseekers uploading and tagging in multiple formats demonstrations of their skills directly to employers (e.g., a video of a sales presentation or adding a publication to their Wallet).
In Indiana, this open-standards effort is helping working students in Indiana transfer skills-based educational credentials into the information systems of traditional higher education through the learner-owned record called the “Achievement Wallet.” The Indiana Achievement Wallet is a digital profile that tracks a student’s personal and professional learning achievements and helps them share those achievements. The Indiana Achievement Wallet allows a learner to showcase skills that a singular transcript or resume is unable to capture. With the Wallet, job seekers have a digital and personalized profile to share with employers to prove their skills and credentials. The Wallet also helps learners find open jobs and identify ways to advance in the workforce.
Partners and Funders
The Indiana Achievement Wallet was the result of a strategic partnership of IBM, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Purdue Global, National Student Clearinghouse, Goodwill of Southern & Central Indiana, iQ4, Skillful Indiana
Philanthropic support from Lily Endowment Inc. and the Walmart Foundation
Resources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yf9l6fv0gA
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stand-together/2023/12/19/closing-the-skills-gap-an-inside-look-at-the-achievement-wallet/?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content&sh=3b45b880352e
WGU Meeting the Moment Webinar: Closing the Skills Gap in American Workforce (Broadcast Nov. 27, 2023)