WASHINGTON, D.C. (AUGUST 27, 2020) — National nonprofit Credential Engine today announced that a new grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be used to drive increased transparency in the vast education and training landscape and help workers navigate a maze of credential options.
Over the course of the next year, the support from the Gates Foundation will go to expanding state adoption of Credential Engine’s open-source Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), a common language for articulating valuable credential information such as associated competencies, pathways, earnings, and links to job skills.
“We’re grateful for the support from and partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” said Scott Cheney, executive director of Credential Engine. “At a time of record unemployment when millions of Americans are seeking new education and training pathways, it shouldn’t be so difficult to locate the next best step. This partnership will provide a clearer picture of the credential marketplace and in turn make it easier for students, workers, educators, and employers to find each other.”
Eighteen states and regions are now working with Credential Engine and its suite of open-source technologies to improve transparency of credentials, competencies, pathways, and quality indicators. In addition to state expansion efforts, the Gates Foundation funding will help to build out and pilot functionality to make it easier to clearly show how credentials fit into successful pathways to jobs. Funds will also be used to expand data sharing, interoperability, and analytics within and across states in partnership with the Coleridge Initiative’s Administrative Data Research Facility.
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About Credential Engine: Credential Engine is a nonprofit organization that develops and maintains the technology infrastructure to enable a transparent and connected credential marketplace. The Credential Registry, started in 2016, currently houses nearly20,000 credentials and competency frameworks from nearly 450 providers and includes everything from apprenticeships and certificates to certifications and degrees. Credential Engine is also supported by Lumina Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Walmart, Google, Northrop Grumman Foundation, Microsoft Philanthropies, the Siegel Family Endowment, and the ECMC Foundation.
Credential Engine Contact: Scott Cheney scheney@credentialengine.org
Credential Engine_Gates Foundation Grant Release