The Federal Mandate
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Department of Education (ED) are collaborating on workforce and career and technical education programs to build a unified talent development system. Federal guidance — including a Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL No. 07-25) related to Unified State Plans under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V) — establishes clear expectations for how states collect, organize, and publish education and workforce data.
Two provisions are of particular importance to state agencies developing or modifying their state plans:
Pillar II highlights the value and role of Credential Registries as a required component of state talent marketplace infrastructure — alongside Learning and Employment Records and skills-based job description tools.
Pillar IV requires that information about education and training programs be published and made publicly available in “structured, open, linked, and interoperable data (SOLID) formats.”
The Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) is the open standard built to fulfill these requirements.
What is SOLID Data?
Federal policy increasingly requires that credential, training provider, and skills data meet SOLID data standards. The CTDL framework is built to deliver on every dimension:
- S — Structured: Standardized, machine-readable formats so data can be checked for consistency, compared, and used across learn-and-work ecosystems. Structured data enables reliable interpretation.
- O — Open: Open access and licensing for both commercial and non-commercial use, supporting transparency, innovation, and broad access. Open data enables reuse and remixing.
- L — Linked: Connected through persistent identifiers and semantic relationships so data can be discovered, combined, and understood across credentials, skills, jobs, and pathways. Linked data enables meaningful connections across types and sources.
- I — Interoperable: Shared technical and semantic standards so data can be reliably exchanged and used across platforms, tools, and jurisdictions without custom integration. Interoperable data conveys meaning and value across different systems and contexts.
- D — Durable: Persistent identifiers, governance, and long-term infrastructure that ensure stability, referenceability, and trust over time. Durable data is reliable now and in the future.
A Key Opportunity: Postsecondary Credentials Lists
One of the most direct ways states can meet the TEGL’s Pillar IV requirement is by ensuring their Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) or industry-recognized credential lists are aligned to CTDL and published to the Credential Registry.
When postsecondary credential lists are structured using CTDL and published to the Credential Registry, they can be:
- Discovered by learners, job seekers, and workforce navigators
- Compared across programs, providers, and regions
- Connected to skills, occupations, and credential outcomes
- Reused by state agencies, federal systems, and third-party technology platforms
Reinforcing this, federal guidance on recognized postsecondary credentials now explicitly includes whether a credential is “traceable and trackable by systems of record in a structured, open, linked, interoperable, and machine-readable data format” as a criterion for determining labor market value. States defining or refining their lists of credentials of value should build this standard into their policy frameworks now.
State agencies leading credential policy and management are uniquely positioned to drive this transition — and Credential Engine is ready to support that work.
A Window of Action: Combined WIOA and Perkins V State Plans
New Federal guidance gives states the opportunity to formalize education and workforce integration by including Perkins V as a WIOA State Plan partner. At minimum, a State must submit a Unified State Plan that covers the six core WIOA programs. Including Perkins V enhances the WIOA Unified State Plan and transitions it to a WIOA Combined State Plan.
A combined plan creates a direct vehicle for states to:
- Remove prior procedural barriers, align submission timelines, and coordinate review processes.
- Establish a shared list of recognized postsecondary credentials that meet SOLID data standards across both WIOA and Perkins V accountability systems
- Build or expand longitudinal data systems that integrate CTE, workforce program participation, and employment outcomes
- Support development of a state talent marketplace — including a Credential Registry — that connects learners, employers, and education and training providers
States that act now are positioning themselves ahead of the 2028 state planning cycle and in alignment with federal expectations for data infrastructure modernization.
State Policy Actions That Drive Adoption
Federal guidance sets the floor — but state policy is what determines how quickly and durably SOLID data standards take hold in practice. States have broad authority to shape credential recognition, provider eligibility, data governance, and technology procurement in ways that accelerate adoption and create lasting infrastructure. The following actions represent high-leverage policy levers available to state workforce and education agencies right now.
State Policy Checklist:
- Define “Credentials of Value” in State Statute or Administrative Rule. States that hard-code SOLID data standards directly into their credential recognition criteria — rather than leaving it to agency discretion — create durable policy that survives administration changes. Federal language describing credentials as “traceable and trackable in structured, open, linked, interoperable formats” can be adopted almost verbatim into state rule, creating a direct and defensible compliance rationale.
- Build SOLID Data Compliance into a Tiered Credential Quality Framework. Several states have developed tiered frameworks that assign labor market value to credentials based on defined criteria. Embedding SOLID data compliance as a condition for each tier — or as a requirement for the highest tier — creates a direct policy rationale for structured publishing. This makes CTDL alignment a condition for state recognition, not just a technical recommendation.
- Establish Cross-Agency Data Governance for a Single Authoritative Credential Registry. One of the most common state-level barriers to data quality is siloed credential lists — workforce agencies, education agencies, and higher education boards each maintaining separate, incompatible inventories. States should establish cross-agency data governance agreements (or codify them in their combined state plan) that designate a single authoritative credential registry and require all agencies to draw from it. This also reduces duplicative administrative burden over time.
- Incorporate CTDL Compatibility into State Technology Procurement Standards. When states procure labor market information platforms, case management systems, or workforce technology tools, requiring CTDL API compatibility in RFP language ensures new systems are interoperable by design — rather than requiring expensive retrofits after the fact. This is particularly important as states build out the talent marketplace infrastructure envisioned by federal guidance, and creates compounding value as more systems adopt the standard.
Why Work with Credential Engine
Meet Federal Requirements Now — Federal guidance explicitly calls for credential and training program data to be published in structured, open, linked, and interoperable formats, and requires that credentials of value be traceable and trackable in those same formats. Alignment with CTDL is the most direct path to compliance.
One Standard, Many Use Cases — CTDL is the only comprehensive open standard built specifically for credentials, skills, jobs, and learning pathways. Building on CTDL means your state’s data infrastructure speaks the same language as federal systems, peer states, and third-party platforms.
Reduce Integration Costs — When data is SOLID, it eliminates costly one-off integrations. CTDL-aligned data connects seamlessly across the education-to-workforce ecosystem — reducing rework across state agencies, local boards, and technology partners.
Enable AI-Ready Data Pipelines — SOLID data is the prerequisite for AI-powered discovery, matching, and analytics — including the talent marketplace tools federal agencies are actively encouraging states to develop. Credential Engine’s infrastructure supports scalable publishing, quality validation, and API access that powers next-generation workforce tools.
Build a Durable, Trusted Data Foundation — States are under increasing pressure to modernize their credential and training data infrastructure and demonstrate accountability across programs. CTDL-aligned data published to the Credential Registry gives state agencies a credible, standards-based foundation to meet those expectations — and to demonstrate leadership to federal partners, employers, and the public.