Events

April 14, 2026

Workcred Micro-chat: Strengthening Career Pathways through State and Institutional Policy Alignment

On April 14, Workcred and Houston City College (HCC) are teaming up to showcase ways to strengthen career pathways through better alignment of state and institutional policies. Higher education policy is placing greater emphasis on the types of outcomes students achieve after graduation from an institution of higher education. These outcomes may include obtaining a job with a family-sustaining wage, workforce readiness, or earning an industry credential that validates that a learner has a marketable skill. To meet these outcomes, there must be intentional and committed alignment of policies that guide the development and awarding of credentials, allowing learners to successfully transition into the workforce or continue their education. The micro-chat will explore how HCC developed processes that could be used by all of their workforce programs to ensure that the curriculum was aligned with regional workforce needs, that all awards meet the definition of a credential of value, and that programs within each discipline can be stacked and lead to additional credentials of value or pathways into the workforce. In addition, the processes were focused on making financially-prudent decisions, while simultaneously maintaining a focus on student success. We will also share recommendations and lessons learned from HCC’s work that can benefit other community colleges.

October 15, 2025

Workcred Micro-Chat: Connecting Credentials – How Community Colleges Integrate Certifications into Career Pathways

On On October 15 Workcred, the League for Innovation in the Community College, and the Higher Learning Commission was joined by partner community colleges to showcase how they each integrated certifications into degree programs to help students more effectively articulate and demonstrate the skills that they possess. As employers transition from hiring based on credentials to hiring based on skills, the integration of certifications into degree programs will become even more crucial as students seek more positive career opportunities.

September 25, 2024

Workcred Micro-chat: The Changing Nature of Assessments

Workcred and PDRI by Pearson co-hosted a Micro-chat on September 25 to discuss the changing nature of assessments for both technical and non-technical skills, how the private sector and governments are using these assessments as part of their hiring process, and how do these assessments differ and/or complement assessments used by certification bodies.

November 3, 2022

Workcred Micro-Chat: Does Credential Outcomes Data Actually Reflect Reality?

Earlier this year, Workcred launched a new Micro-chat Series—hour-long, semi-annual discussions that provide an engaging open forum for attendees to discuss current issues related to credentialing.

The 2nd session, “Does Credential Outcomes Data Actually Reflect Reality?,” was held on November 3, 2022, and discussed what the current data shows about certification outcomes and value, and if the data reflects the way things really are.

May 18, 2022

Technology and the Workforce Conference (Part of Spring 2022 ANSI World Standards Week Events)

Hosted by ANSI and Workcred, the 2022 Technology and the Workforce conference examined how the acceleration of technology is impacting the U.S. workforce.

The office of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce shared the Administration’s vision for workforce development as a key driver of U.S. competitiveness and to highlight opportunities for public-private partnerships that will help build an equitable, skilled workforce for the digital, data-based economy. Keynote speaker Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health, shared a visionary perspective on the future world of work and what U.S. companies and organizations need to do to compete. And three fire-side chat-style panels of expert speakers explored the changes impacting the workforce, workplace, and standardization community.

November 7, 2019

Building an Effective Workforce for the Future (Part of ANSI World Standards Week 2019)

Featured speakers offered expert perspectives on workforce trends and challenges and examined how employers can prepare themselves and current and future talent to meet future needs. Keynote speaker Patrick Gallagher, Ph.D., chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh and former under secretary for standards and technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, shared his views on opportunities to address the skills gap through a multi-stakeholder process to develop credentials that function at market scale. In addition, Anthony Carnevale, Ph.D., director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, highlighted economic trends and factors affecting the workforce of tomorrow in his afternoon keynote. Interactive panel sessions included:

• The Future of Work to explore how new technologies are changing skill demands, and how companies may need to change to ensure that their skill needs are met.
• New Credentials for the Future Workforce examined new methods and types of credentials that are disrupting traditional models of learning.
• Upskilling, Reskilling, and Retraining Today's Workforce showcased ways in which panelists' organizations are upskilling and reskilling to meet the demands of industry.
• Future of the Standards Workforce featured panelists on the innovative ways in which members of the standardization community are responding to various workforce challenges.