Skill Artifacts
The Objective
The Lab is identifying a menu of real world evidence of soft skills, crowdsourced, that can serve as a proxy for more formal credentials. Examples include an Uber driver’s performance score, a home health aide's experience and ratings as listed on Care.com, or a local tree trimmer's reviews on Thumbtack, to signal skills such as oral communication, empathy, or initiative.
Two Sets of Artifacts
Military-Specific Artifacts
Artifacts, gained over the course of military service, which represent particular 21st century skills
"Universal" Artifacts
Artifacts, gained over the course of civilian work and life, which represent particular 21st century skills
What are Artifacts?
What Artifacts ARE
Tangible evidence of a skill
A defined menu of items explicitly identified by employers as valuable
Aligned to a particular benchmark of quality/rigor
Attached to a digital badge to serve as verifiable evidence
What Artifacts ARE NOT
A verbal recommendation ("Yeah, she's pretty good at that")
Outdated / irrelevant items ("Sweet, my 8th grade spelling bee trophy!")
Anything an individual can "dig up" ("Here's an email I received once, thanking me for my patience...")
Whose perspectives will inform the list of artifacts?
Employers
Military
The "Market"
- What job roles are in demand?
- What 21st century skills are essential for these roles?
- What kinds of skill evidence might learner-earners commonly possess?