David Leaser
IBM awards its three millionth digital badge (and disrupts the labor market in five big ways)
IBM has recently issued its three millionth digital badge! What started out as a simple idea to attract talent has turned into the most influential IT credential program in the world. Now, IBM has issued its three millionth badge and hosts about 2,500 activities where badges are issued. The idea was born in a conference […]
IBM enhances the learning experience on its Skills Gateway
IBM has always believed that if you love what you do, and you have the skills to do it, you can change the way the world works. By developing revolutionary concepts in learning, IBM is challenging the status quo in how an organization can develop its workforce to win in the market. As 2020 unfolds, […]
New volume: How IBM used badges to connect on-the-job learning to academic credit
In collaboration with IBM, Northeastern University gained recognition as the first academic institution to articulate workplace digital badges for college credit. Now, a new volume, titled Credentials for a new era of work and learning: Lessons and recommendations from industry leaders, highlights the IBM/Northeastern program and shows others how to create similar programs. The volume […]
LinkedIn’s Top 10 emerging jobs around the globe may (not) surprise you
When you look at LinkedIn’s 2020 Emerging Jobs Report, you may say to yourself, “Maybe we should just drop the IT from information technology jobs.” Jobs, increasingly, have an IT component, and that trend is likely to increase in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA). The LinkedIn Emerging Jobs analysis […]
The Rise of Assessment Tech in Learning and Development
On an ASU-GSV panel, a professor from a distinguished university told the audience, “I wouldn’t hire any of my students based on a diploma. I would require a pre-hire assessment.” It was a bold, honest statement, mirrored by thought leaders like Ryan Craig who argue “Colleges continue to act as though they’re preparing students for […]
Badges Need Rigor! (Or do they really?)
By David Leaser The debate about Open Badges has shifted from their use as a signal of achievement to a dialog about rigor and the qualifications to earn a badge. In the process, the value of Open Badges may be lost if we prescribe a fixed set of expectations and present assumptions to constrain their […]
The demand for cybersecurity professionals is outstripping the supply of skilled workers
By David Leaser A new Burning Glass study should serve as a wakeup call for technical training organizations: The demand for cybersecurity professionals is outstripping the supply of skilled workers. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows the number of new cybersecurity programs has increased 33%, but the demand is growing faster as cybersecurity is now […]
Do digital badges really provide value to businesses?
By David Leaser When the Open Badges standard was established in 2012, the mission was straightforward: Create a method for packaging information about accomplishments and embed it into portable image files as digital badges. The use cases were thin and value to business was unknown. But when IBM jumped in and decided to develop its […]
IBM just made it easier to start a career in IT with SkillsBuild
By David Leaser When IBM’s chairman Ginni Rometty coined the term New Collar to describe jobs in IT which don’t require a traditional degree, her timing was perfect. The world has entered the fourth major industrial era since the 18th century. By every measure, the impact to the workforce will be significant. More than 100 […]
IBM launches new professional skills program: The top five soft skills you need to succeed in business
By David Leaser A recent LinkedIn study found 57% of leaders say soft skills are more important than hard skills. Soft skills include the ability to work effectively, from presentation to collaborations skills. But soft skills are becoming harder to find in today’s labor market candidate pools. To help solve the problem, IBM is hosting free […]
Reskilling for the Robots
Amidst the great debate over whether AI will replace human jobs, there has been less discussion of how it will transform corporate cultures. At Mobile World Congress 2019, Yun-Hee Kim, technology editor for The Wall Street Journal, hosted a panel of industry leaders to discuss the disruption and opportunity AI will bring. The panel included […]
Reskilling for Robots: AI and the future of jobs
What do you need to do to prepare for an AI driven future? By David Leaser Just five years ago, the late scientist Stephen Hawking made a dire prediction: The “development of full artificial intelligence (AI) could spell the end of the human race.” These ideas are not new. In 1867, Karl Marx wrote, “The instrument […]
IBM Expands its Digital Badge Program: First joint badge with an academic institution
By David Leaser ““At some of IBM’s US facilities, as many as one-third of our employees have less than a four-year college degree.”” There are a surging number of exciting, good paying jobs in today’s tech industry that do not require a traditional college degree. These roles are in some of the technology industry’s fastest […]
Visit us at Think 2018!
Think 2018 (Mar 19-22, Las Vegas), is right around the corner and IBM will have a very large Skills and Support presence! On the main floor in Mandalay Bay 703, IBM Support and Training & Skills will host a shared booth space with the IBM Subscription & Support team, showcasing the new and transformed Client […]
IBM wins ATD Excellence in Practice Award for its digital credentials program
The IBM Digital Badge Program was awarded the 2017 Excellence in Practice Award in the Learning and Development category at the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Conference this Tuesday, May 8 in San Diego, California. The Association for Talent Development (ATD), formerly American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), is a leading non-profit association […]
IBM Digital Badge Program Wins Training Magazine’s 2017 Silver Medal Award
Lorri Freifeld, Editor-in-Chief for Training Magazine, presents IBM with the 2017 Silver Medal Award in the eLearning Challenge. Training Magazine awarded IBM’s Digital Badge Program the 2017 Silver Medal Award in its eLearning Design Challenge awards ceremony at the Online Learning Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. The publishing company recognized the program for […]
Northeastern University + IBM: Turning digital badges into academic credentials will create opportunities and better college graduates
Northeastern University published a press release announcing our innovative collaboration using IBM Digital Badges. IBM employees, customers, and members of the public can now use IBM issued badge credentials toward three Northeastern professional master’s degree programs—data analytics, project management, and portfolio management—with 51 additional graduate degrees and 17 certificate programs to follow. Game changer: converting industry […]