Across education and skills systems, there is a growing recognition that qualifications alone do not capture the full range of learning, capabilities and experience that people develop. Skills built through work experience, community learning, caring responsibilities, short courses or sector-specific training are often poorly recognised, difficult to evidence, and hard for learners to articulate to employers.

In Doncaster, a new report documents a practical solution to begin addressing this challenge. The Recognising Skills, Developing Opportunity: Doncaster’s Badging Journey report, delivered by City of Doncaster Council in partnership with Navigatr and Rethinking Assessment, set out to test how digital badges and a prototype Skills Profile might help make learning more visible, portable and meaningful for learners, providers and employers alike.

Rather than starting with technology, the project focused on existing learning provision and local priorities. Working with Adult, Family and Community Learning (AFCL) and the Health and Care Centre of Excellence (H&C CoE), the pilot explored how digital credentials could be embedded into real programmes that already support people into employment, further learning and progression.

What are digital badges – and why do they matter?

Digital badges are verified records of learning or achievement. Each badge contains embedded information about what was achieved, how it was assessed, who issued it and when. When designed well, badges do not replace qualifications; instead, they surface the skills, behaviours and experiences that often sit underneath or alongside them.

The UK Digital Badging Commission has recently highlighted the role badges can play in addressing a persistent problem: many people struggle to evidence what they can do, even when they have relevant experience. For employers, this results in uncertainty. For learners, it can close down opportunity.

In Doncaster, badges were created using open standards and quality assured against the Navigatr Badge Framework. This ensured they were portable, verifiable and aligned with employer language and labour market data, rather than becoming isolated digital tokens.

Learning pathways grounded in practice

Two case studies sit at the heart of the report.

Within the Health and Care Centre of Excellence, partners including NHS organisations, Doncaster College and local authority teams co-designed a pathway titled Exploring Health and Care Careers. The pathway brings together careers insight, employability preparation, work experience and a substantial industry placement, recognising not just participation but the behaviours and competencies needed in health and care roles. Badges were endorsed by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, lending sector credibility.

In Adult, Family and Community Learning, tutors worked collaboratively to translate existing courses into badge pathways, including Foundations in Early Years Childcare and Get into Beauty. Importantly, the badges were not an add-on. Tutors mapped existing curriculum content, assessment points and practical activities into discrete, recognisable achievements. Claim rates were high, particularly where badges were issued with structured in-session support, demonstrating that digital credentialing can work even with learners who have low digital confidence.

Across all pathways, learners completed a Digital Badge Basics badge at the outset. This introductory badge built understanding of how digital credentials work and helped ensure that all participants, regardless of background, could engage confidently with digital systems that are increasingly embedded in education, employment and public services.

Towards a Doncaster Skills Profile

Alongside badge delivery, the project advanced the development of a prototype Doncaster Skills Profile. Building on earlier work led by Rethinking Assessment, the Skills Profile is designed as a dynamic way for individuals to curate and share their skills, experiences and achievements, using verified badges as evidence.

Consultation with educators, employers and council teams identified a strong appetite for tools that help learners translate verified skills into applications, CVs and next steps. Stakeholders were clear: AI-generated CVs are not the answer unless they are grounded in credible, verifiable data. The Skills Profile concept responds to this by linking badges to live job opportunities, skills gap analysis and tailored application support.

While still at prototype stage, feedback suggested that such a profile, featuring digital badges to evidence skills and experience, could actively support progression, rather than simply record past learning.

What has been learned?

The report does not present digital badging as a finished solution. Instead, it offers evidence that a carefully designed, locally owned approach can add value when it is aligned with real provision, employer needs and learner confidence.

Key impacts included:

• High badge claim rates and positive learner feedback around confidence and recognition
• Increased provider capacity to design and issue quality digital credentials
• Stronger conversations with employers about skills, evidence and readiness for work

Crucially, the project established local infrastructure: relationships, shared language and practical knowledge that can support future scaling.

Why this matters for education leaders and councils

For schools, colleges, adult learning services and local authorities, the Doncaster pilot raises important questions. How do we recognise learning that sits outside formal qualifications? How do we help learners articulate what they can do in ways employers trust? And how do we build systems that support lifelong learning, rather than one-off interventions?

This report captures early signs of what is possible when digital credentialing is treated as a public learning infrastructure challenge, not a technical bolt-on.

As more places explore skills-based approaches, learner profiles and micro-credentials, the Doncaster experience offers a grounded, practice-led contribution to the conversation.

The full report can be accessed HERE, and shares the process, case studies and recommendations in detail, and is intended as a resource for others considering similar work.