As the pace of workforce change accelerates, one challenge looms large for both employers and job applicants: connecting learning to employment in a way that is efficient, transparent and fair. Traditional transcripts and resumes are no longer cutting it in an era where skills—not just degrees—are driving hiring decisions. Enter digital credentials, skills profiles and a new class of tools that aim to make learning and skills more visible and valuable in the labor market.

One such tool is Western Governors University’s (WGU) Lightweight Viewer, a prototype designed to help employers envision the future of signaling employment opportunities and discovering the right talent—and the infrastructure needed to support this future. Research commissioned by WGU and conducted by UpSkill America sheds light on how employers view this tool and the broader implications for those working toward skills-first talent development and management.

What Is the Lightweight Viewer?

The Lightweight Viewer is part of a broader effort by WGU to bring to life the Learner Information Framework (LIF), a set of technical standards and tools that translate learner data—credentials, skills, and experiences—in a format that employers can easily use to view data within an LER.

Think of it as a more intelligent, interactive search tool that’s connected to an LER digital wallet, such as WGU’s Achievement Wallet, where users can store verified credentials and skills. The viewer allows employers to search for talent based on specific skills, view verified and self-reported competencies, and access contextual information like prior experience or credentials. In short, it aims to help employers find the right candidates more efficiently, while giving users a fairer shot at opportunities they are qualified for.

Why This Matters Now

The report is based on in-depth interviews with a dozen employers across industries, from healthcare to fintech, who were asked to test and critique the Lightweight Viewer as they viewed data in WGU’s Achievement Wallet. While the tool is a prototype, the conversations revealed some important insights about the current hiring landscape and what employers are hungry for.

• Employers are overwhelmed by traditional resumes and job platforms that do not offer credible, skills-based insights.

• AI-generated applications are eroding trust in applicant materials, making it harder for hiring teams to verify who truly has the required skills.

• Validated skills and verified credentials are increasingly seen as critical indicators of a job candidate’s ability to perform, especially for early-career or nontraditional applicants.

Key Features Employers Appreciated

Employers saw promise in several aspects of the Lightweight Viewer.

• Skills-Based Search. Rather than relying on keywords or job titles, employers could search for specific skills, like "project management" or "data analysis," and filter results by location, job type, or work format. This function was highly valued, though employers noted it needs to support searches using multiple skills and include intelligent autofill suggestions.

• Candidate Lists. The viewer surfaces candidates who have opted to be discoverable. Employers liked this proactive talent identification, though they wanted a way to prioritize candidates and ensure they’re actively seeking a job.

• Verified Credentials and Validated Skills. Employers particularly valued credentials that were verified by a reputable institution and skills that had been demonstrated in a real-world or assessment-based context. They noted this was much more reliable than self-attested claims and could mitigate risks associated with inflated resumes. As one employer said, “The market is flooded. There is a proliferation of all these skill providers and credentials. We need ways of answering: Is this reputable? Is this a real thing?”

• Efficiency and Transparency. The viewer has the potential to shorten the hiring process and improve the quality of candidate pools. Employers said that tools like this could help them identify strong candidates faster and with more confidence, especially in early-career hiring.

What This Means for Future Tools

While the response was generally positive, employers were also candid about the hurdles.

• Integration is critical. Employers don’t want another standalone platform. For adoption to scale, tools like the Lightweight Viewer must be interoperable and plug into existing systems like Applicant Tracking Systems and Human Resource Information Systems.

• Evidence is everything. Before making changes to how they hire, employers want solid evidence that the tool improves outcomes—reduces time to hire, improves retention or enhances fairness.

• Application of skills matters. Employers don’t just want to know someone has a skill; they want evidence that the individual has applied that skill in real settings. That’s where validated skills become more valuable than credentials alone.

• Usability drives adoption. The tool needs to be easy to navigate without training. Visual clarity, intuitive layout, and functionality like ranking or comparing candidates were frequently mentioned as critical design considerations.

An employer questioned why job candidates must put their information into different formats to apply to different jobs. “This might make it easier to get information into the hiring side. You know the Common App for colleges? This could be similar to that.”

What This Means for Higher Education

In addition to takeaways for those working to develop or implement tool platforms, this report signals a fundamental shift in how learning is communicated and consumed in the labor market. If we want learners to thrive in a skills-first economy, then institutions must rethink how they:

• Design learning experiences that result in clearly demonstrable skills.

• Credential achievements in ways that go beyond degrees to include validated microcredentials, badges and evidence of applied learning.

• Ensure credential data is structured, portable and verifiable so that learners can carry it with them across systems and careers.

• Collaborate with employers to ensure the credentials and skills we verify are aligned to actual workforce needs.

Looking Ahead: A Call to Action

Employers are intrigued by tools like the Lightweight Viewer and are open to innovation—if the tools make their lives easier and deliver better hires. It is, essentially, the early-stage development of a talent marketplace that will enable job seekers and employers to find each other. One thing is clear: Tools like the Lightweight Viewer should be designed to be interoperable, meaning they could work with other credentialing bodies and systems.

.We are making progress, but there is still much to learn about how employers will ultimately use and benefit from innovations designed to better connect verified credentials and skills data with employment opportunities.

To learn more, explore the Learner Information Framework and WGU’s Achievement Wallet initiative. Also, see earlier research on employers’ views of digital credentials.