Webinar Series

The Credentialing Economy and What It Means for Cybersecurity Skills

January 19, 2021
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Summit on the Credentialing Economy

April 2018

Purpose and goals? Themes, attendees, 

energy.

Trust and Verify: Aligning Supply and Demand

Credentials as Currency: The New Language 

in the Labor Market

Innovation/Disruption: Empowering Learners 

and Disrupting the Status Quo

Cyber?

Claira

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VISUALIZE

Technology will create jobs we can't even conceive of yet. 60% of 

occupations in 2025 will be new. The five examples chosen for 

the exercise are already emerging and/or very likely to be in high 

demand in the next 2-3 years.

ROBOT/HUMAN ETHICIST

With the rise of cloning and other ethically dubious practices, ethicists will be needed to ensure humane 

progress.

SPACE TOUR GUIDE

Space tourism will be a rising industry where tour guides work to help people live in lunar outposts.

VERTICAL FARMER

In the future, 80% of the earth will be urban, resulting in the necessity to farm straight up to maintain 

biological balance, optimize space and increase food supply.

WASTE DATA HANDLER

Data is the new commodity and currency. Think of an IT ax person for information. Waste data handlers 

will destroy data.

CLASSROM AVATAR MANAGER

Intelligent avatars replacing classroom teachers, but the human touch will be needed to properly match 

teacher to student.

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The Competency Project

Purpose and goals Dashboard

<--

Trends Drivers

Claira

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BASIC Grant

What we did How?

IT/OT

Manufacturing Energy

Cyber v cyber

Claira

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Katie Hall

Claira.ai

katie@claira.ai 

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

skilledwork.org

Claira

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Q & A 

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The Credentialing Economy and What it Means 

for Cybersecurity Skills

Karen Elzey, Associate Executive Director, Workcred
Workcred Mission & Vision

Mission: To strengthen workforce quality by improving 

the credentialing system, ensuring its ongoing relevance, 

and preparing employers, workers, educators, and 

governments to use it effectively. 

Vision: A labor market which relies on the relevance, 

quality, and value of workforce credentials for 

opportunities, growth, and development. 

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved 17
18 © 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved
THE CREDENTIALING SYSTEM 

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved 19
The credentialing system is a confusing maze. 

Understanding how to navigate it can be difficult. Workcred is here to help.

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EMBEDDING CERTIFICATIONS INTO 

BACHELOR’S DEGREE PROGRAMS

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved 22
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Certification-Degree Pathways Project

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved
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Cybersecurity Convening: Takeaways 

and Lessons Learned

Opportunities for Cooperation

• Deepening an understanding of certification bodies and how they do their work will help faculty to 

tighten the alignment between curricula and the job market 

• There exists real possibilities for working with credentialing bodies to provide certification opportunities 

for undergraduates still in school to benefit from more employment opportunities

• Faculty know how to teach and are at the cutting edge of their discipline; certification bodies know 

knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and perform job task analyses (JTAs) to stay on top of employer 

needs; neither party is well-equipped to replace the other, yet their marriage can be incredibly fruitful 

Perceived Barriers

• The challenge of identifying which certifications matter to employers in order to prepare students for 

employment 

• Clarity on return on investment of certifications are needed by universities, government, and students 

(e.g., will financial aid cover the cost of certifications?)

• Universities and certification bodies use different languages

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved
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Certification-Degree 

Pathways Framework

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved
WORKCRED’S GOVERNMENT 

CREDENTIALING NETWORK

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved 26
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Government Credentialing Network

Participants: Represent government agencies with active or developing credential 

programs

Some of the objectives of the network are to identify:

• Where, how, and why the federal government uses credentialing

• The various roles of industry and professional organizations in the creation of 

workforce credentials and the working relationships between industry and the federal 

government 

• Federal credentialing models and share best practices to build more consistency 

among federal agencies

• Legislation and regulation affecting credentialing, and provide input to ensure 

consistency in credentialing terminology and concepts

• Trends and practices through the analysis of big data and new statistics from federal 

surveys 

• The need for and create workshops/conferences focusing on federal agencies and 

credentialing

• Metrics for evaluating program effectiveness 

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved
for more information

Workcred Headquarters

1899 L Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036

www.workcred.org

Karen Elzey

Associate Executive Director

kelzey@workcred.org

202.331.3632

© 2021 Workcred, Inc., All Rights Reserved 28
Q & A 

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Thank You for Joining Us!

Upcoming Webinar: “Top Ten Ways to Discover a Cybersecurity Career That Is Right for You”

When: Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 2:00-3:00PM

Register: https://nist-nice.adobeconnect.com/webinarfeb2021/event/registration.html

nist.gov/nice/webinars

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