The document discusses IBM's digital badge program designed to address the global talent gap by providing a system of verified skills and achievements through portable credentials. It outlines the challenges organizations face in finding skilled workers and presents digital badges as a solution to enhance employability and foster lifelong learning. The program has seen significant adoption and positive outcomes, including increased engagement, certification pass rates, and product trial downloads.

2. PROBLEM
THE WORLD
IS FACING
A SERIOUS
TALENT

3. World leaders are telling IBM they have major
challenges in finding workers with required skills
51%
Industry executives citing finding appropriately skilled workers in local labor
markets as the greatest challenge related to skills
71%
Corporate recruiters that indicated they cannot find applicants with sufficient
practical experience
Sources: Multiple. See notes.

4. Changes in the labor market required us to change and
rethink how we would meet the market demand for talent
Line of Business Jobs
now require IT skills
Gig Economy
requires a skills registry
Agile Development
requires “liquid skills”
Rise of Teams
require expertise location
Shadow IT
decentralizes IT
New collar jobs
require new credentials
Contract Employee
MONTHS
18
WEEKS
12
2014 2016
+ +
+ +

5. SKILLS
EVERYTHING POINTED TO A
NEED TOCHANGE THE WAY
WE DEVELOP AND TAKE INVENTORY OF

6. ☑ Timely
☑ Verifiable
☑ Portable
☑ Discoverable
These signals required us to create a new credential
structure to signal and surface capability:
☑ Differentiating

7. Digital emblem
which provides timely
symbol of skills and
achievements
SHAR
E
Contains metadata
with skills tags and
accomplishments
Easy to share in social
media: LinkedIn,
Twitter, FB, blogs
Tethered to badge issuer
to validate and verify
achievement
Provides a
progression path to
advance commitment
Analytics provide
insight into how a
program is performing
Open Badges seemed to fulfill all of our requirements
Portable: Standards-based on Mozilla’s Open Badges standard

8. How it works: Technology behind IBM’s Digital Badge
program is based on Open Standards
Badge earner candidate
completes activity and qualifies to
earn an IBM badge
IBM badge issuer Initiates a
notification to inform the badge
candidate of eligibility to earn and
claim an IBM badge
IBM badge issuer submits badge
earner name, email address, and
badge credential earned to the
Acclaim badge earner notification
system via secure, encrypted file
upload procedure or through a
secure API
Acclaim badge earner notification
system generates and sends a
badge claim notification email to
the badge earner to alert them of
the IBM badge earned, and to
provide instructions for accepting
the badge
Badge earner receives badge
claim notification and must
initiate step 1 of a 2-step opt-in
procedure to obtain their badge.
Step 1 requires the badge earner
to click the “Accept” button
within the badge claim
notification email to OPT IN
Badge Earner
“accepts?”
YES
NO
Badge Earner
Directed to Pearson
Acclaim web site. Must
create a profile on
Acclaim, and accept
Acclaim terms before
badge can be claimed
and added to the
badge earner’s profile.
Badge Earner
Completes profile, claims
badge and is presented with a
range of opt-in based options
for sharing the badge
publically, etc.
2
1
3
4
5
6
7 8Badge earner candidate enrolls,
registers, or declares their
candidacy in an IBM related
activity/program where a digital
badge can be earned.
Badge NOT accepted. Badge
earner details archived within
Acclaim for period of time
specified by IBM, but not
longer than IBM has an
agreement with Acclaim. This
allows the badge to be
claimed in the future, and
provides IBM with
claimed/unclaimed badge
reporting metrics. Badge
earner details are not used for
any further purpose by
Acclaim.

9. A pilot begins
(Is this going to work?)

10. Knowledge Skills Proficiency Certified General
Badging is how we will measure resume-worthy IBM skills in the market
We developed five unique digital badges to encompass
the broad activities we host at IBM

11. We developed personas and identified high-level
stakeholder needs
• Broadcast achievements
• Motivate participation
• Develop personal Brand
• Connect with jobs
• Generate qualified leads
• Enhance our brand
• Differentiate IBM
• Track and nurture talent
• Candidate selection
• Improved company
performance
• Skills maps
• Team building

12. We established objectives for the entire organization
Reduce customer
service and support
Increase client
confidence
Map skills at the
nano level
Build a loyal skill base
who want more
Enhance expertise
analytics
Promote Technical
Eminence
Crowd-source
innovation
Recognize employees
for achievement
Acquire verified
talent
Increase license
sales
Achieve career
milestone
Accelerate shifts in
expertise

13. We generated use cases with expected benefits
Solidify the client base Build a developer base Proliferate skills Track skills @ nano
level
Increase license sales Reduce customer
service
Objectives Build advocacy and
strengthen client
relationship and
commitment to IBM
Increase the number of
developers using our
offerings
Build a vibrant and
large pool of skilled
labor to support our
products
Create a heat map of
critical skills for
achievements earned
across the globe
Drive potential
customers to act by
downloading trial
versions of our
offerings
Motivate customers
to develop skills to
reduce support calls
and critsits
Benefits to
earners
Earners will be
recognized as having
increased eminence on
IBM solutions.
Earners receive a nano
credential they can use to
increase job and
opportunity prospects,
build a personal brand in
social media.
Earners receive a nano
credential they can use
to increase job and
opportunity prospects,
build a personal brand
in social media.
Provides a progression
path and skills journey as
we target offerings based
on our analysis of their
skill level and need.
Easy connection
between a completed
badge for a "how to"
course leads
immediately to a free
trial product download
Earners receive a
nano credential they
can use to increase
job and opportunity
prospects, build a
personal brand in
social media.
Benefits to our
clients
Badges count for points
in a program that
rewards customers with
conference seats,
services or marketing
activities.
Verified application
development skills in
employees and potential
hires. Badges motivate
internal employees to
self-manage and
progress their learning.
Verified skills in
employees and
potential hires. Badges
motivate internal
employees to self-
manage and progress
their learning.
Verified solution skills in
employees and potential
hires.
Employees come to
the table with a
fundamental
understanding of the
product and the
benefits, the beginning
of a POC.
Reduced cost,
customer satisfaction
and opportunity cost.
Badges motivate
internal employees to
self-manage and
progress their
learning.
Benefits to your
organization
Increased public
advocacy, references,
case studies, plus as a
social media drip
marketing campaign
generated by badges
Expanded developer
base eager to advance
with IBM.
Skilled labor to support
installations. Reduced
risk of poor
deployments.
Ability to locate and
progress deep technical
skills for key IBM
solutions
Increased exposure to
IBM solutions through
downloads.
Reduced cost,
customer satisfaction
issues and costs.

14. The results exceeded our
expectations

15. Our online courses saw triple digit grow in every metric

16. The benefits of our program went way beyond training
program participation
87% say they are now
more engaged with IBM
57% increase in
certification pass rates
64% increase in product
trial downloads
92% say badges are
valuable to verify job skills
Engagement Certifications Product Trials Employability
NOTE: LinkedIn profiles with IBM badges receive 6x profile views.

17. We receive 2.5 million views for every 10,000 badges we issue
resulting in $ millions in marketing benefit
Social media impressions generate significant branding
and demonstrate vitality for our programs

18. IBM Digital Badges are
transforming every area of
our business

19. We have seen significant adoption in every internal and
external group in our ecosystem
183
Countries
1,084
Badged activities
258K
Badge earners
495K
Badges issued
84%
Claim rate
112M
Social media impressions

20. Retire the LMS! Every badged activity flows into a single
skill registry, so we can now see all disparate activities

21. Our Digital Badge Program has build a heat map of skills
at the “micro” level in more than 178 countries
We can now see and map “nano” skills around the globe to
create teams and match business needs

22. Digital Badges have added value and transformed our
traditional certifications from transactions to relationships
Badges add value to certifications:
1. Create progression activities
2. Issue continuing education credits
3. Create specialized credentials
Legally defensible
/ psychometrically
sound
Shelf life of 24
months or more
Required by an
industry
governing body
Required for
safety or security
Is required by
state law or
license
Liquid skills that
change quickly
Continuing
education credits
Passions and
interests
Demonstrated
capabilities
Inventions and
innovations
CERTIFICATIONS
BADGES

23. By creating a registry of nano skills, IBM Digital Badges
help solve the world’s skills gaps by teaming the best
talent based on verified micro skills
Analytics
Machine Learning
Statistics
Calculus & Algebra
Data Munging
Visualization
Communication
Programming Analytics
Machine Learning
Statistics
Calculus & Algebra
Data Munging
Visualization
Communication
Programming
Data Scientist (aka “Unicorn”) Data Science Team(Collaboration across the globe)
?
Help!

24. Every IBM Digital Badge is embedded with links to real-
time dynamic labor market data – and actual job postings

25. IBM’s digital
credential
strategy is
influencing
public policy
US Department of Labor, US Department of Education, US Chamber of Commerce have incorporated
IBM’s strategy into their policy discussions.

26. The IT industry is looking to IBM to provide leadership as
they develop digital credential programs
Microsoft, Cisco and Project Management Institute and others consulted
with IBM and have now launched digital badge programs

27. IBM’s digital badge program is winning the industry’s
highest honors and shaping the future of credentials
The IBM Open Badge Program has been awarded highest honors from IMS Global Consortium and the
IT Certification Council, representing a dramatic transformation in the IT credential space.

28. The IBM Digital Badge Program is creating a bridge
between colleges and corporations
College Credit
IBM Digital Badges now qualify
for prior learning credit in select
programs at Northeastern
University
Alternative Credentials
Colleges around the world are
now issuing IBM Digital Badges
as a signal of “New Collar”
employability
For more:
http://ibm.biz/IBM-NEU-Project-Mgmt

29. Digital Certificate Programs
that aligns (better) with the
modern economy
Prior learning credit for
badges: Why should your
learning not count?
Employers search & verify
the skills registry to find
ideal matches
Embedding into applicant
tracking systems and talent
agencies
College credit
for badges
Alternative to
college diplomas
Integration with
job placement
Talent search
and match
The IBM Digital Badge Program is creating unintended
benefits: A significant opportunity to solve the world’s
talent gap

30. IBM Digital Badges are generating
testimonials showing how they
build trust and lead to employment
“My IBM Open Badge allows me to effectively
identify client business needs within a defined
solution area and position the appropriate IBM
hybrid cloud solutions to meet those needs. The
credential I received, which is only available to
IBM Business Partner employees, provides an
easy way for my clients to authenticate my skills
and capabilities.”
~ S. Sendhil Kumar
Director, Global Knowledge
India

31. IBM Open Badges are changing lives: Creating employment
I was having a tough time
finding a job because my
computer skills were
considered 'out of date'
and the IBM badges
were the perfect way to
show employers that I
could easily get back up
to speed and learn new
skills.
After sharing her badge to LinkedIn, Twitter and to her online portfolio, Coletta received a job offer after an
employer verified her badge.
Click the graphic to hear Coletta’s story or visit https://youtu.be/QrvxCw-Qf9c.

32. Lessons learned

33. Through trial and error, we learned what works and what
does not. Here are important takeaways:
1. Develop a solid communication
plan with persuasive language.
2. Badge issuer must own the
relationship with the badge earner.
3. Build consent (privacy, info
sharing) into the activity.
4. Provide strong benefits
statements (marketing) into the
intro letter to badge earner.
5. Follow a template for badge
landing pages.
6. Add certification / skills paths into
the metadata for all badges.
7. Retro badges are less successful;
limit time period to 90 days.
8. Names are important: Nobody
wants a “newbie” badge.

34. • Website: ibm.com/badging
• Twitter: @david_leaser
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-leaser-6b95505
• IBM: david_leaser@us.ibm.com
Thank you!

35. ibm.com/training
@david_leaser