New Series Introduction: Building Employability through Digital Learning Badges

Authors: Jama S. Coartney and Eric K. Kaufman   --
In today’s job market, technical know-how alone is no longer enough. Success in the workplace depends on an additional set of competencies—what employers call durable, soft, human, or employability skills. Some examples include communication, teamwork, professionalism, leadership, and decision-making. Research shows these essential skills are often underemphasized in course design and delivery.

So, how can educators close this gap and better prepare learners for success?

This blog series introduces a new approach to bridging the gap between classroom learning and workforce readiness. Digital learning badges developed by the Agriculture Workforce Training for Collaborative Leadership (AWT4CL) project can help learners build capacity. Grounded in research and aligned with employer needs, these badges target the core durable skills identified by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) as essential for employability in agriculture and beyond.

Why Do Employability Skills Matter?
APLU research highlights a persistent gap between the skills required by agricultural employers and the readiness of job seekers. Eleven most-needed employability skills were identified and grouped into four key areas: communication, decision-making, professionalism, and leadership. These findings aren’t unique to agriculture and higher education.

Across the workforce, especially in technical and community college settings, educators and employers alike are calling for a stronger focus on these “human” skills that drive long-term success. Recent studies from America Succeeds, on workforce development in community colleges emphasize the urgent need to develop durable skills.

This research identified Four Pillars of Progress to help support the integration of durable skills into the curriculum:
  1. Content and Customizable Teaching Modules: There is a strong demand for durable skills-aligned teaching tools that are easily adaptable to different fields and student needs.
  2. Professional Development: Faculty—particularly adjunct instructors—need accessible, targeted training to confidently teach and assess these skills.
  3. Assessment, Credentialing, and Signaling: Tools like scenario-based learning, role-playing, reflection, and digital learning badges can help demonstrate to future employers that learners have an interest in building durable skills.
  4. Collaboration with Industry Partners: Strengthening ties between education and industry ensures classroom learning helps lead to workplace readiness.
What Is the AWT4CL Project?
The AWT4CL project is a strategic initiative to develop, test, and share instructional resources focused on collaborative leadership in agriculture. The project aligns with America Succeeds’ four Pillars of Progress.

The project goal is to prepare students—especially those in community and technical colleges—for the interpersonal and leadership challenges they’ll face in a rapidly evolving workplace. Twelve digital learning badges, each with clear descriptions and defined criteria, to help learners build competencies across APLU’s four skill clusters.

What to Expect from this Series

This blog series will explore each of the twelve badges and offers:
  • Practical insights into what each badge covers;
  • Modules for integrating badges into existing curricula;
  • Tips for assessing student progress; and
  • Ideas for using badges to support career development.
Educators, instructional designers, and workforce trainers will find these posts especially useful as they work to make durable skills visible, teachable, and transferable.

Whether you're teaching agriculture-related material, preparing students for business roles, or designing new online learning modules, the AWT4CL digital badges offer a flexible and research-backed solution.

Let’s build a more skilled and adaptable workforce—one badge at a time.

Stay tuned as we take a deeper dive into each badge—and share how these small credentials can drive big changes in learner career readiness and workforce success.

Image Credits: Microsoft365 Stock Images
Project Resources:
Instructor Welcome Module
AWT4CL Project Website
AWT4CL Implementation Guide - instructions and example assignments for each badge
APLU - Association of Public & Land-grant Universities Employability Skills
Badging System - AWT4CL Badgr/Canvas Credential badges, maintained by Virginia Tech 

Location: Blacksburg, VA, USA

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