Leo Long has completed countless training courses and holds many formal qualifications.

But he had never received digital credentials until he completed the ITCILO course E-learning course on Management of Vocational Training Centres.

“By adding this credential to my CV and LinkedIn profile, I become more eligible in various positions,” Leo said. “It will bolster my chances of advancing my career.”

As a Senior Practitioner in Training and Skills Development at the South African Forestry Company, Leo is glad that his new digital credentials come from the ITCILO, a credible United Nations institution.

He regards his new LinkedIn certificate with pride. To him, it’s a modern way to display his qualifications in the field of adult learning and vocational institution management.

Want to see how it looks? Explore a participant’s digital certificate and badge for the e-learning course on Management of Vocational Training Centres.

In January, ITCILO staff members were still printing, archiving, and mailing course certificates to participants. Today, it is possible to take a course at the ITCILO without ever printing a single piece of paper.

In the span of just four months, the Centre made the permanent switch to digital credentials. 

We started talking about making the change in May and issued the first digital credential in September. Our culture of innovation makes it easy to turn good ideas into reality.

The digitalization immediately and directly affected the way we work at the Centre. 

Now, our participants can: 

• Add their badges to their LinkedIn profiles and personal webpages
• Share their certificates with short posts on social media
• Improve their professional reputation with secure and verifiable certificates

Plus, our staff members: 

• Skip time-consuming administrative work
• Easily change names, fix typos, and correct small mistakes
• Focus on more interesting, big picture ideas

Digital credentials are a win-win solution.

There are dozens of reasons we made the switch, lots of new features, and tons of support.

From a sustainability standpoint, digital credentials eliminate printing and mailing costs, reduce paper use, and streamline the logistical process. Now, we have a lifelong digital archive of all our participants’ digital credentials, without any extra work.

For participants, it’s easier to share digital certificates and badges online. Plus, organizations and recruiters can verify the authenticity of ITCILO digital credentials with a single click. 

And it’s secure. ITCILO digital credentials use advanced technologies like blockchain and SSL encryption to protect participants’ data and prevent fraud. Once a credential is recorded on the Blockchain, it cannot be altered or faked. If anyone were to attempt to create a credential that looks like ours, it would not verify against the Blockchain record. 

On the first day of the new service, 47 participants in the online course Skills for Social Inclusion earned digital credentials: certificates of participation and achievement, as well as badges.

Today, the ITCILO has issued thousands of credentials. They’ve been shared hundreds of times and viewed by thousands of people.

This is just the latest step of the Centre’s digital transformation. As technology advances, our relationship with social media deepens, and learning choices become more varied, the ITCILO will continue to innovate for a sustainable and digital future.

Questions? Visit our how-to page and download the infonote for more information and support.