Washington, D.C. – July 17, 2019 – Credential Engine today announced that Walmart has provided additional support through a grant to support its efforts to improve understanding around education and training standards in the retail and hospitality sectors. The pioneering transparency nonprofit is gaining the support of employers and key industry associations to publish education and career outcomes data for thousands of retail and hospitality apprenticeships, certificates, degrees, and other credentials.
“In the 21st-century economy, both individuals and companies must be able to make smart decisions about education and workforce pathways,” said Lynda Campbell, Director of Training and Development for Stonebridge Companies, which manages a portfolio of 62 hotels and more than 10,000 guest rooms across the United States and employs more than 2,500 associates. “Up until now, we’ve all been operating in relative darkness when it comes to access and understanding of credential information. This work will enable us to shed light on the key credentials and critical competencies and occupations that power our industry, such as the continued execution of the Registered Apprentice Lodging Manager Program. By having a true understanding of what is available to help develop and train our teams, we not only equip ourselves but our teams for future success.”
“Making information on credentials more transparent can unlock greater value for all sectors of the economy, but this is especially true for entry-level and low-income workers,” said Scott Cheney, Executive Director of Credential Engine. “Retail and hospitality leaders are out front on this issue with us because providing frontline workers with the information and opportunity to upskill is critical to building a thriving retail and consumer economy.”
Over the past year, through support from Walmart, Credential Engine launched the National Retail & Hospitality Credentials Initiative, a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the National Retail Federation Foundation, the National Restaurant Association, and the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation. By collecting relevant credential data, the project reveals the plethora of education and training pathways available to industry workers, while also improving accessibility to information about the specific skills, competencies and credentials needed to advance in their careers.
With jobs in retail and consumer products showing the second highest talent turnover rate according to data from LinkedIn, leaders in those industries are increasing their investment in upskilling for employee recruitment and retention. Nearly six in ten Americans work in retail at some point in their career, and there are over 7.6 million jobs in the hospitality industry. Complicating matters for this sector, Credential Engine has found through its research that there are hundreds of thousands of credentials, including retail and hospitality credentials, in the U.S. alone. A report with an updated nationwide credential count is expected to be published this fall.
Moving forward, Credential Engine will work with industry partners to build customized apps for students, workers and employers that include data on pathways with the industries as well as adjacent industries such as IT, cyber security and logistics. Later this year, Credential Engine will work with Northeastern University to field a survey to members of those three associations on the value of credentials in their sector.
Credential Engine is a non-profit that develops and maintains the technological infrastructure that enables a transparent and connected credential marketplace.
Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to create credential transparency, reveal the credential marketplace, increase credential literacy, and empower everyone to make more informed decisions about credentials and their value. Credential Engine receives support from Lumina Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Walmart, Northrop Grumman Foundation, ECMC Foundation, and Microsoft.
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