The UK is exploring a skills passport. The infrastructure is already being built
Skills England has opened a consultation on a national “skills passport” – a portable, standardised record of an individual’s verified skills, qualifications and experience.
But across the UK and internationally, the infrastructure is already taking shape.
The infrastructure is already here
Last year, we began updating the Navigatr Badge Wallet – a single place where learners can bring together credentials from any platform and share them with employers.
We already integrate with OpenLearn and receive credentials from hundreds of organisations across multiple cities. Now we’re extending this further – enabling credentials from multiple badge issuing platforms to be brought into a single profile.
The timing turns out to be significant.
The question is no longer whether verified digital credentials have a role in the UK skills system. It’s how to build them well.
Not from scratch, but by connecting what already exists – in a way that works for learners and employers.
Skills passports already exist
Skills passports aren’t a new idea waiting to be created. They already exist – in multiple forms, across the UK and internationally:
In Northern Ireland, micro-credentials are embedded in employer-led programmes – linking skills directly to jobs, funding and progression, now being piloted across the country with the Department for Communities
Across Europe, a common approach links micro-credentials to national and European qualification frameworks, enabling recognition across borders
Countries like Ireland and Australia are aligning micro-credentials directly to labour market needs, making them stackable and part of national skills systems
All of this is built on Open Badges – launched by Mozilla Firefox in 2011 and now maintained by 1EdTech Global – designed so credentials issued anywhere can be trusted everywhere.
The real question isn’t “should we build one?” It’s “how do we make sure it connects with what already exists?”
What’s happening now in the UK
Skills England’s consultation signals a clear direction of travel.
But this isn’t starting from zero.
Skills passports are already being piloted across sectors – from construction to hospitality – linking verified skills directly to employment and progression.
Because interoperability is the difference between a system that works locally and one that works globally.
The infrastructure is already being built – across countries, platforms and organisations. The real opportunity now is to connect it.
Done well, a national skills passport would make it possible to see the full picture of someone’s achievements – across education, work, retraining and informal learning.
Done badly – built on closed systems – it risks becoming another disconnected platform.
What the government is actually doing
The Post-16 Education and Skills white paper (October 2025) signalled a move towards exploring skills passports with industry partners – reviewing what already works before deciding how to proceed.
This has now been picked up by Skills England through the current consultation.
The Digital Badging Commission (November 2025) reinforced the opportunity, identifying:
£100 million+ potential NHS savings
Up to £5.3 billion in annual productivity gains
Their recommendation was clear: integrate digital badges into post-16 education, Skills Bootcamps and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Crucially, the Commission is clear: any national wallet must use open standards to integrate with existing systems – not replace them.
What we’ve learned from the ground
Cities and regions have already been building this infrastructure with Navigatr, alongside a wider ecosystem of badge issuing platforms and partners:
Belfast City Council has worked with over 60 organisations and supported thousands of individuals
Programmes connect learners to jobs through skills-based credential pathways mapped to real job opportunities
Cities like Leeds, Cambridge, Kingston, Southampton and Bradford are running similar approaches
For individuals, this means:
their skills are visible to employers
they can show progress as they learn
they gain recognition for real-world skills developed in work, community and training
These programmes also measure what funders and organisations need:
employment outcomes
progression and motivation
real-world impact – not just participation
The policy is catching up with practice.
If you’re already issuing badges, you’re already part of this.
What’s next
When Mozilla created Open Badges, the vision was to do for skills what email did for communication – open, portable and owned by the individual.
That’s what Navigatr has been built on from the start.
We’re updating the Navigatr Wallet to enable individuals to bring their Open Badges from any platform into a single, shareable profile that can connect with emerging national and international systems.
We’re already seeing this in practice:
integrations like OpenLearn allow credentials to flow via API
no manual uploads
no duplication
And this model extends beyond learning – into recruitment, progression and workforce development.
This is what the future looks like: credentials moving seamlessly between systems – and into real opportunities – rather than being locked inside platforms.
Where we can help
Skills England is asking a simple question:
What works in practice?
The organisations that answer that question with real evidence will shape what gets built. If you’d like to contribute directly, you can respond to the Skills England consultation here
If you’re:
planning a response to the consultation
exploring how to design a skills passport approach
or looking to connect your existing credentials into a wider ecosystem
We’d be happy to share what we’re seeing from programmes already running.
Explore how your organisation could connect into the skills ecosystem
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