Connecting Industry-Recognized Certification Data to Education and Workforce Outcomes: Measuring the Value Added to Skills, Employment and Wages. Challenges, Lessons Learned and Recommendations from the Certification Data Exchange Project

The Certification Data Exchange Project (CDEP) was launched in 2012 to provide a model for sharing industry-recognized credential attainment data. Increasingly, employers and education leaders are recognizing the value of industry credentials to verify the knowledge, skills and abilities that students bring to the workforce. As states take steps to incentivize and hold schools and institutions accountable for credential attainment, there is a need for reliable, secure data capture mechanisms. The CDEP provides a proof of concept for states working to collect better data on credential attainment. This report from the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) describes the goals of CDEP, shares results, and uses a simple five-step process to discuss lessons learned and provide recommendations for future data-sharing and data-matching efforts. The report also includes helpful resources for state policymakers including a draft data sharing agreement and reporting templates.