What are the main types of employee credentials?

Credentials can refer to many types of formally acquired abilities, such as knowledge, skills or experience. They can range in complexity from multi-year university degrees to brief online courses, workshops or licences. Below, we break down the primary categories of employee credentials.

1. Education

When people think of employee credentials, formal education is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Even though the working world has changed considerably in recent years, with factors like AI set to increase the pace of progress even more, most professional roles still require candidates to have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.

And in some cases, a bachelor’s degree in an irrelevant field, for example, a degree in genetics held by an applicant for a marketing role, may position the candidate as more desirable than their peer without a degree, provided they have similar work experience. In short, education matters.

Fortunately, university isn’t the only type of education employers value. For certain industries, especially the trades, other qualifications are sought after too.

Education credentials refer to all qualifications earned through formal study. These include GCSEs, A-levels, undergraduate or postgraduate degrees, along with vocational qualifications like BTECs, NVQs or Higher National Diplomas (HNDs), which are alternatives to traditional academia, particularly useful in practical or technical fields.

Trade schools and colleges offer industry-specific training in subjects like plumbing, electrical work, beauty therapy and many more. These courses tend to be shorter than academic routes. When recruiting, a candidate’s educational background is important, but it’s a good idea to stay open-minded towards alternative credentials.

2. Training, continuous education and microcredentials

Employees who embrace continuous learning can often make strong additions to your team, as this can indicate diligence, curiosity and a passion for the field. These types of employee credentials cover any additional qualifications to a candidate’s basic training, which may also include industry certifications, short courses or workshops. CPD-accredited courses and training can be particularly valuable when recruiting, as they typically indicate a high standard of content and outcomes.

Within this category, you may also encounter candidates with microcredentials. Microcredentials are targeted, bite-sized qualifications, often undertaken online. They allow candidates to acquire specific skills within a short time frame, usually at low cost, or even free of charge. Microcredentials are sometimes referred to as badges. They are particularly popular in fields like digital marketing, project management, coding or data analytics.

Microcredentials can be obtained from a range of sources. These include university-affiliated platforms, employer-focused learning platforms that candidates may have encountered in their workplace, industry-specific platforms (for example, the NHS’s learning hub for healthcare workers) or tech skills bootcamps, many of which are supported by the UK government.

Depending on the complexity of the position you’re hiring for, these credentials may not be sufficient on their own, but when paired with educational qualifications or training, they can indicate a dedicated, proactive candidate. A combination of microcredentials and a strong portfolio may even be sufficient for some entry-level roles.

3. Structured work experience: apprenticeships and internships

Apprenticeships, which are common in the trades, and internships, which are more typical in the corporate world, are training programmes that offer structured, real-world experience, combining learning with practical application. In the UK, apprenticeships are paid, while internships are not always paid.

Work placements and graduate schemes are similar to internships, but they typically have a close relationship to university education, with work placements undertaken alongside studying and graduate schemes embarked on shortly after qualifying. These forms of experiential learning often include plenty of on-the-job training and even mentorship programmes.

This category of credentials is usually most relevant to entry-level roles. Candidates who have completed apprenticeships, internships, work experience or graduate schemes can often hit the ground running, as they’ve already gained not just practical knowledge but a wealth of soft skills and real-world expertise.

The role of employee credentials in recruitment

Understanding employee credentials can give you a clearer picture of what a candidate may be able to contribute to your workforce, how they’ll help the company grow and even whether they’ll be a culture fit. Below are the primary roles credentials play in the recruitment process:

1. They demonstrate core competencies

Credentials often serve as evidence for a candidate’s core competencies in the field or role. This can help you quickly assess whether the candidate meets the job requirements, which can be particularly useful when reviewing a high volume of applications.

2. They verify skills and abilities

In a competitive job market, some candidates might inflate their skills and abilities to stand out. Degrees, certifications, licences and microcredentials can often be verified through official documentation or online records, giving you greater peace of mind that the candidate’s application matches their real-world capabilities.

3. They provide information to help you build a diverse team

Having an open-minded approach to employee credentials and considering less traditional education or training pathways can help you build a diverse workforce. There can be many obstacles to academic study, so recognising the value of credentials that fall under work experience or shorter certifications can assist you in making sure that good potential recruits aren’t left out of the application process. Diversity goes beyond inclusion – it can also cover a diversity of skills, abilities and expertise that can fill gaps in your existing workforce, making your team stronger and more capable.

4. They show commitment to learning and development

Candidates who’ve gone out of their way to earn additional credentials often have a robust sense of initiative. Whether it’s extra certifications, microcredentials or further training, these efforts can signal a growth mindset and a readiness to take on new challenges, traits that are highly sought after in a fast-changing working world.

How to evaluate employee credentials

Evaluating employee credentials is a key part of reviewing a candidate’s job application, but you can also assess those of your current staff to help you identify skills gaps. Here are a few steps you can take to do this:

• Identify the job-specific skills and knowledge required so you can assess credentials against specific criteria
• Check the credibility of the issuing organisation, ensuring degrees, certifications or training come from recognised, reputable sources
• Look for evidence of practical application, such as how a candidate has used their skills in past positions or how an employee has applied certain training in their current position
• Assess the level and depth of the credential, whether it reflects foundational knowledge or advanced expertise

Indeed’s screener questions can help you simplify the task of assessing a candidate’s credentials.

Why is it important for employees to have credentials?

In many fields, qualifications are required to be able to carry out a job safely, legally and effectively. Understanding the importance of these credentials helps you maintain standards, meet regulatory requirements and protect the wellbeing of your organisation’s customers, users or the general public.

Below is a sample of sectors in which credentials are typically non-negotiable

• Healthcare (both physical and mental health)
• Education
• Caretaking for vulnerable groups, like children, elderly people or disabled people
• Law
• Law enforcement
• Transport
• The military
• Engineering
• The sciences

Depending on the level of the role and the scope of responsibilities, required credentials could range from a medical degree or a PhD to basic first-aid certification or a driver’s licence. Even in fields where specific credentials aren’t a prerequisite, they are still a valuable sign that the employee has well-developed learning abilities.

Disadvantages of prioritising credentials in recruitment

While qualifications can offer useful insight into a candidate’s knowledge or training, prioritising them above other factors may limit your talent pool or unintentionally reinforce bias. It could lead to overlooking candidates who have strong practical experience or transferable skills. Skills-first hiring is becoming increasingly popular and helps employers find capable candidates who may have gained their skills through non-traditional routes, such as on-the-job learning or self-directed study.

However, credentials still have a role to play in this practice, especially microcredentials, certifications or licences. Another pitfall of prioritising formal credentials in recruitment, one that goes beyond your own workforce, is that it reinforces the view that academic degrees are essential in the professional job market, a phenomenon known as degree inflation – the devaluation of academic credentials as they become more and more ubiquitous.

Boosting credentials in your existing workforce

Helping your employees to gain new or updated credentials can close skills gaps, increase productivity and efficiency and boost internal mobility. It also shows your commitment to employee development, which can improve retention, engagement, motivation and overall employee wellbeing, especially among workers who are looking to advance in their careers.

You can support employee credential-building by funding external courses, certifications and microcredentials or by offering in-house training programmes. You can also partner with education providers to offer special deals or discounts on training programmes or promote industry-specific platforms where employees can earn microcredentials.

To encourage participation, consider tying the earning of new credentials to opportunities for promotion or incentivising employees with rewards or benefits. Providing a space that motivates employees to keep learning also signals that you are invested in your employees’ professional development.

Knowledge of employee credentials is a valuable tool in building a capable and adaptable workforce. Credentials offer useful insight into skills and potential, but they are just one part of a wider picture. Evaluating credentials while keeping an open mind and implementing a focus on continuous development within your organisation can help you make sure great candidates don’t slip through the cracks in your recruitment strategy and current employees are motivated to keep improving.

FAQs about employee credentials

What does self-taught mean in terms of credentials?

Self-taught workers have either not embarked on any formal education or training or have not completed it, choosing instead to use other resources to teach themselves the required skills. This autonomous teaching can take many forms, from job-shadowing to reading books and e-guides, watching instructional videos or accumulating microcredentials.

Self-taught candidates often work in creative fields and have a natural ability for the role. When recruiting such individuals, you can refer to their portfolio of work to assess the quality of their skills.

Are credentials still relevant in a skills-first hiring approach?

Yes, credentials still have value in skills-first hiring, they’re just not the only measure. Skills-first hiring places more emphasis on practical ability and outcomes, but traditional qualifications, online courses or microcredentials still demonstrate a candidate’s learning and effort.

Even when using skills-based hiring, you may encounter non-negotiables, for example, if you’re recruiting a new lorry driver for your business, you’ll need to first check that they hold a valid and up-to-date HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) licence before you start assessing their hard and soft skills.

How can I recognise international credentials?

If you’re hiring globally for remote work or reviewing credentials a candidate earned from institutions outside the UK, services like UK ENIC (formerly UK NARIC) can help you assess whether an international qualification is recognised in the UK, and how it compares to UK standards.

This tool can be very valuable when trying to ensure excellent candidates aren’t overlooked, helping you build an international workforce with diverse cultures and experiences.

Can credentials expire or need renewing?

Yes, some credentials, like safety certifications, health licences, operational licences or technical qualifications, require periodic renewal to remain valid. While this responsibility should theoretically fall to the employee, it’s still a good idea to track the expiry dates and support your staff in staying up to date.

This helps to protect your business and avoids you being held liable for any incidents, for example, an employee being involved in a car accident at work while driving on an expired licence.