Employment is one of the most common and most friction-heavy places where identity is used. From job applications and background checks to onboarding and credential verification, both workers and employers rely on systems that are often slow, manual, and prone to errors. Verifiable digital credentials (VDCs), including Learning and Employment Records (LERs), offer a means to modernize these processes, enhancing access and safeguarding worker privacy.
What are Learning and Employment Records (LERs)?
Learning and Employment Records (LERs) are verifiable digital credentials that represent a person’s education, skills, certifications, and work history. Issued by trusted organizations such as schools, employers, or licensing bodies, LERs enable workers to carry authoritative proof of their qualifications in a digital wallet.
Unlike resumes or PDFs, LERs are cryptographically signed and easy to verify, which reduces fraud and speeds up hiring and onboarding. They are portable and privacy-preserving, allowing workers to reuse credentials across jobs and disclose only what is required for a specific role. Together, these capabilities enable LERs to reduce friction in hiring and onboarding, expand access and portability for workers, protect privacy, and support compliance and fair hiring across the employment lifecycle.
Reducing friction in hiring and onboarding
Today’s hiring process frequently requires applicants to upload scans of IDs, diplomas, licenses, or certifications, often multiple times across different systems. These documents are difficult to verify, easy to forge, and slow to process. For employers, this creates delays and compliance risk. For workers, it creates repeated friction and unnecessary exposure of personal data.
With digital ID and verifiable digital credentials, job candidates can present cryptographically signed proof of identity, education, or professional qualifications directly from their digital wallet. Employers can verify authenticity instantly, without manual review or phone calls, accelerating hiring and reducing administrative burden.
Expanding access and portability for workers
Digital identity can also improve access to employment by making credentials portable and reusable across jobs and industries. Instead of repeatedly providing the same information, workers can carry credentials such as degrees, licenses, or work authorizations that are accepted by employers and across jurisdictions.
This is especially valuable for gig workers, contractors, immigrants, veterans, and workers with non-linear career paths. Portable credentials reduce barriers to entry, shorten time-to-employment, and help people move more easily between roles without starting from scratch each time.
Protecting worker privacy
Traditional employment verification often involves oversharing. For example, a government ID reveals an address or birthdate that is irrelevant to job eligibility. Digital identity enables selective disclosure, allowing workers to prove only what is required for a specific role. This protects privacy while still meeting employer and regulatory requirements.
Supporting compliance and fair hiring
Employers are subject to complex regulatory obligations, including employment eligibility verification, licensing requirements, and record-keeping rules. Digital identity can streamline compliance by providing standardized, verifiable proofs that meet regulatory expectations while reducing reliance on paper processes.
Why digital identity matters for the future of work
As work becomes increasingly digital, remote, and mobile, employment systems must adapt accordingly. Digital identity provides a foundation for faster hiring, stronger trust, greater worker mobility, and better privacy outcomes. When designed responsibly, it benefits both employers and workers, making employment more accessible, efficient, and fair.
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