The Skills Revolution Needs Better Data Tools

In 1989, the first portable GPS receiver was introduced as a retail product. Called the NAV 1000, its battery life could survive for no more than a few hours and it cost about $3,000, which made it a consumer product that not many consumers could actually purchase. Millions of us are now part of the Cinderella story that integrated GPS technology into the affordable, indispensable tool that we know and rely on as drivers, cyclists, walkers, and generally people on the constant go.

In the skills ecosystem, data tools are to career growth what early GPS devices were to navigation: innovative but not yet optimized for everyday users. When designed with care, these tools can help jobseekers map their way to opportunities and enable employers to better understand the real-world capabilities they need their staff and job candidates to possess. Skills are quickly becoming the new currency of opportunity in today’s work landscape, but realizing their full potential requires more than technological refinement. It demands a reimagining of how these tools engage and serve the people they’re supposed to benefit.

Imagine a future where proven abilities, not just what’s written on a résumé, define career opportunities for jobseekers. People in the market for a new position will be able to track their growth, showcase progress, and transform that self-discovery into upward mobility. Employers, on the other hand, can discover talent using data tools in seamless, intuitive ways. This is what the skills economy could look like. But like GPS in its early days, this ecosystem requires a human-centered redesign that can meet the needs of two distinct but important end users. Here’s how it can happen in real time:

Build Tools That Capture Real-World Learning

Learning happens everywhere—on the job, through online platforms, in community settings, and by solving everyday challenges. Yet many tools fall short of communicating users’ diversity of skills to potential employers or educational institutions. In a skills-first economy, developers have an opportunity to create systems that present a richer, more complete picture of an individual’s unique abilities and strengths.

Transform Skills Data Into Pathways for Opportunity

Skills data is only as valuable as the opportunities it unlocks. For many jobseekers, the leap from documenting their skills to landing a meaningful career feels uncertain and overwhelming. That’s where user-focused design comes in to show job seekers how their unique combination of skills connects to real opportunities and guides them step-by-step toward their goals. 

By creating tools that translate raw data into personalized insights and clear, actionable career pathways, developers can break down barriers to career advancement and build systems that serve everyone from early-career workers to seasoned professionals ready for a new challenge.

Ensure Data Portability Across Platforms and Contexts

In a skills-first world, data must move as seamlessly as people do. Workers are more mobile than ever, transitioning between jobs, industries, and regions with increasing frequency. Yet fragmented systems often trap skills data in silos, forcing individuals to start from scratch each time they move. This isn’t just inefficient—it’s a barrier to opportunity, disproportionately affecting those who already face systemic challenges.

Data portability is the linchpin of a truly interoperable system. Tools must allow individuals to securely transfer their skills data wherever their journey takes them, ensuring that opportunities are never limited by geography, bureaucracy, or technological constraints. When data can move freely, workers gain the agency to define and pursue their own pathways to success.

Create Accessible and Actionable Skills Tools

Even the most advanced technology can fail if it’s too complex, inaccessible, or disconnected from users’ needs. When designed effectively, skills data tools can help individuals see opportunities they might have missed and enable institutions to strategically respond to evolving workforce needs. By combining user-centered design with robust analytics, developers can create systems that are not just adopted but trusted.

Creating the skills economy is not an undertaking for developers to execute in a silo. Collaboration is the lifeblood of the work. Vendors, educators, policymakers, and employers must work together to shape the next generation of skills data tools to guarantee they’re as dynamic and transformative as the workers themselves. By focusing on capturing real-world learning, transforming skills data into actionable pathways, ensuring portability, and prioritizing accessible design, we can create systems that empower individuals, align with workforce needs, and drive systemic change. This isn’t just about technology—it’s about building a foundation for broad access to opportunity in a rapidly evolving world of work.

This initiative is a part of the Project to Catalyze Skills-First Practices. JFF supports transformational efforts to champion skills-first practices, reshaping how workers, employers, and educational institutions communicate and assess skills, experience, and knowledge. The Project to Catalyze Skills-First Practices, funded by Walmart, seeks to redefine and enhance the way an array of actors—including employers, policymakers, learning and education providers, philanthropy, and workforce development leaders—interpret and utilize information about a worker’s skills and experiences.