August 17, 2026
Jobs for the Future (JFF) facilitated a real-world test of digital credentials and wallets. It revealed what works and what needs fixing. These insights will help developers build platforms that make a truly skills-first labor market possible.
Military veterans have long struggled to make the skills they gained in the service visible in the civilian labor market. Traditional resumes don’t capture the broad range of experiences, the years of rigorous training, and the strong leadership skills they bring to the workforce. A promising alternative is emerging: verifiable digital credentials that can be stored on digital wallets and shared with employers or talent platforms with just a tap.
To understand how this works in practice, Jobs for the Future (JFF) collaborated with eight partners involved in the development and use of digital wallet and credential systems to test these technologies in a demonstration project. We recruited a small sample of veterans through two partners, Arizona State University and Western Governors University. We asked them to collect and upload verified credentials from multiple sources into digital wallets and transfer them into a civilian talent platform. The idea was simple: to test whether their data could move between systems that have rarely been connected before.
Working with several partner organizations, including postsecondary institutions, digital credential issuers, wallet providers, and talent platforms, the veterans collected a small set of verified digital credentials, such as records of successful training completion, occupational badges, and documents verifying their military service histories. Each came from a different system, reflecting the fragmented nature of veterans’ career data. After uploading their digital records into a digital wallet, participants shared their credentials with a civilian talent platform to see how their skills appeared to potential employers.
The purpose was not to perfect the process but to learn how these tools functioned in real-world conditions. Watching veterans move their own records across systems revealed both what worked and what still needs fixing.
Testing the systems in real-world conditions uncovered technical and user-experience challenges, revealing what needs to be fixed and what still needs to be built for digital credential platforms to work at scale—while also highlighting how far the technologies have come. Here’s a rundown of the demonstration project’s topline findings:
The same credential could display as “verified” in one wallet and “unverified” in another. Nothing was wrong with the credential itself; the two applications were interpreting data schemas differently. This small mismatch illustrated the need for consistent data standards and clearer display protocols across systems.
Credentials did not always appear immediately after transfer. Some platforms required staff approval or manual activation before credentials became visible. These delays may seem minor, but they can undermine user confidence, underscoring the importance of real-time synchronization for future adoption.
Exporting a credential from one issuer and importing it into another system occasionally triggered vague error messages like “undefined is not an object.” These code-level errors revealed how fragile system integrations can be when standards are not uniformly implemented
The QR code feature, which is used when a learner presents a credential or LER to an employer, performed differently across different mobile devices. On some Android phones, the app closed before the transfer completed; on iPhones, the credentials sometimes failed to display. The differences between operating systems underscored the importance of consistent testing across multiple environments.
The platform teams participating in the pilot each had their own development schedules and security requirements. Some could only release new features after internal or government review. Others needed software updates to support newer credential formats. These limitations made it clear that progress depends as much on policy and governance coordination as it does on technology itself.
The uneven experiences for participants revealed the real friction points that stand between introducing a concept and implementing a system at scale. But encountering challenges was also the demonstration project’s greatest value: Each challenge revealed the need for a specific improvement that partners could address together. Many fixes were implemented over the course of the project—proof that testing with real users provides the feedback necessary to move this work forward.
Discovering bugs and encountering problems that cause delays aren’t signs of failure. They’re a normal part of the process of testing and refining systems in real-world conditions.
Every technology improves through use. Early ATMs sometimes failed to process withdrawals. First-generation smartphones crashed often and had limited apps. Those systems improved and became more reliable because people used them and reported when things went wrong.
Verifiable credentials are following that same path. Each demonstration experience adds to our knowledge about what people want and need the technology infrastructure to do. That makes it possible to improve the reliability of digital credentials and wallets, thereby leading to their wider adoption.
Perfection is not the goal right now—momentum is. Every test strengthens the case for a skills-first labor market where workers are recognized for what they can do, no matter where, when, or how they acquired their skills and expertise.
Veterans are beginning to use digital wallets to move their verified credentials into civilian talent platforms. Employers are beginning to see those records firsthand and are increasingly confident in their accuracy. Each new test adds evidence that this approach can work—building momentum toward a future where not just veterans but all workers can present employers with verified proof of their skills, experience, and training quickly, securely, and transparently.
That future is taking shape through the lessons learned in each real-world test.
Join Hire Heroes USA and Jobs for the Future for a practical conversation about Learning and Employment Records (LERs) and what it takes to connect workers’ verified skills, training, and experience to employer needs.
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