Young people in Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough are now better able to prove their skills to
employers thanks to a rollout of new digital
badges.
Many young people,
particularly
those not in employment, education or training (NEET), struggle
to
show what they're capable of on
a traditional paper
CVs.
The Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough Combined Authority is
working with the Region of Learning to change
that, giving young people a way to build
a trusted digital portfolio of their skills that
will help them into work.
The scheme is
being built into Combined
Authority programmes like the Youth Guarantee
and
regional internships. For example, instead of
just doing a
placement, interns leave
with badges
showing they've gained skills like communication, problem-solving and
resilience – the kinds of
things employers value but
are hard to show on
paper.
Last week, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough joined
local business leaders, educators, and community partners in
Huntingdon for an event showcasing how the new system
works.
Paul Bristow said: “Too many young
people are out
of work and I'm determined to give more
of them a chance to get a good
job. Digital badges help them prove what they can
do and we're encouraging employers to
recognise these alongside qualifications so
talent doesn't go unnoticed."
The digital
badges can be shared on platforms
like
LinkedIn and attached to digital
CVs. They are already being
used across the region with more
than 2,300 badges issued
to 1,200 young
people.
Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough was recognised as a national leader
in digital badging in the ‘From Skills to
Growth' report by the Digital Badging
Commission. It used the region's Talent Hive and My
Skills Pass platforms as examples of best
practice.
Notes to editor
This week's event, titled Empowering
Workplace Skills with Digital Badges, highlighted several key
objectives of the new digital badge
suite:
-
Empowering the Individual: Badges
are stored securely in the My Skills Pass digital skills wallet, making an individual's
professional journey portable, verified, and
permanent.
-
Integrating Youth Opportunities:
The Combined Authority is embedding these digital
credentials into the Youth Guarantee and regional internship
programmes. Interns no longer just "do a placement"—they
leave with a tangible, digital portfolio of verified skills,
such as Innovation and
Self-Motivation.
-
Smarter Hiring: By creating a
shared digital credential network, the CPCA is connecting
programmes, learning providers, and employers
to facilitate inclusive, skills-based recruitment
that tackles regional shortages.
As the UK's national skills roadmap
effectively follows the model pioneered in Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough, the Combined Authority continues to drive a
future where capability is quickly understood, trusted, and
rewarded.
