What is a digital credential?
A digital credential is a documented award by a responsible and authorised body (such as City & Guilds) that has determined that an individual has typically achieved specific learning outcomes relative to a given standard. Credential is an umbrella term that includes degrees, diplomas, licenses, certificates, badges, and professional/industry certifications and membership.
What information does a digital credential include?
Each credential earned contains data about the individual’s skills within a portable image file. This data can be viewed when they display and share their credentials. Data within a digital credential includes:
- badge name
- badge URL (description)
- badge image
- issuer
- issue date
- alignment
- expiry date
- evidence URL
- details on the skills learned
- earning criteria for the achievement
How are digital credentials issued?
A digital credential is issued to a learner upon successful completion of their City & Guilds/ILM qualification, where a valid learner email address has been provided. A digital credential cannot be issued without a learner's email address.
We treat personal data with the utmost care and privacy. To find out more about how we process personal data concerning the issuing of learners' digital credentials, please read our privacy policy.
How does it work?
A digital credential is simply the online representation of a credential. They are a visual, data-rich and secure format that communicates and verifies the knowledge and skills attained. By using the open badge standard, no matter who the issuer is, the earner can collect and showcase and share all of their achievements together.
Who is Credly?
Credly is a credential platform that works with credible organisations (such as IBM, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Hilton, Google and a number of leading universities) to recognise, manage and share professional achievements. They are the world’s leading digital credential service provider, with headquarters in New York, and provide a range of tools to recognise employee or trainee certification and certifying processes.
The Credly platform allows earners to capture all their digital credentials in one place, this means if you earn credentials from multiple organisations, they can be all stored in one central platform.
How to upload learners email addresses on Walled Garden?
We have prepared an easy to use guide to help you input your learners' details on Walled Garden. Providing learners' email addresses on Walled Garden ensures we can issue the credential directly to them. Follow our short guide on how to upload your learners’ email addresses below.
Watch the video
Download the how-to guide
How can centres ensure their learners receive a digital credential?
When registering the learner's mandatory details, please ensure to add in the learner's email address found under the 'add optional details' section within Walled Garden. Upon successful completion of their course, learners will receive an email from City & Guilds/ILM via Credly platform, which will enable them to accept their badge.
How do I know if I’m eligible for a digital credential?
We will send you an email via Credly to let you know you have been awarded a digital credential. You simply need to set up an account and accept your badge – then you’re ready to go.
How do I use my digital credential?
Once you’ve been awarded and have accepted a digital credential, you can embed the image online wherever you like. On your digital CV, on social networks like LinkedIn or Twitter, or on your website or blog and share it with friends and colleagues via email. People viewing these sites can click onto the credential, and it will take them through to the Credly website, where they can see all of the information on that skill or achievement.
Please refer to our Getting Started Guide - a step by step process on how earners can accept, share, and ensure they make the most of their credentials.
How does Credly protect my information?
To claim your digital credential, you are required to share your name and email address with Credly. However, although Credly is a US based organisation, the platform is fully GDPR compliant, you can find further information on this here.
And remember, you are in control of what you share and make visible to other users. Define what you choose to share by opting for private or public to determine if your credentials can be seen by others.
Just watch out for these eye icons – closed means private and open means it is public and can be seen by others if you choose to share your profile.
Where do I go if I have questions about my digital credentials?
Please email us at digitalsupport@cityandguilds.com.
There’s also lots of useful resources within the Credly platform, visit the Help Centre that includes support articles and video available 24/7.
How do I accept my digital credential?
On successful completion of your City & Guilds or ILM qualification you will be issued with a hard copy certificate (this will be given to you via your employer, college or training provider). If your college/training provider has also given us a valid email address you will also be issued with a digital credential which is a digital version of your certificate.
Look out for an email from City & Guilds/ILM/Credly and when you receive the email, simply, follow the instructions in the email from City & Guilds/ILM/Credly. If you have not received an email, then please do check your Junk/Spam folders. You will be sent reminders to accept the digital credential 4 days and 12 days after the initial email.
Additional information and support on accepting your credential can be found in our Getting Start Guide.
Why should I accept my Digital credential?
There are lots of benefits to accepting your digital credential. Below are some of the key reasons:
- Create your own personal skills record – over time it will provide you with an opportunity to keep a digital record of all skills including City & Guilds or ILM qualifications in one central platform. Never lose your certificates again.
- Verifiable – each credential can be verified immediately by an employer and/or regulator online with the click of a button. So, if you are going for a job or need to show your skills, you can simply send a link to your Personal Skills record.
- Sharing on social media – more and more jobs are being advertised on social media so share away to your hearts content (including LinkedIn, Facebook). Don’t forget to hashtag your college/training provider along with #ShowYourSkills and #CGDigitalCredentials or #ILMDigitalCredentials so we can further celebrate your successes.
- Portable – your digital credentials can also be added to email signatures, websites or downloaded onto an iPhone wallet to help you demonstrate your skills and showcase your achievements
- Stand out from the crowd – digital credentials can help you find a job by providing the detail of the qualification you have studied, so that you have it all to hand for that important job interview and through the insight functionality, within your digital credential, you can be signposted to other opportunities.
What can I do with my digital credential?
See the above question, but it is really a personal choice, some people just want to accept them and keep them centrally and others want to celebrate their success and share in as many places as possible. You choose.
What if I have not got my digital credential?
If you have not received your Credential, then it is likely that we did not receive a valid email address for you from your college or training provider. In the first instance – we would recommend that you go back to your college or training provider and ask them to provide City &Guilds/ILM with a valid email address - they should know how to do this.
In rare cases when they are not able to help – you can contact our customer support team on digitalsupport@cityandguilds.com.
What if I don’t want the digital credential?
If you don’t want to accept the digital credential, then you can simply ignore the emails. If you change your mind, you will be given further opportunities to accept the credential, or you can simply ignore them, and your data will then be deleted in line with City & Guilds retention policy.
Will City & Guilds be issuing me other digital credentials?
Where possible City & Guilds/ILM issue digital credentials to over 95% of all its current qualifications – if you achieve the qualification and we have a valid email address we will issue you with a digital credential. Feel free to contact us if you have further questions on digitalsupport@cityandguilds.com.
I completed my City & Guilds qualifications over three years ago – will you be issuing me with a digital credential?
City & Guilds has been issuing certificates since 1878 and unfortunately, it’s not possible to go back that far to create the many thousands of qualifications we offer. However, we do try and issue digital credentials against all our current qualifications. To see a full range of digital credentials we have on offer, please visit the relevant Credly pages:
City & Guilds
ILM
If you are not sure or require further support, please contact digitalsupport@cityandguilds.com.
What happens if I have other digital credential questions?
For more information on what Digital Credentials are and how they can add value to you – please feel free to have a look at our dedicated webpage which has a host of materials to explain the benefits or contact digitalsupport@cityandguilds.com.