Boosting Workforce Readiness: Employability Skills Through Digital Learning Badges

Abstract

In an evolving agricultural industry, students must be equipped with critical professional and employability skills to thrive in the modern workforce. The Agriculture Workforce Training for Collaborative Leadership (AWT4CL) project has developed a suite of digital learning badges to help students build competencies in these essential areas. The badges are grounded in research from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), which identified 11 key employability skills with significant gaps in workforce readiness. By earning badges such as “Communicate Effectively,” “Analyze Problems,” and “Navigate Change and Ambiguity,” learners are better positioned to meet employer expectations. Each badge requires learners to meet specific learning outcomes through practical application and reflection. The two-part learning modules involve both an interactive activity and a written reflection. The modules are flexible, allowing instructors to adjust specific activities to meet the needs of their course or program while upholding the core badge objectives. Early adopters of the AWT4CL badging system have noted that digital learning badges can help students recognize the value of life experiences. One faculty member noted the gamification used in combination with reflective practice helps students look for real-life experiences that exemplify what they are learning in the classroom. The idea of bridging experiences and acknowledging the reflections with a badge helps students gain confidence, build competence, and recognize workforce skills development. This conference presentation will introduce attendees to these digital learning badges, designed to promote critical skills such as communication, decision-making, leadership, and professionalism. The presentation will address how instructors can integrate these badges into curricula using game-based learning approaches to foster student engagement and skill development. Educators can adopt this freely available tool to improve student workforce readiness, increasing their awareness of professional competencies critical to success in agricultural careers.