1EdTech Standard Digital Credentials W3C Verifiable

Open Badges 3.0 and EASEC: Verifiable Competency Credentials for Global Professional Visibility

Open Badge × EASEC Alignment

About this framework

Open Badges 3.0 is the international standard for portable, verifiable digital credentials, maintained by 1EdTech Consortium. Officially approved as a final standard in June 2024, it aligns with the W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model, making each badge a cryptographically verifiable credential that learners can store in digital wallets, share on professional networks like LinkedIn, and present to employers worldwide.

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Open Badges 3.0
Why it matters

Why Open Badges 3.0 Matters

Digital badges have been transforming how organisations recognise and communicate learning achievements since Mozilla first launched the Open Badges standard in 2011. What began as a simple way to issue visual badges for online learning has evolved into a sophisticated credential infrastructure used by universities, employers, professional bodies and governments worldwide.

Open Badges 3.0 represents the most significant upgrade in the standard's history. By aligning with the W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model — the same international standard that underpins government-issued digital identity documents and European Digital Credentials — Open Badges 3.0 transforms badges from linked images into fully verifiable digital credentials with cryptographic proof of authenticity.

The practical impact is substantial. Credentials issued as Open Badges 3.0 can be stored in digital wallets alongside other verifiable credentials, verified without contacting the issuing organisation's server, shared on professional platforms such as LinkedIn with full metadata integrity, and bundled into Comprehensive Learner Records that present a complete picture of an individual's competencies across multiple issuers.

2011
Year Mozilla launched the Open Badges standard
OB 3.0
Most significant upgrade in the standard's history
W3C
Aligned with the Verifiable Credentials Data Model international standard
Portability note

For any organisation that certifies competencies and needs those certifications to be visible, verifiable and portable on a global scale — not only within the European institutional ecosystem but across professional networks, job platforms and HR systems worldwide — Open Badges 3.0 is the format that makes this possible.

Standard architecture

How Open Badges 3.0 Works

Open Badges 3.0 transforms digital credentials into cryptographically signed, portable Verifiable Credentials — giving learners full control over their achievements and verifiers the ability to confirm authenticity without relying on any central server.

Architecture & Key Features

Open Badges 2.0, published in 2016, packaged achievement data into portable image files with embedded metadata. Verification relied on the issuing organisation hosting the badge data on its own server — meaning that if the issuer's server went offline, verification could fail.
Open Badges 3.0 fundamentally changes this architecture. Each badge is now a W3C Verifiable Credential, signed with cryptographic proofs that allow verification without relying on a central server. The standard adopts the three-party model of the Verifiable Credentials ecosystem: an issuer creates and signs the credential, a holder stores and controls it, and a verifier checks its authenticity.
W3C Verifiable Credentials alignment: every Open Badge 3.0 credential follows the Verifiable Credentials Data Model (VCDM v2.0, finalised as a W3C Recommendation in May 2025), ensuring compatibility with the broader digital identity and credential ecosystem.
Cryptographic proofs: badges are signed using cryptographic methods that guarantee both the authenticity of the issuer and the integrity of the credential data, making them tamper-proof without requiring a centralised verification server.
Skills framework integration: each badge can reference specific skills and competencies from recognised standards such as ESCO, O*NET or sector-specific frameworks, enabling explicit alignment with skills frameworks.
Comprehensive Learner Records: multiple Open Badges 3.0 credentials can be bundled into a CLR 2.0 (Comprehensive Learner Record), also maintained by 1EdTech, providing a unified view of an individual's achievements across multiple issuers and contexts.
Digital wallet compatibility: credentials can be stored in any standard-compliant digital wallet, giving learners control over their own data and enabling sharing without exposing unnecessary personal information.

The Standard's Governance

Open Badges 3.0 is maintained by 1EdTech Consortium(formerly IMS Global Learning Consortium), the international organisation that governs a suite of education technology standards including LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) and CASE (Competency and Academic Standards Exchange).

1EdTech certifies platforms that meet the standard's requirements, recognising them as Issuers, Displayers and Hosts — ensuring a consistent, interoperable ecosystem across institutions and tools.

Why it matters

The shift to Verifiable Credentials means a badge's validity no longer depends on the issuer remaining online. Cryptographic signing and wallet portability put learners — not institutions — in control of their own credential records.

Adoption & ecosystem

Who Uses Open Badges

From universities and employers to governments and professional networks, Open Badges are adopted across every sector that recognises and communicates competence.

Universities and Education Institutions

Issue Open Badges for microcredentials, continuing professional development certificates, extracurricular achievement recognition and programme completion. Over 200 universities in South Korea alone use digital badges, and adoption across European, North American and Asian institutions continues to accelerate.

Employers and Professional Bodies

Issue Open Badges for internal training certifications, industry-recognised competency credentials and professional development programmes. Companies use badges to recognise workforce skills in formats that employees can carry with them throughout their careers.

Credential Platforms

Platforms such as Credly, Accredible, Canvas Credentials, POK and others operate as 1EdTech-certified issuers, providing the infrastructure for organisations to create, issue and manage Open Badges at scale.

Professional Networks

Most notably LinkedIn supports the display of Open Badges on user profiles, making certified competencies visible to recruiters, employers and professional contacts globally. This visibility is a primary driver of Open Badges adoption.

Governments and Public Bodies

Increasingly use Open Badges to recognise non-formal and informal learning achievements, particularly in workforce development, adult education and digital skills programmes.

Key section

How EASEC Issues Open Badges 3.0

EASEC issues Open Badges 3.0 as part of its dual-format credentialing strategy, ensuring that every competency certification is both legally valid within the European institutional ecosystem and globally visible across professional networks and HR platforms.

Dual-format credentialing

The Dual-Format Strategy: EDC + Open Badge

Every EASEC competency certification is issued simultaneously in two formats:

European Digital Credential — EDC

Legal validity & institutional recognition

For legal validity, Europass wallet storage and European institutional recognition. Sealed with a Qualified Electronic Seal under eIDAS, the EDC is the credential's formal legal expression within the EU.

Open Badge 3.0

Global visibility & professional portability

For global professional visibility, LinkedIn display, digital wallet portability and HR technology platform compatibility. The Open Badge carries the same competency data as the EDC but in a format optimised for professional sharing and automated processing by global platforms.

A professional who earns an EASEC certification receives two expressions of the same verified competence: one that speaks to Europe's regulatory and educational infrastructure, and one that speaks to the global professional marketplace. Both are issued automatically as part of a single certification process.
Badge metadata

What an EASEC Open Badge Contains

Each EASEC Open Badge 3.0 credential includes structured metadata that makes the badge far more than a visual icon:

The specific transversal competence certified, with a clear description of what it represents.

Foundational, Applied, Proficient, Strategic or Expert.

Explicit references to ESCO skill URIs and O*NET element identifiers, embedded in the badge's alignment properties.

The European Qualifications Framework level corresponding to the certified competence.

A description of the psychometric methodology used — forced-choice and situational judgement test formats, 98% validated reliability.

EASEC as the issuing organisation, with verification URL.

Ensures the badge cannot be altered after issuance.

This metadata richness means that an EASEC Open Badge is not a generic participation certificate. It is a structured, verifiable data object that communicates exactly what competence was evaluated, how it was evaluated, at what level and against which international standards.

LinkedIn and Professional Network Visibility

When a professional adds an EASEC Open Badge to their LinkedIn profile, the badge displays with its full metadata — competency name, issuer, and a verification link. Recruiters and hiring managers who view the profile can immediately understand what the credential represents and verify its authenticity with a single click.

This addresses a critical gap in the current skills ecosystem: LinkedIn profiles are filled with self-reported skills that carry no verification.

An EASEC Open Badge converts a self-reported claim into a verified, clickable, standardised credential that distinguishes the holder from unverified profiles.
For you

What This Means for You

For Employers

When a candidate presents an EASEC Open Badge on their LinkedIn profile or in a job application, you can verify the credential instantly and access its full metadata — including the specific competence, proficiency level, assessment methodology and international framework alignments. This gives you significantly more confidence in the candidate's claimed competencies than self-reported skills or generic certificates of attendance.

For Education Institutions

Offering EASEC certifications with Open Badge 3.0 issuance gives your students and graduates credentials they can immediately display on LinkedIn and share with employers worldwide. For institutions outside Europe, the Open Badge format provides global professional visibility while the accompanying EDC provides European institutional recognition — maximising the value of the certification for students entering diverse labour markets.

For Individuals

Your EASEC Open Badge lives on your LinkedIn profile, in your digital wallet and in any application where you choose to share it. Unlike a paper certificate that sits in a drawer or a PDF that employers rarely verify, an Open Badge is visible, shareable and verifiable wherever you take it. It signals to every recruiter who views your profile that your competencies have been independently assessed and certified — not self-declared.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Open Badges 3.0

Open Badges 3.0 is the international standard for verifiable digital credentials, maintained by 1EdTech Consortium. Approved as a final standard in June 2024, it aligns with the W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model, making each badge a cryptographically signed credential that can be stored in digital wallets, shared on professional networks and verified without relying on a central server.
Open Badges 2.0 embeds achievement data in portable image files and relies on the issuer's server for verification. Open Badges 3.0 structures each badge as a W3C Verifiable Credential with cryptographic proofs, enabling verification without a central server, storage in digital wallets, and stronger privacy controls. The two versions are not fully backward-compatible — badges issued under 3.0 follow a fundamentally different architecture.
European Digital Credentials (EDCs) are sealed with Qualified Electronic Seals under the EU's eIDAS regulation, giving them specific legal standing across EU Member States. They are stored in Europass wallets and integrated with the European education ecosystem. Open Badges 3.0 follow the W3C Verifiable Credentials standard and are optimised for global professional platforms such as LinkedIn. EASEC issues both formats simultaneously, combining European legal validity with global professional visibility.
Yes. EASEC Open Badges can be added to your LinkedIn profile, where they display with their full metadata and a verification link. This makes your certified competencies visible to recruiters and employers who view your profile, with one-click verification of authenticity.
Yes. Every EASEC Open Badge 3.0 includes explicit alignment references to ESCO skill URIs and O*NET element identifiers in its structured metadata, alongside the EQF level correspondence. This means the badge does not just name a competency — it links it to the international standards that employers, platforms and institutions use to understand and compare skills.
A Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR 2.0), also maintained by 1EdTech, bundles multiple Open Badges and other achievement data into a single, unified record of an individual's competencies across multiple issuers and contexts. As a professional earns multiple EASEC certifications across different competencies, these can be aggregated into a CLR that presents a complete, verified skills portfolio.
Open Badges 3.0 was approved as a final 1EdTech standard in June 2024. Major credential platforms including Credly, Accredible, Canvas Credentials and others are certified or in the process of certifying as 3.0 issuers. While Open Badges 2.0 still powers many existing credential programmes, the migration to 3.0 is accelerating as platforms and institutions adopt the new standard's enhanced security, privacy and interoperability features.
Globally Verifiable Credentials

Get Certified with Globally Verifiable Credentials

Every EASEC certification is issued as both a European Digital Credential and an Open Badge 3.0 — combining European legal recognition with global professional visibility. One assessment, two credential formats, worldwide verifiability.

Discover our certifications See an example EASEC credential
Related Frameworks

Related Frameworks

Discover how EASEC aligns with other international standards:

Europass Digital Credentials →

How EASEC issues legally valid credentials on Europe's official infrastructure

ESCO →

The skills classification referenced in EASEC credential metadata

CASE (1EdTech) →

How EASEC uses competency framework interoperability standards

Published by EASEC — European Accreditation of Soft Skills & Employability Competencies. Issuer of Open Badges 3.0 and European Digital Credentials for Learning. Operating across 64+ countries with 8M+ scientific assessments processed and 98% validated reliability under European standards.

Last updated: August 2026