The basics:

• Author is Scott Cheney, CEO of Credential Engine
• Discusses new laws aimed at strengthening NJ’s credential infrastructure
• Calls for a statewide credential registry and transparency
• Effort supports learners, workers and employer hiring needs

A thriving workforce ecosystem depends on clear signals, employers understanding what credentials mean, learners and workers knowing which pathways lead to opportunity, and education systems aligning with real market needs. And when policy creates the infrastructure for credential transparency, everyone benefits.

New Jersey recently took significant steps in this direction. Former Gov. Phil Murphy signed five bills that, if fully implemented by the new administration of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, could strengthen the state’s credential infrastructure and postsecondary education and workforce development systems. These aren’t just policy updates; they’re foundational investments in New Jersey’s economic competitiveness and in the futures of the state’s learners and workers.

In a labor market where credentials are currency, clarity is everything. These new laws include enactment of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges’ Pathways to Careers Opportunities Initiative, which was supported by key state business groups and moves New Jersey closer to that clarity. Yet there is still much work to be done as the state prepares to meet the opportunities of emerging initiatives such as Workforce Pell, Talent Marketplaces, and Learning and Employment Records (LERs).

Keys to success

For these efforts to succeed, credentials must be more than available — they must be understood and transparent. Shared clarity and openness around what credentials represent, how they connect, and how they align with employment is essential for learners and workers to make informed decisions.

This clarity is especially critical given today’s credential landscape, with more than 1.85 million credentials in the U.S., many short-term, and nearly 9,000 total credentials offered by in-state providers. While this number reflects expansive opportunity, it also creates navigation challenges. New Jersey’s legislative actions help shift the focus from producing more credentials to ensuring alignment, validation, and integration within pathways, making it easier for learners and workers to identify credentials of value.

Next steps

The Sherrill administration has an opportunity to build on and advance meaningful credential clarity in ways that directly benefit learners and workers in the state. First, New Jersey should establish a comprehensive registry of all credentials in the state – including diplomas, certificates, apprenticeships, certifications, occupational licenses, and degrees of all types and levels. This registry should include all short-term, non-degree credentials given the growing prevalence and focus on them. Such registries are vital parts of integrated talent marketplaces, are key to supporting robust education and career pathway creation and navigation and are essential parts of LER systems. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has been working on this front, and should expand its coverage for a comprehensive registry, building on important work underway at New Jersey’s community colleges.

The Sherrill administration has an opportunity to build on and advance meaningful credential clarity in ways that directly benefit learners and workers in the state.

Second, the data about these credentials should be made publicly available using a structured, open, linked and interoperable data format, of which the credential transparency description language is the de facto standard. The value of using CTDL is that it ensures that New Jersey’s information – and that of its students and workers – supports mobility across industries and state lines. It also ensures that emerging AI tools and platforms can use trusted, validated data about New Jersey’s credentials and skills when being used by New Jersey students and job-seekers.

By aligning funding, programming, and policy around these priorities, New Jersey can strengthen pathways that lead to meaningful employment and career advancement. Embedding credentials within transparent, well-structured systems not only helps learners and workers navigate opportunities with confidence but also provides employers with trusted signals of skills. Continued investment in credential transparency ensures that New Jersey’s education and workforce systems deliver real, tangible value, helping people access better jobs, grow their skills, and advance their careers.

Scott Cheney is the CEO of Credential Engine, a nonprofit on a mission to map the credentials and skills landscape with clear information. Before Credential Engine, Cheney served as the policy director for Workforce, Economic Development and Pensions for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.