Abstract:

With the increased globalization, work mobility has dramatically increased. Covid 19 has accelerated this trend with a significant emphasis on the remote work environment. This new dynamic and cross-border evolution have stressed the global educational systems. It creates a huge challenge when attempting to verify and match the skills of the new applicants. The current status required a significant time to go through the official channels in order to verify the applicant's skills and education. While this can at least be achieved, mapping those educational skills from one system to the other is a surmountable task. Furthermore, the challenge becomes almost impossible when attempting to reconcile the skills gained in the industry.

In this paper, we propose an NFT-based industry-verified skills system that not only solves the current problem but also eradicates the root cause. The proposed system is architected to utilize the immutability aspects of blockchain technology, coupled with a novel use of NFTs (nonfungible tokens) to provide the base layer for skill attestation and verification. Each institution, university, and employer is provided with unique access after passing KYE (know your Education) verification process. Each entity can thus issue signed NFTs representing the desired skill based on the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications, and Occupations. standard. Each student or applicant can now have a unique digital wallet that contains all the skills NFTs issued for them.

We argue that utilizing such a system will eliminate the wasted time and cost involved with global education and employment. Furthermore, it will greatly enhance employment matching and employee satisfaction.

Keywords:

Education, Skills, Work Experience, Blockchain, NFTs.