A Skills Passport is an online record of all your qualifications and skills.
The government is about to initiate consultations with employer groups, unions and educators aimed at identifying the advantages of creating a National Skills Passport. This initiative would consolidate all your qualifications and skills into a single, user-friendly database.
You need one because..
- It might significantly ease your transition from one employer to another.
- Many people may not realize that completing certain courses, such as a White Card or a barista course during school, actually grants them formal qualifications.
- It’s possible to inadvertently overlook a job opportunity if you forget about a customer service qualification earned during your initial employment at McDonald’s or Bunnings.
- As you progress through life, continuous learning is inevitable. Without a comprehensive database to store your course history, it’s easy to forget what courses you completed a decade ago.
What does it do?
- It consolidates all your qualifications into a single database.
- It will be integrated with standardized criteria, ensuring that certifications from”Dodgy Brothers Training” are not seen as the same as those from TAFE colleges or universities.
- The system will adhere to interoperability standards, guaranteeing that all qualifications are recorded using a uniform format, which will allow seamless sharing and compatibility.
Why I won’t use it…
- I used to work with IT security specialists and I am cautious about sharing personal information.
- Identify theft is easier when everything is in one place.
- I don’t trust that the information would not be used for different purposes.
- I can keep my own records of my qualifications.
- If they let me know what standards and format they want in a database, I will create my own sharable database that I will manage.
Make up your own mind
If you are a teacher or career advisor, you may want to use it to make sure school leavers have a record of all qualifications they have achieved. In that case a Skills Passport may be a convenient solution.
There will probably be an opt out clause that will allow users to stop using the service.
I think a Skills Passport could be a cool solution to people not taking responsibility for keeping their own records.