A useful skills passport should do more than store certificates. For each supported achievement, an employer should be able to understand who issued it, what was assessed, when it was achieved, whether it expires and how the record can be checked.
## What should a digital credential prove? At minimum, the record should identify the holder, issuer, achievement or competency, issue date, relevant assessment or evidence basis, and verification method. Where a skill or compliance requirement expires, validity and renewal information should also be visible.
## What should employers verify? Employers should separate evidence of course completion from evidence of competence, regulated qualifications and statutory permissions. A digital badge or certificate can be useful evidence, but it should not be treated as proof of a regulated status unless the underlying issuer and qualification support that claim.
## Why portability matters A skills passport is most useful when the learner can view and share supported records across roles or employers without converting every achievement into an unverifiable PDF. Interoperable credential standards can help, but governance and evidence quality still matter.
## External context UK workforce policy increasingly treats skills passports as portable records of skills and credentials. Construction already provides practical examples of portable digital cards and training records. Employers should still define which credentials they accept for each role and compliance requirement.
## SAVI’s approach SAVI Credentials and the SAVI Skills Passport are designed to record supported learning achievements and make evidence easier to inspect. A SAVI credential is not automatically a regulated qualification; where external regulated status applies, that status remains with the relevant awarding or regulatory body.
See /credentials for the SAVI Skills Passport and credential proposition, and /business for workplace learning.