Skills wallets are revolutionizing how we understand employees’ skills
Imagine a world where your professional worth isn’t measured by your job title or tenure, but by a verifiable, portable record of your actual skills – curated, updated and used to match you with projects, roles, and even compensation, in real time. Thanks to the emergence of skills wallets, that world is closer than you think.
Skills wallets are digital, portable portfolios of an individual’s verified capabilities – think LinkedIn meets blockchain. They provide an evolving, validated record of what workers can do, rather than what they’ve done. Major players like SkyHive, Velocity Network Foundation, and Workday are investing heavily in the concept, while governments from Singapore to the UAE are exploring national digital skills IDs.
Not just a digital CV
What’s revolutionary about skills wallets is their interoperability and the autonomy they create. Skills data moves with the individual, not the employer, and does so securely, transparently, and in real time. This enables individuals to curate and showcase varied skills earned across different contexts – jobs, projects, volunteering, even micro-credentials – making informal learning as visible and valuable as formal qualifications.
The business value? Increased talent mobility, better workforce planning, more precise reskilling investments, and a fundamental shift toward a skills-based economy. It also offers a more inclusive talent lens – opening doors to those historically overlooked by traditional recruitment filters. Skills wallets could be the connective tissue between education, employment and enterprise in a world hungry for relevance and agility.
Proof in practice
The concept of skills wallets isn’t just theoretical. Forward-thinking companies already see tangible value from applying portable, dynamic skills data to deploy, develop, and engage talent.
One such firm is Unilever. Through its AI-powered internal talent marketplace, Unilever enables employees to apply for stretch assignments based on their evolving skills, rather than job titles. Skills profiles serve as dynamic resumés, helping managers allocate work more effectively. This has already had an impact, says Unilever: internal mobility has risen by 30%, external hiring costs have dropped, and the company unlocked more than $10 million in productivity gains by better matching people to work.
Schneider Electric is another leader in this field. Its Open Talent Market platform, powered by Gloat, lets employees create rich digital profiles – essentially internal skills wallets – that connect them to gigs, mentorships, and learning pathways. The company reports that 47% of internal roles are filled through the platform, while 85% of users report improved career visibility and engagement.
Meanwhile, IBM launched a Skills Passport pilot that uses blockchain to verify and store employee credentials, giving individuals agency over their learning and career data. Initially tested in Singapore, it’s now being expanded as part of client solutions. IBM saw a 40% improvement in hiring match rates in pilot phases and faster onboarding in key technical roles.
In short, skills wallets offer employers multiple advantages. They enable them to source talent more efficiently, by matching actual capabilities to work needs. They democratize career progression, breaking away from traditional, biased hiring practices. Organizations can reduce redundancy and internal churn by dynamically reallocating talent to projects; enable agile, cross-functional teaming, via real-time visibility of workforce capabilities; improve employee retention, by signaling trust and investment in workers’ growth journeys; and they can close critical skills gaps faster, targeting development efforts based on live data.
As such, the emergence of skills wallets has implications for CHROs, CFOs, and CIOs alike. It reframes how we define workforce productivity, investment in L&D, and workforce planning. For leaders, it’s a strategy that addresses talent shortages, DEI and agility in one move – and lays the groundwork for a more adaptive, equitable world of work. At a time when job roles are morphing and skills are the key differentiator, the skills wallet is transformative.
Perry Timms is founder and chief energy officer of PTHR, a consultancy aiming to create better businesses for a better world. He is a TEDx speaker, top-selling author, and a member of HR Magazine’s Most Influential Hall of Fame
