Verifiable credentials are transforming education trust from paper trail to digital vault: Vaibhav Yadav, Associate Director, Product Management at OnGrid

The background checks landscape continues to witness a paradigm shift with the augmented use of new-age technologies. According to a recent survey - around 86 per cent of Indian respondents encountered employment discrepancies while 43 per cent faced educational inconsistencies. Manual employment and education checks are riddled with opacity, errors, and a lack of accountability.

Vaibhav Yadav, Associate Director, Product Management at OnGrid informs that organisations are actively adapting digital vaults like eLockr and Digilocker to bring transparency, accuracy, and responsibility to the forefront, making diligent screening a breeze.

He explains, "Transitioning towards tamper-proof digital verifiable credentials has become paramount to say the least, especially with the increased cases of forgery. From counterfeit university degrees to manipulated employment records, these fraudulent activities have plagued organisations, and educational institutions alike with reputational damage, financial losses and even legal vulnerabilities."

Yadav stresses on the 7 below-mentioned points to state that with verifiable credentials by their side, HRs will not only be able to ensure a seamless post-resignation experience for employees, but will be able to build future-proof organizations.

Verifiable Credentials in the Digitized Talent Ecosystem

Considering the vast and complex nature of an individual’s record, he says that talent managers and new-age recruiters are betting on verifiable credentials (VCs). "Demonstrating a dynamic shift in digital identity and authentication processes, VCs ensure secure storage and sharing of personal information, including educational qualifications and previous employment records. Unlike traditional records, verifiable credentials are not susceptible to forgery or inefficient hiring practices," he adds.

Issuance of VCs for simplified verification

Before the acceleration of technology adoption, organisations were reluctant to share VCs with former employees as conventional tech infrastructure failed to offer any safeguards against attempts of tampering. However, with evolving times, Yadav says that the advent of digital vaults like eLockr, backed by robust tech infrastructure have transformed the landscape of VCs, exhibiting a strategic opportunity, which ensures efficiency, security and agility for employers. He informs that tncapsulating work history, professional achievements and other relevant certifications in a universally accepted, easy-to-access and shareable format, VCs have simplified the verification process.

Eradicating fraud

The Associate Director of Product Management at OnGrid states that the integration of technology in creating verifiable credentials offers a secure and transparent solution to combat fraudulent employment and education practices. He avers, "As digital records are tamper-proof, employers and education institutions can rely on VCs to contribute to an efficient and enhanced background check ecosystem. Subsequently, this eliminates the risk of creating forged documents completely, ensuring there is 100 per cent accuracy in an individual’s professional and educational records. Additionally, by automating the process of credential issuance and verification, VCs reduce administrative burden, paving the way for trusted relationships and a fraud-resistant ecosystem."

Empowering individuals with digital credentials

In a highly digitised world, Yadav says that verifiable credentials break down the barriers associated with traditional paper-based records. He opines, "These digital credentials revolutionise the background check landscape based on a secure, portable and instantly verifiable format. As a result, individuals can share more authenticated academic as well as professional records for streamlined and accelerated hiring process, smooth visa interviews, seamless further education etc. Apart from this, VCs offer a sense of ownership and internal control to individuals in terms of enabling the access and sharing of the credentials with employer organisations or educational institutions."

Streamlined recruitment process

He informs that by ensuring the overall trustworthiness of an individual’s professional and academic records, VCs offer a transformative solution to a streamlined recruitment process. "Employers can seamlessly cross-verify the credentials, which ultimately leads to a highly efficient process and reduced error-prone process. With greater transparency and accuracy, the employers can leverage the benefit of authenticity and further automate the screening process for verifying educational degrees and professional certifications," he adds.

Global Recognition of Credentials

The digitised version of credentials transcends beyond geopolitical boundaries. The Associate Director of Product Management at OnGrid informs that these credentials can offer new worlds of opportunity and perspective to an individual. He says, "The global organisations leverage digital records and this makes VCs gain wider acceptance across the globe. As a result, it offers greater mobility and opportunities to individuals to work and learn beyond their national boundaries with better authenticity and credibility over their past records."

Compliance with Privacy Regulations

He says verifiable credentials play a crucial role in offering a secure and efficient means of authentication. "However, backed by robust tech infrastructure, it does not compromise the security of an individual’s sensitive information. In fact, it enables individuals to control the access of their personal information selectively. Having recourse to cryptographic techniques VCs increases data integrity and confidentiality, minimising the risk of data breaches and unauthorised access," he adds.

The accelerated use of verifiable credentials is significant in marking a shift in the way organisations access and recognize professional and academic information. "By harnessing their potential, the stakeholders on both sides of the ecosystem including the candidate and the employer can build a robust and transparent background check landscape, contributing to the overall growth of the workforce at a global scale," he sums up saying.