Employer Perceptions of Critical Information Literacy Skills and Digital Badges

This study examines which competencies are valued by employers when it comes to information literacy and whether any of these skills are difficult to represent through formal qualifications.  It investigates whether there is interest among employers in using digital badges as anaccreditation method for informal skills, and whether it varies between sectors.  The study is based in the USA and surveys 114 relevant employers in different disciplines to research their perceptions around the information competence new employees (directly from higher education) possess and about whether digital Badges could be considered as a way to document such skills.  The main finding from the research was that information literacy is valued in the workplace, but that these skills were often lacking in new employees.  Of the 114 employers who participated, only 5% answered that they were not interested in the recognition of digital badges to assess such competencies.