A number of high profile HR tech companies are part of a new blockchain initiative to help create a verifiable identity platform for candidates. The new organization is called Velocity Career Labs and features stalwarts such as Aon’s Assessment Solutions, Cornerstone, HireRight, Korn Ferry, National Student Clearinghouse, Randstad, SAP, SumTotal Systems, SHL, Ultimate Software, Unit4, Upwork, Velocity Career Labs and ZipRecruiter.
The vendor-neutral, nonprofit organization was formed to reinvent how people manage their career credentials. According to the announcement;
Hundreds of millions of individuals will be affected by the Fourth Industrial Revolution trends, many driven to change their careers or risk displacement. In this reality, career credentials become one of the most sought after and valuable assets for workers, enabling them to navigate through the labor market. As noted at the World Economic Forum in Davos,3 73 percent of employees said they want to own their work-related records and take them as they move between jobs.
Businesses, governments and key stakeholders need to accelerate and elevate their game to win against these trends. All bets are on innovations in human resources technology to tackle newer challenges, with increased demand for smart automation, AI and algorithmic matching to connect people with jobs and career development opportunities. Yet, most individuals and organizations still rely on costly, self-reported and unverified methods to exchange data about previous employment, professional achievements and educational certifications, all of which are key to hiring efficiencies. The fragmented data exchange system is holding back the job market and preventing the mitigation of critical challenges facing the job market today.
Velocity, The World’s Network for Verified Career Credentials
Powered by blockchain, the Velocity Network makes it possible for people to claim and manage their career credentials, including verified education, projects, work history, skills and talent assessments, choosing with whom to share this information and how others use this data. At the same time, employers and educational institutions can rely on trusted, immutable applicant, candidate, student and employee information, seamlessly and effectively achieving significant reductions in the time and costs associated with talent processes, while reducing risk through decisions based on reliable data and supporting compliance in today’s global labor market.
Combined, the Velocity Network Foundation’s founding members have career-related data for more than 700 million individuals in their systems, including billions of professional and student credentials and assessments, as well as employment and contract work records spanning job information, pay histories, competencies and more.
Dror Gurevich, CEO of Velocity Career Labs, said, “These amazing future-thinking founding members bring to the table what’s needed to kickstart the network effect.” He continued, “The democratic, nonprofit nature of the governance, and the open-source framework will make it a true public utility layer. This is why we are calling it the ‘Internet of Careers.’ It sets Velocity apart from others in this space and attracts many others to join, driving the supply and demand flywheel.”
It remains to be seen if Blockchain is going to become an underlying technology that supports the HR ecosystem. But this collection of companies could be the driver the tech needs to gain adoption and should be one to watch.
