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Digital badges or digital certificates: which should you issue?

They are not competitors. When to use a certificate, when to use a badge, and when to issue both.

RA
Rohan Ashik
· 1 min read

Training teams often ask whether they should switch from certificates to badges. The better question is what each one is for.

The difference in one table

CertificateBadge
Best forCompleting a whole programmeA single skill or milestone
Looks likeA printable, landscape documentA small, round or shield image
Shared onLinkedIn, CVs, office wallsLinkedIn, wallets, email signatures
StandardVerifiable page and PDFOpen Badges 2.0

Issue both

Many programmes issue a certificate for the course and badges for the skills inside it. The certificate marks the achievement; the badges show the detail. Both can share one verification page per recipient.

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Rohan Ashik

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