Credentials in the Occupation Ontology

TL;DR

This paper presents a systematic ontological model of occupational credentials, including their types and relations, to improve understanding and integration of credential data in workforce development.

Contribution

It introduces the first comprehensive ontological framework for credentials within the Occupation Ontology, modeling credential types and their authorization logic.

Findings

Defined credential and related terms at textual and semantic levels

Modeled different credential types and their authorization logic

Established a hierarchy of credential-related terms and relations

Abstract

The term credential encompasses educational certificates, degrees, certifications, and government-issued licenses. An occupational credential is a verification of an individuals qualification or competence issued by a third party with relevant authority. Job seekers often leverage such credentials as evidence that desired qualifications are satisfied by their holders. Many U.S. education and workforce development organizations have recognized the importance of credentials for employment and the challenges of understanding the value of credentials. In this study, we identified and ontologically defined credential and credential-related terms at the textual and semantic levels based on the Occupation Ontology (OccO), a BFO-based ontology. Different credential types and their authorization logic are modeled. We additionally defined a high-level hierarchy of credential related terms and relations among many terms, which were initiated in concert with the Alabama Talent Triad (ATT) program, which aims to connect learners, earners, employers and education/training providers through credentials and skills. To our knowledge, our research provides for the first time systematic ontological modeling of the important domain of credentials and related contents, supporting enhanced credential data and knowledge integration in the future.