Education Design Lab announces $3.5 million RFP to advance workforce mobility through credential transparency and skills validation

Grants of up to $600,000 are available to U.S.-based nonprofits and governmental organizations to help working adults navigate a fragmented learn-and-work ecosystem.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Design Lab (the Lab) and partners are excited to announce a $3.5 million Request for Proposals (RFP) that promotes economic mobility for working adults without a bachelor's degree.

The Advancing Workforce Mobility initiative is a collaborative effort led by the Lab, in technical partnership with Credential Engine, and made possible by funding from Walmart.

This 18‑month initiative will fund a portfolio of projects that make workers' skills and credentials more visible, trusted, and transferable, with a specific focus on workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs). STARs are the 70+ million working adults in the U.S. who have developed skills through pathways other than a bachelor's degree, such as military service, community college, work experience, boot camps, or self-directed learning.

"Right now, the learn-and-work ecosystem isn't giving working adults a clear, trusted way to show what they can do. Skills are often invisible, credentials are hard to compare, and quality signals are inconsistent across systems — confusion that slows hiring and advancement and disproportionately impacts STARs," said Tara Laughlin, Senior Director of Skills Development and Validation at Education Design Lab. "This RFP is designed to support practical solutions that make credentials and skills more transparent, more trusted, and easier to use in real hiring and career pathways."

"This initiative is about building proof points the field can learn from and scale," said Monique Carswell, Director of Opportunity & Strategic Initiatives at Walmart.org. "We're supporting projects that improve how credentials and skills are described, validated, and shared across education, workforce, and employer systems, so more people, especially STARs, can connect to opportunity."

"Millions of people will be empowered to apply their skills to career opportunities through these grantees' innovations in credential quality, transparency, and skills validation. Credential Engine is excited to provide strategic vision and technical assistance so that this cohort of grantees can combine their solutions and data for large-scale impact," said Deb Everhart, Chief Strategy Officer at Credential Engine.

Lisa Larson, CEO of Education Design Lab, added: "The Advancing Workforce Mobility initiative goes beyond just talking about the challenges STARs face to actually building real, working solutions, ensuring skill visibility and validation."

 About the RFP

An estimated seven to 12 awards will be awarded across two tracks and three readiness tiers, with grants ranging from up to $250,000 to $600,000. Grantees will also be supported with technical assistance and a facilitated community of practice. The RFP welcomes applications from U.S.-based nonprofits and governmental organizations. Multi-organization partnerships and collaboratives are encouraged, but one eligible organization must serve as the lead applicant.

Good candidates for funding are projects that:

• Address clear problems that STARs face.
• Meaningfully advance credential transparency, credential quality, or skills validation.
• Fit one of the three tiers in terms of readiness and scalability.
• Contribute to a broader ecosystem vision for transparent, interconnected skills and credential data.

Applications are due by Feb. 20, 2026. To learn more and to apply, go to the Advancing Workforce Mobility web page.

About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. By focusing where the business has unique strengths, Walmart.org works to tackle key social and environmental issues and collaborate with others to spark long-lasting systemic change. Walmart has stores in 19 countries, employs approximately 2.1 million associates and does business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. Walmart.org is helping people live better by supporting programs to accelerate upward job mobility for frontline workers, address hunger, build economic opportunity for people in supply chains, protect and restore nature, reduce waste and emissions, and build strong communities where Walmart operates. To learn more, visit www.walmart.org or connect on X @Walmartorg.

About Credential Engine
Credential Engine is a nonprofit whose mission is to map the credential and skills landscape with clear information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to discover and pursue the learning and career pathways that are best for them. Credential Engine provides a suite of web-based services, including an open Credential Registry to house up-to-date information about all credentials and skills, the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), a common description language to enable credential comparability, and a platform to support customized applications to search and retrieve information about credentials and skills. Learn more: credentialengine.org.

About Education Design Lab
Education Design Lab (the Lab) is a national nonprofit and intermediary with a mission to co-design an inclusive, skills-based learn-and-work system that facilitates upward economic mobility and closes opportunity gaps for the New Majority Learner-Earner. Our facilitated design process helps employer and education stakeholder groups co-design and launch scalable, skills-based education-to-work pathways that align talent supply and demand. Learn more: www.eddesignlab.org.

SOURCE Education Design Lab