When you open the badge editor, three sections look like they overlap: Skills, Endorsements, and Standards (sometimes called alignments). They all add extra context to a badge, but each one signals something different to learners and employers.
This article explains what each section is for, how they relate, and which one to reach for in a given situation. It is aimed at admins designing badges in a provider account.
Skills
The Skills card on the badge editor is where you describe what someone can do after earning the badge.
Skills are powered by Lightcast, a skills taxonomy used by employers and recruiters. As you type, the editor suggests recognised skills, marked with a sparkle icon. You can also click Suggest to extract skills automatically from the badge description and criteria.
When to use skills:
To make the badge findable on Discover and through search.
To help the AI badge assistant connect this badge to others on the platform.
To add to each earner's verified skills. When a learner claims the badge, its skills become verified skills on their profile, which is what they are matched on across Discover.
To supply the skills a pathway can draw on. When an admin presses Suggest on a pathway's Skills card, the skills already on that pathway's badges are part of what it suggests, and a pathway's own skills are what its Related Jobs feed is filtered by.
The job feed itself (it appears as Related Jobs) is a pathway feature rather than a badge one: it is switched on per pathway by a provider with the job feed enabled, and it is filtered by the pathway's own skills, industries, job titles and location, not by an individual badge.
For best practice on choosing the right skills, see Skills Tags Recommendations (by Lightcast).
Endorsements
An endorsement is a third party publicly vouching for a badge. It could be an employer, a professional body, an education provider, or another organisation in your network. The endorsement appears on the public badge page with the endorser's name, logo, and a short description.
Endorsements are added from the Endorsements card on the badge editor. Click New to open the editor and enter the endorser's name, a description, an optional link to their site, and an optional logo image. If your account has pre-saved endorsement templates, you can pick one from the list instead of entering everything by hand.
When to use endorsements:
When a recognised organisation has agreed to put their name behind the badge.
When you want the badge page to signal external trust, not just internal validation.
When the endorser is happy for their logo to appear on every issued copy of the badge.
Important note: You should have permission from the endorsing organisation before adding them. Endorsements appear on every learner's badge, so an endorsement added without consent risks damaging the relationship.
If a partner organisation wants to learn what an endorsement involves from their side, point them at Endorsing a Digital Badge.
Standards
Standards connect the badge to an external framework or standard. On the editor they live on the Standards card, alongside the Navigatr Badge Framework. Common examples include apprenticeship standards, Gatsby Benchmarks, qualification frameworks, and sector-specific competency models.
To add one, click Add another standard on the Standards card. The dialog asks for the name of the standard, a short description (up to 500 characters), and a link to the standard's published reference. All three are required. Two further fields are optional: Framework and Framework code. Use them to map the standard to an external qualifications framework: for example, Framework "Regulated Qualifications Framework" with Framework code "L4" for RQF Level 4. These two are what make the alignment machine-readable, exported as the Open Badge alignment's targetFramework and targetCode values. If your account has pre-saved alignment templates (for example, a list of apprenticeship standards), you can pick from that list instead of entering them by hand. The alignment then appears on the public badge page under a Standards heading.
When to use standards:
When the badge maps to a published framework that learners or employers will recognise.
When you need to show evidence that the badge counts toward a qualification or apprenticeship.
When a funder or commissioner has asked you to demonstrate alignment to a national standard.
If you are not aligning to an external framework, you can still use the Navigatr Badge Framework as the badge's standard. The framework lives on the same card and uses the type and mode you set when designing the badge.
Side-by-side comparison
Three different jobs, three different effects on the badge page. Use this table to choose the right one quickly.
Section | What it signals | Where it appears | Use it for |
Skills | What the earner can do | Skill chips on the badge page, plus Discover and the AI badge assistant | Making the badge findable and building each earner's verified skills |
Endorsements | Who supports this badge | A named card with a logo on the badge page | Showing external trust from a recognised organisation |
Standards | Which framework this badge maps to | A Standards section on the badge page | Showing that the badge counts toward a recognised standard |
Common questions
What is the difference between a skill and a tag?
There is no difference in the data, only in the label. The badge editor and the public badge page call them skills, while the AI badge assistant and the API call them tags. You are editing the same list in both places.
Can I endorse my own badge?
You should not. An endorsement is meant to show that an outside organisation supports the badge. If you add your own provider as an endorser, you are signalling a third-party relationship that does not exist.
Do I have to align my badge to a standard?
No. Most badges do not need an external standard. Add one only if the badge genuinely maps to a framework that learners or employers will recognise. If you are unsure, leave the Standards card with just the Navigatr Badge Framework selected.
Does adding endorsements or standards improve discoverability?
Not directly. Discoverability on Discover and in search is driven by the Skills card. Endorsements and standards add credibility once a learner is on the badge page, but they do not change how the badge surfaces in search.
Tip: For help deciding which sections to fill in for a specific badge, reach out to [email protected].