Noncredit Research Collaborative
Di Xu explores how industry-recognized credentials influence workers’ earnings and career mobility. Published in the Journal of Public Economics, the study examines data from approximately 36,000 learners enrolled in Virginia’s FastForward program. Di Xu and her coauthors found that learners who earned an industry-recognized credential increased their quarterly earnings by an average of nearly 10 percent compared to their earnings before enrolling in the program. They were also more likely to transition into higher-paying industries than participants who completed training but did not earn a credential.