What Today’s Students Need to Thrive
Today’s workforce looks very different from even a decade ago. Employers are prioritizing adaptability, digital fluency, entrepreneurial thinking, and problem-solving over rote memorization or static credentials. In this new landscape, students require more than just a diploma—they need evidence of their skills and the agility to adapt to constant change.
That’s why conversations around college and career readiness are shifting.
Many school districts are moving beyond a “college-prep only” model to embrace broader career pathways. Skills-based hiring is on the rise, with companies placing greater emphasis on an individual's skills and abilities rather than their educational background.
For students to thrive, they need more tools in their toolbox—especially real-world learning experiences and industry-recognized credentials that open doors, regardless of the path they choose.
Credentials That Count: The Rise of Industry Certifications
As education systems adapt to these new demands, industry certifications have emerged as a powerful way to validate student skills. Certifications—offered through both secondary and post-secondary programs—are gaining traction across career fields, including IT, healthcare, business, entrepreneurship, and beyond.
This shift is part of a broader trend: moving from traditional resume-building to skills signaling. Certifications offer an external stamp of approval for a student’s capabilities and can help level the playing field in job markets and college admissions. Sharelies Rodriguez, Teacher at Lakewood Ranch High School, shares, "This is a demonstration of skills that they learn that they wouldn’t otherwise have." More states are recognizing the value of certifications and offering funding or incentives to encourage schools to integrate them.
Why Certifications Matter
When students earn an industry-recognized certification, they’re not just adding a line to their resume. They’re gaining confidence, agency, and opportunity. Rodriguez explains, “We have kids from areas that we know college is not an option for them, but when they graduate, they have the certification. When an employer is looking at two people on the same level, if you have a certification, you’re going to stand out.”
Certifications serve as external validation of learning and provide students with a competitive edge—opening doors to college, career pathways, and scholarships. In fact, Rodriguez shared that one of her INCubatoredu students, a junior, received a $40,000 scholarship in part due to his project management certification. These credentials not only distinguish students in the eyes of employers and admissions officers, but they also deliver a powerful boost in confidence and long-term readiness.
Where Entrepreneurship Education and Certification Come Together
Students today need more than subject knowledge—they need the ability to lead, solve problems, and adapt quickly. That’s why entrepreneurship education is such a powerful pathway to future readiness. It teaches practical business skills, fosters creative problem-solving, and empowers students through real-world, project-based learning.
Uncharted Learning student entrepreneurship programs are designed to help students build durable, transferable skills and earn meaningful credentials:
INCubatoredu prepares students for the Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB), and Applied Generative AI certifications from Certiport.entreINCedu introduces students to Intuit’s Design for Delight (D4D) methodology that serves as preparation for the Intuit Design for Delight Innovator Certification, and also project management principles that are key foundations for the PMI Project Management Ready Certification.“Employers are seeking to hire people who have an entrepreneurial mindset. As AI takes on more and more productivity, people with entrepreneurial skills will become more an more valuable in order to solve problems for humans. The ESB certification helps a learner demonstrate to a potential employer that they have these needed skills.”
~ Nich Haber, Director Global Partnerships - Certiport
With these certifications layered into programs built on real-world learning, students aren’t just passing tests—they’re gaining relevant experience and stepping confidently into whatever comes next. Rodriguez shares, “The entrepreneurship certification is a great base for any student interested in business—but even if they’re not, it teaches them to think and solve problems in new ways.”
Certifications Opportunity at National Summit
Certiport, a leader in certification testing across business,
entrepreneurship, and technology, will be joining us at this year’s Uncharted Learning National Summit. Participating educators can take Certiport exams for free—experiencing first-hand how these credentials align with student learning in INCubatoredu and entreINCedu.
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Discover how entrepreneurship can serve as a robust framework for skill development and achieving certifications. Contact us to learn more.
