Abu Dhabi introduces Gulf-first digital skills card

Abu Dhabi has introduced the Gulf region’s first Digital Skills Card, giving employers and regulators a blockchain-backed way to verify professional qualifications and skills through a QR code.

The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, or QCC, launched the credential with Union Assessment and Quality Accreditation, known as UAC, on Monday. Each card is tied to a certification awarded through personnel conformity programmes accredited by QCC and delivered by UAC, creating a digitally verifiable record that professionals can carry and present when seeking work or regulatory recognition.

Verification is conducted through ADI Chain, the regulation-compliant blockchain infrastructure developed by the ADI Foundation. Employers, regulators and other authorised stakeholders can scan the card’s QR code to check whether a certification is valid and authentic, reducing reliance on paper documents and manual confirmation procedures.

QCC said the initiative is intended to strengthen trust, transparency and workforce mobility while supporting wider adoption of verifiable digital credentials across the Gulf Cooperation Council and the broader Middle East and North Africa region. The system is designed to give certified professionals a secure record of accredited competencies that can be checked quickly across institutions.

Badr Khamis Al Shumaili, executive director of QCC’s Conformity and Standards Services Sector, said digitalisation was no longer limited to streamlining procedures but had become a foundation for more connected and transparent systems built on trusted data. He said the Digital Skills Card provided a secure and reliable means of verifying professional skills and credentials while reinforcing confidence in accredited competencies.

The launch ceremony in Abu Dhabi brought together government representatives, regulators, industry stakeholders and certified professionals, with a group of professionals receiving the first cards. The council said the initiative links skills recognition more closely with digital verification, allowing organisations to establish the status of credentials without depending solely on physical certificates.

Shahbaz Muhammad Khan, director and chief executive of UAC, said the project was developed around the needs of certified professionals. He said verified skills should be able to move with individuals, gain recognition across institutions and borders and retain their value as careers develop.

UAC plans to broaden the Digital Skills Card over time to cover a wider range of certifications, qualifications and professional achievements. The initial version remains linked to personnel conformity programmes accredited by QCC and delivered by UAC, meaning the card serves as a verification layer for recognised professional certifications rather than a replacement for work permits, visas or occupation-specific licences issued by competent authorities.

The initiative also gives regulators and employers a tool to check certification status at the point of use, a feature that can be important in sectors where professional competence is tied to safety, technical standards or regulatory compliance. Blockchain verification is intended to make records harder to alter and easier to authenticate while preserving a traceable digital source for the credential.

QCC is responsible for Abu Dhabi’s quality infrastructure across areas including standardisation, conformity assessment, testing, inspection and accreditation. Its personnel conformity work is designed to ensure that individuals in regulated or technical occupations meet specified competency requirements before certification is granted.

UAC specialises in workforce skills assessment and accreditation for industrial sectors, with programmes aligned to regulatory requirements and labour market needs. The partnership places the Digital Skills Card within an existing conformity framework rather than creating a separate qualification system.

QCC said the digital format is also intended to improve confidence between credential holders and organisations assessing their qualifications by making verification available from the issuing framework. For professionals, the card creates a portable record that can be presented without repeating conventional document checks, while employers can confirm the status of the linked certification before relying on it.