Partners
SkillsAware is proud to be shaped and strengthened by partners who bring policy, technical, and sector expertise to deliver AI-powered, human-centred solutions that help individuals and organisations tackle skills gaps.
Our Partners
Dr Caroline Steel
Global Consultant in Digital Learning, Micro-credentials & Workforce Capability
Dr Caroline Steel is an internationally recognised strategist and consultant specialising in the strategic design and implementation of microcredentials, capability frameworks, and learning and employment pathways through upskilling and skills recognition. With more than 30 years of experience across Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA, she collaborates with organisations to co-design strategies and approaches that identify, grow, validate, and mobilise the capabilities of their people.
Working at the intersection of research, policy, and practice Caroline applies human-centred approaches such as design-thinking and consultative methods to architect scalable, demand-driven educational solutions that respond to workforce, community and individual needs. Caroline brings expertise in developing capability frameworks, authentic assessment, microcredentials and data-rich digital badging – supporting communities, governments, and organisations to be responsive to future demand while ensuring skills are visible, transferable, and valued.
She recently led synthesis work across seven countries for the Erasmus+ funded Potential of Microcredentials in Southern Africa project and has extensive global experience in developing and applying evaluation models to benchmark maturity and guide the growth of microcredentials and large-scale digital education initiatives. She continues her work with microcredentials in South Africa in the field of transport economics and logistics.
Caroline is deeply committed to empowering people through education and skills
recognition, and to advancing equity and inclusive access to lifelong learning opportunities.
She is a signatory to the Paris Declaration for Open Recognition (https://paris.openrecognition.org/).
Don Presant
President, Learning Agents
Don Presant has been a digital recognition innovator for lifelong learning since 2003. He advocates for open lifewide recognition, consults on digital credentialing, and provides CanCred, a leading Canadian digital badge service. A champion of ePortfolios and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) since 2003, Don chaired the Manitoba PLA Network (MPLAN) (2008-2010), received MPLAN’s PEARL Award (2013), and introduced Open Badges at ePIC in 2012.
He co-directs ePIC, co-authored the 2016 Bologna Open Recognition Declaration and the 2024 Paris Declaration on the Equality of Recognition, and advised UNESCO on micro-credentials (2021). He serves on the boards of CAPLA and LLLP’s Validation Task Force.
As a consultant and technology provider, Don has advised and supported credentialing initiatives for post-secondary institutions and organizations like the Canada School of Public Service, Doctors Without Borders, and the UN’s ITC-ILO.
Wendy Palmer
Director, Lifelong Learning Practice
Wendy Palmer is an experienced learning design leader who brings over 30 years of expertise in designing, developing, and delivering education across higher education, vocational education, and industry settings. She is the Director of Lifelong Learning Practice, a consultancy focused on innovative learning strategies, microcredentials, and lifelong learning solutions.
Wendy has worked with a wide range of organisations to transform content into clear, purposeful, and engaging learning experiences—whether in face-to-face, online, hybrid, or work-integrated formats. She is passionate about ensuring learning is meaningful, accessible, and aligned with real-world needs, and has led the development of everything from national frameworks to hands-on educator training.
Her workshops offer practical strategies for designing effective short courses, microcredentials, and online programs, with a focus on learner-centred design, digital engagement, and assessment for learning. Wendy regularly works with subject matter experts and trainers to build their confidence and capability in areas such as learning structure, storytelling, learner personas, hybrid delivery, and content curation.
Wendy is also the author of The Lifelong Learning Edge, a popular Substack newsletter that explores how we design for lifelong learners in a digitally enabled world. She brings energy, insight, and real-world relevance to every session she runs.
