Labour market institutions for the AI era: The need for verified employment records

The rise of AI fundamentally alters the balance between formal credentials and verified experience in labour markets, but without verified employment records, experience remains invisible. This column reviews employment record systems across eight advanced and emerging economies, as well as EU-level initiatives, to establish design principles and draw lessons from implementation failures. The analysis reveals that technical infrastructure alone does not guarantee success. Effective systems require aligned incentives, continuous stakeholder engagement, and careful sequencing.