Microsoft will now grade your skills by watching how you use GitHub

Microsoft has launched a new kind of work credential that does not ask you to sit a test. The Pro Badge looks at how you use a product day to day and gives you a skill level based on that. The first one covers GitHub Copilot, an AI helper for writing software code. It costs nothing.

How it works

You go to learn.github.com and sign in with your GitHub account. That starts what Microsoft calls a proficiency engine. It looks at signals from your real use of the product and compares them with a set framework. Microsoft says it updates your level automatically as you keep working. There is no exam and no study guide.

The five levels

• Beginner: first contact with GitHub, and you know what Copilot is and where to use it.
• Intermediate: familiar with core features, model management and customization options.
• Proficient: uses many features, picks suitable models and tailors Copilot to a project.
• Advanced and expert: Microsoft has not defined these yet.

The badge itself requires the third level, proficient. Microsoft says that means steady, hands-on use across multiple repositories (separate code projects) over extended periods. Microsoft has published more detail on the first three levels.

Why it matters

Microsoft general manager Cameron Percy wrote that people have long wanted a simpler way to prove skills they use at work without stopping to prepare for another test. The badge can be added to LinkedIn, which Microsoft owns. For employers, a record of real use may say something a single test day cannot. Percy also hinted that more Pro Badges are coming.

What it does not replace

Microsoft says Pro Badges work alongside its certifications and do not replace them or its Applied Skills credentials. It calls the badge a third signal, one that shows how skills appear in everyday use. Certifications, in its words, show you can solve problems in a role or field.

What is not clear yet

The material does not list which usage signals the engine counts, or how much use gets someone to proficient. The top two levels are still undefined, so it is unclear how far the system will go.