Can Open Credentials Outcompete State Mandates?

My Experience and Example as a Farrier.

Apprenticeships have long been a mainstay of learning the art and craft of a particular trade or skill set. As a farrier, my sole education was through apprenticeships. I will readily admit that there were holes in my "education", such as business and marketing. There are farrier schools now, but I never went to one other than for some continuing education.

My apprenticeship was 15 to 20 years ago and now we all have full access to a variety of learning opportunities on the Interenet or possibly with a professional of our choice. Some universities are even giving free and open access to full curriculum available on demand. If that doesn't fit the bill, there are tons of other resources throughout the Internet.

It is because of the richness of these resources that farriery has steadily gained in general quality throughout the last decade or so.

Even though quality seems to be steadily increasing, these days there are constant mumblings of State mandated licensing or certification for farriers. As with everything, there is great division even though most seem to at least acknowledge that a mandate will not actually raise quality or the assurance of quality or in any way protect the horse owners from shoddy work. There is even more agreement that government ineptness and greed will likely sour the entire process. Even still, there is a solid faction pushing for a mandate.

What is it about people that feel so compelled to force people to bow to some mandate? I think most of the people pushing for mandates are simply trying to reduce competition. Wouldn't that just be a protection racket?

Does This Example Already Out Compete the State Monopoly Systems?

I can tell you that who I apprenticed with and my interactions with clientèle from that time set the stage for my business today. I can't put a person in the hospital from food poison, but my competence of lack there of can certainly cause damage to the horses that I work on. That can also lead to significant financial liabilities to fix any damage.

I have been around a handful of people directly involved in restaurant and food management. The stories I have always heard, and even seen is that State Safety Inspections are of little to no actual or practical use.

Why are there not more businesses or organizations qualifying safety or proof of competence?

Open Source the Procedures and the Credentialing?

It seems to me that the procedures and principles could be easily open sourced and therefore freely available to use or modify. This freedom would be a much more efficient and transparent way to increase the effectiveness of those involved.

If you don't see a logo on the door of your establishment, then you know to enter at your own risk. That said, people have gotten along for a long time and in many places without all this regulation.

Blockchain Verification of Accomplishment?

We all want professionals such as engineers, medical, legal, food preparation, etc. to be able to show that they are properly trained and prepared for business that could have serious consequences to their clients. Why not use blockchain technology and open source principals to independently educate, qualify and verify a particular skill set? It would certainly be a complete paradigm change, but we do have the tools already. We just need some leaders to show us the way to get started.