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There is a growing trend among employers to hire individuals based on their skills and alternative credentials, which has led to an increased interest in obtaining micro-credentials by potential employees. The interest in micro-credentials is rapidly growing, and universities are taking notice by offering them independently or in collaboration with other providers. Some universities have released guidelines on how micro-credentials will be recognised and integrated into degree programmes. Some are even combining them to lead to a degree.
Microcredentials hold promise for connecting people’s skillsets with labour market demand in a rapidly changing world of work. They have proliferated in recent years across economic sectors and education levels, reinforcing European and national efforts to understand and develop them better.
They can increase the provision of labour-market-relevant vocational education and training (VET), supporting national, regional and sectoral upskilling and reskilling strategies, offering learners targeted training for better employment prospects, and helping employers improve employee retention and productivity. They support the modularisation of qualifications and the validation of prior learning, enabling the inclusion of the most vulnerable and lifelong learning at all levels.
Employers have scaled back on-the-job training. Bootcamps and quick courses at universities and colleges are trying to bridge the gap
Microcredentials represent a fairly new avenue for training and certification within the spheres of higher and continuing education. They are frequently promoted by governments and educational institutions as a tool for workers transitioning between sectors or occupations as they can highlight how a person’s skills can be applied to emerging and growing sectors. An increasing number of institutions are offering microcredentials to workers looking to transition into different sectors. For example, in Alberta they are available to those transitioning out of the oil and gas sector.
Yet, it’s uncertain the extent to which microcredentials are recognized and valued by employers and workers, and how attitudes about their value may differ across industries. There is an opportunity to evaluate how they are understood and used in the labour market and if they are fulfilling their initial promises.
This study evaluates emerging evidence on microcredentials and examines how employers and learners assess their value as a measure of quality of work.
Bite-sized learning is gaining traction as modern learners are looking for quick ways to upskill and reskill in the workforce. What’s needed is a collaborative and creative approach to shifting how programming is developed, and how it’s translated to employers.
On this episode, Margot Baron, Google Cloud Certifications and Credential Lead at Google, discusses the transition to a skills-focused industry, and how to take a collaborative approach to program development in order to meet workforce needs.
By pairing microcredentials with digital credentials, individuals are prepared for a changing workforce and can make a big impact.
This study examines the role of microcredentials in supporting learning for employment.
… this much needed up-skilling and re-skilling of Canada’s workforce presents an opportunity for higher education institutions to bridge the current skills gap and drive an innovative and competitive economy
Compared to macro-credentials, such as full degree or qualification programmes, micro-credentials can be a tool to downsize and shorten longer learning programmes for greater agility, flexibility and diversity.
In this session you will:
Review the 20 ways you can go micro, and the 4 primary uses of microlearning
Learn why microlearning needs to be learner-centered
Take away practical tips to center your microlearning strategy around your learners
Micro-credentials are receiving growing interest from learners, education providers and governments as a means of upskilling and reskilling, academic advancement and personal development. This paper offers new empirical evidence on the current offer of micro-credentials across OECD jurisdictions, and provides an account of what is known about the costs and benefits of short learning programmes offered by higher education institutions.
Micro-credentials have come to the fore over the past few years as a key vehicle for supporting access to education. Micro-credentials offer important educational options for those who are reskilling, upskilling or learning about a new topic of interest.
But what is a micro-credential? Definitions abound but, simply put, micro-credentials are short-form learning. They enable learners to acquire skills and competencies through validated methods relevant to their careers.
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Looking to implement microlearning but not sure where to start? Or do you need some help identifying a microlearning use case that will enhance your existing training programs? Either way, we have great news: when it comes to microlearning, the possibilities are nearly endless.
This guide shares nine of the top ways organizations are leveraging this science-backed practice to train and develop high-performing employees. From the primary use cases of knowledge reinforcement and assessments to boosting employee engagement and tracking performance, you’ll learn practical strategies you can implement right away to improve training effectiveness!
This study examines the added value of microcredentials for end users. Current knowledge gaps in the perceived exchange value of microcredentials within the labour market raise the question of whether they can be sufficiently trusted by those acquiring them to become building blocks for lifelong learning, employment, improving professional status, and inclusiveness in education and training.
Study results show that trust, which shapes potential engagement, is underpinned by socioeconomic factors and an individual’s learning-work trajectory. Due to the different configurations of VET systems and how they are governed, extensive debate continues about the measures needed to support different groups of microcredential end users in varying labour market contexts.
Microcredentials are an essential component of higher ed and must be integrated into the institution as a whole, a process not without its challenges but offering benefits for learners, the institution and industry.
To be an effective, focused response to the skills and productivity challenges Canada faces, micro-credentials must be:
Industry supported with an agreed competency-based assessment
Available on demand — anytime, anywhere — and short (days or a few weeks rather than semesters or year-long)
Leading to demonstrable skills and capabilities, not just additional knowledge (“knowledge in use” is what employers are looking for)
Portable and valued by employers anywhere in Canada or around the world, not just a small number of employers in a local community
Connected to a larger competency framework so that a single micro-credential can be stacked with others to provide a pathway to ongoing skill and competency development
Microcredentials are an innovative way to demonstrate proficiency in skills and competencies and offer a potentially transformative tool to address skills gaps in Canada’s labour market and future skills needs. Yet, they are also a relatively new innovation, and stakeholders need to overcome a number of challenges and nurture growth in the microcredential ecosystem in order to underpin their widespread use and adoption.
eCampusOntario has developed, in collaboration with its partners, the Micro-credential Principles and Framework as a foundation for building microcredential projects in Ontario. This work has played an important part in efforts to build a consensus of definition in Canada and to address current needs in the emerging Canadian microcredentials ecosystem. The Principles and Framework is designed to bridge gaps in stakeholder understanding and create a unified microcredential ecosystem in Ontario.
Traditional ways of teaching employees in the workplace aren’t cutting it anymore. Jobs today don’t give employees the resources they need to learn how to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. 67% of Gen Z want to work for companies that invest in their learning. This helps them build skills for their careers.
Today’s dynamic lifestyle calls for learning that is characterized by speed and technology. And nothing fits better than microlearning. In this blog, we'll look at some amazing instructional design tips for creating effective microlearning courses.
This paper describes current trends and issues in implementing micro-credentials. The Covid19 epidemic, combined with the increasing cost of higher education; employer concerns about graduate skills and competencies; increasing inequities in access; and student frustrations about lack of job opportunities have all been a catalyst for universities, colleges, independent credentialing agencies, and leaders of national qualification frameworks to rethink the broader credentials continuum in terms of open education and micro-credentials. Students desire more options at lower costs to combine their education and training for jobs. Employers want entry-level employees with better skills and capacity to learn. As a result, major colleges and universities are now actively engaged in granting and/or recognising micro-credentials. Standardising qualifications based on time competencies is an essential requirement for credit transfer among institutions. Micro-credentials are important in ensuring the acceptance and stackability of credentials from different institutions, while providing employers with a secure and unalterable permanent digital record of applicants' abilities to perform skills of high value in the workplace. The OERu (Open Educational Resources universitas) provides an example of how one international consortium is supporting SDG4: Education for All by implementing micro-credentials allowing for maximum transferability among institutions in different countries. The lesson for strategic leaders is simplicity. Micro-credentials should be well Integrated into current institutional programs, rendered easy-to-use with clear validation metrics, providing a value-added benefit for all stakeholders. A list of recommendations to institutions, governments, UNESCO and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) is provided.
The looming recession climate is causing concerns over skyrocketing student debt. On top of a deeply unaffordable housing market, these factors call for universities to be more relevant in terms of preparing students for employability.
This is a break with the traditional mission of the universities. Economist George Fallis, professor emeritus at York University, notes that traditionally, universities aimed to “provide liberal education for undergraduates, to conduct research and to contribute to society including the economy and culture.”
Via Edumorfosis, juandoming
find out what the main challenges are when it comes to the prospects of microcredentials in the face of the twin transitions, a hotly-debated topic in the education community and among European policy-makers.
Microcredentials are not new. They have been in use in various countries and education and training sectors; they have played a role, among others, in the certification of IT courses or health workers’ professional development.
Canada has a skills challenge, and the response to it is mission-critical for the future of the economy. 75% of Canadian employers say they can’t find employees with the skills they need for available jobs. Despite high levels of youth employment, there are still some 50,000+ jobs each month that remained unfilled. Key Takeaways: - What the skills challenge really is – the six skills gaps we need to close.
- What microlearning looks like and why it may be helpful if linked to competency assessments and learning profiles.
- Where micro-credentials could “fit” into a skills development system.
- What MOOC providers and firms are offering their own products and services in the skills space.
- What the future may look like for competency-based hiring, assessment and gap-based learning.
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