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An increasing number of adults and working professionals are seeking education that can significantly boost their skills and knowledge. And this level of demand is significantly impacting educational institutions and the type of education they need to provide their audience.
With less time and a pressing need to learn niche skills, today’s students require learning programs and initiatives that can provide them with niche skills and knowledge quickly and effectively.
A recent Deloitte Access Economics study forecasts that soft skill-intensive occupations will account for two-thirds of all roles by 2030, compared to half of all jobs in 2000.
Enter micro-credentials, a new way to accredit students and working professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in an ever-evolving digital age.
In this article, we explore the rise of digital credentialing in the modern age and the measures required to appeal to today’s student base.
The adoption of micro-credentials
The rapid and, at times, relentless pace of the digital world commands constant attention, and as such, professionals need to upskill themselves regularly to remain competitive.
Micro-credentials are geared towards providing success in a professional landscape by harnessing the power of today’s sophisticated technological developments.
Due to this need for continual learning, droves of professionals have turned to alternative credentialing to stay abreast of market trends while acquiring new knowledge to assist them in their existing roles.
The power of digital experiences on a host of essential touchpoints in our everyday lives has seeped into the realms of learning. As a result, expectations are shifting about how educational experiences, approaches, and formats should evolve to include new behaviors and expectations from our digital existence.
A recent study suggests that 60% of industry experts believe that more employers will migrate towards skills-based hiring by selecting candidates based on what they can do, as opposed to their degree or pedigree. Moreover, 57% of experts confirmed that employers would hold more value in alternative or micro-credentials. Those seeking new roles should strongly consider these educational formats to build their confidence, skills, knowledge base, and profile.
Micro-credentials in universities
The exponential rise of edTech has started to turn the traditional classroom learning model on its head – and as a direct result of this shift, more and more forward-thinking universities and institutions have begun to adopt micro-credentialing as part of their ever-expanding curriculums.
Increasingly, modern universities are realizing that learning new skills and acquiring new credentials don’t have to be arranged into rigid multi-year chunks. And in a time where professionals need to refine and evolve their skillsets continually, micro-credentials are the apparent solution.
Institutions like the University of Wisconsin -Extension have embraced the potential of emerging technologies and innovative learning models to offer alternative digital credentials that help people learn new skills in a digestible format tailored to their specific needs and professional goals.
Along with five other universities, including The University of Texas at Austin, the Wisconsin-Extension has posted micro-credential-based courses through a third-party digital learning portal for over two years. Here learners can purchase classes and take an assessment to earn a badge for between $25 and $150, committing to three to 30 hours of learning time. And as more institutions jump aboard, more and more professionals are likely to take advantage of these digital credentials.
Here, Phil Long, Associate Vice Provost of Learning Sciences at the University of Texas, speaks on the micro-credentials and the evolution of badges to recognize learning.
The rise of digital badges and certificates
In many cases, completing a digital credential-based course earns a learner a badge or certificate, confirming completion or achievement that is possible to access or verify online.
Despite being in their relative infancy, digital badges quickly become industry-recognized, allowing learners to showcase their credentials to potential employers and progress their careers.
Having realized the potential of digital badges and alternative credentialing early, IBM recently launched its Badger App. In this portal, learners can master (and earn credential badges) sought-after digital skills, including cloud tech and advanced data analytics.
What’s particularly interesting is that of the notable 214,000 users that have utilized the portal to earn digital badges, 40% are aged 50 and older. This data alone indicates the broad appeal of digital badges and certification in the digital age.
The short-term, work-centric credential is growing in popularity as students use it to land jobs or earn degrees, while those long into their careers are leveraging their bespoke convenience to remain relevant or gain a competitive edge in a cutthroat professional world.
As educational models evolve and more people migrate to alternative credentials that fit into their demanding work lives, many industry experts believe that employers will start looking to these achievements over traditional degrees to assist them in making critical hiring decisions.
“Alternative credential opportunities offer convenience, flexibility, and affordability – features that are valued by adult learners and may propel adult learners toward degree attainment.” – Tina Goodyear, COO, The Presidents’ Forum, The Council of Experts, Excelsior College.
Whether or not micro-learning will eventually replace the traditional college or university entirely is up for debate, but what’s clear is that alternative credentials will grow in value, meaning the demand among students and working professionals will likely increase shortly and beyond.
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