During the pandemic, the acceleration of upskilling through online learning meant that workers could upskill themselves with recognised non-degreed accreditations. And now the universities are getting on the bandwagon of shorter, career-boosting courses.
According to a recent Australian Financial Review article, we have ‘reached peak higher education’, and there are predictions that universities will go the way of Spotify, with students curating their own learning.
“The argument that higher education, like housing, is a bubble and must sooner or later burst ignores that fact that as the world becomes more sophisticated and complex, and as AI and technology take over mundane and repetitive tasks, that what humans bring to the table – creativity, spontaneity, insight, judgment, wisdom, vision – will become even more important.” – The Revolution in Bite-Sized Education Courses That’s Boosting Careers, Australian Financial Review
There is no question that having a swag of very specific skill sets (eg. a raft of software applications) boosts careers. The federal government has been focused on enabling and funding access to learning that provides ‘microcredentials’.
What are Microcredentials?
Microcredentials are industry-recognised, skill-specific certifications that offer a new approach to learning to suit you and your busy lifestyle. Made up of one or more subjects from a recognised degree, microcredentials allow you to remain competitive in the workforce with degree-level learning, without committing to a full degree.
In the process, microcredentials enable the development of specific industry-recognised skills that address workplace or career progression needs. Professionals can get a bite-sized taste of a degree as they get a practical, hands-on learning experience in a supportive environment. Upon completion, microcredentials are recorded, potentially providing credit toward a future degree.
For example, the University of Melbourne is rolling out a raft of microcredentials called MicroCerts designed to help busy professionals quickly gain specific knowledge, skills and capabilities employers need.
The Benefits of Microcredentials
There are benefits of microcredentials for both the organisation and the employee:
- Credible skill validation – A credible way to validate and recognise the skills and knowledge your learners acquire. Learners can leverage this in their career progression and professional brand eg. LinkedIn.
- Flexible pathways to expertise – learners can sometimes choose specific credentials that align with their career goals, creating personalised learning pathways.
- Enhanced engagement – indicates a commitment and investment by the employer in their talent, and this can add to increased employee engagement, loyalty and ensuring they are more likely to actively participate in a learning ecosystem that directly contributes to their career progression.
The Synergy Between Microlearning & Microcredentialing
According to Josh Bersin, microlearning is bite-sized learning that allows learners to learn ‘in the flow of work’. Often this can be achieved in short time frames.
Microlearning can serve as building blocks that contribute to a larger skill set that is recognised through microcredentials.
This combination not only makes the learning journey more coherent but also provides a roadmap for learners to systematically advance their expertise.
Organisations that want to tap into the surge in microcredentialing should be exploring the possibilities for course creation through microlearning platforms such as Microbuilder™.
The platform is an intuitive, easy-to-use rapid authoring tool that enables you to create microlearning modules with AI translations and easy-to-use content blocks.
Microbuilder™ will accelerate your content creation process!
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