Abstract
Employers are looking to employ employees that have the knowledge, skills, and aptitudes. Some of these employers such as Google and PricewaterhouseCoopers have dispensed with university degrees as prerequisites for employment on grounds that they are not good forecasts of employment success. Micro-credentials, which go by various names such “nano-degrees” and digital badges, have emerged as alternatives or supplements to university degrees (Milligan and Kennedy, To what degree? Alternative micro-credentialing in a digital age. In Visions for Australian tertiary education, pp 41–54, 2017). They can be achieved from anywhere between a few weeks to a few months and can stack up to traditional qualifications.
Interest in micro-credentialing has been growing, fueled by adult learners’ demand for bite-sized and flexible learning and employers’ desire for verifiable evidence of competencies (Deloitte Access Economics, The path to prosperity: Why the future of work is human. Sydney, 2019). However, the implementation of micro-credentialing is neither simple nor straightforward. The difficulties issuers faced are well-documented. Besides cost, they wrestle with learners’ concerns about micro-credential’s recognition and the degree of widespread acceptance (Lakin and Underwood, The state of stackable credentials: Trends and challenges. In The book of the States, pp 446–450, 2017).
For micro-credentialing to become a viable pathway to fill skills gaps and reskill for jobs that are in demand, it is imperative to appreciate that micro-credentialing does not exist in isolation; it is part of a larger ecosystem comprising traditional education and training credentials (Rossiter and Tynan, Designing & implementing micro-credentials: A guide for practitioners. Commonwealth of Learning, 2019), touching upon the roles played by credit bank, recognition of prior learning (RPL), and stackability in the ecosystem. In sum, this chapter discusses the multifarious parts of micro-credentialing ecosystem, centering expressly on how they can be developed to build a credible pathway using examples drawn from various contexts, including Singapore.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Barabas, C., & Schmidt, P. (2016). Transforming chaos into clarity: The promises and challenges of digital credentialing. New York: Roosevelt Institute.
Buchanan, J., et al. (2020). The futures of work: What education can and can’t do? Paris, France: UNESCO.
Buckwalter, V. (2017). Four ways to increase the value of short-term micro-credentials. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future.
Burke, L. (2019). Who’s completing microcredentials? Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/11/20/new-report-offers-analysis-microcredential-completers
Chakroun, B., & Keevy, J. (2018). Digital credentialing: Implications for the recognition of learning across borders. Paris, France: UNESCO.
Delors, J. (1996). Learning: The treasure within. Paris, France: UNESCO.
Economics, D. A. (2019). The path to prosperity: Why the future of work is human. Sydney.
European MOOC Consortium. (2021). Retrieved from https://emc.eadtu.eu/.
Fain, P. (2018). On-ramps and off-ramps: alternative credentials and emerging pathways between education and work. Washington, DC: Inside Higher Ed.
Futures, H., Andersen, T., & Larsen, K. (2020). A European approach to micro-credentials. European Commission.
Gallagher, S. (2018). Educational credentials come of age: A survey on the use and value of educational credentials in hiring. Boston, MA: Northeastern University.
Garrido, M., Koepke, L., Andersen, S., Mena, A., Macapagal, M., & Dalvit, L. (2016). Massive open online courses as a tool for workforce development in Colombia, the Philippines, and South Africa. Retrieved from https://tascha.uw.edu/publications/massive-open-online-courses-as-a-tool-for-workforce-development-in-colombia-the-philippines-and-south-africa/.
Gauthier, T. (2020). The value of microcredentials: The employer’s perspective. The Journal of Competency-Based Education, 5(2), 1–6.
Gordon, A. (2018). ‘MicroMasters’ surge as MOOCs go from education to qualification. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamgordon/2018/02/13/voice-of-employers-rings-out-as-moocs-go-from-education-to-qualification/?sh=4c6c2993564b. Accessed 3 June 2021.
Hicks, C. (2020). What you need to know about the Google IT support professional certificate. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/education/learn-google-it-guide. Accessed 10 May 2021.
Hollands, F., & Asiya, K. (2019). Benefits and costs of MOOC based alternative credentials. New York, NY: Columbia University.
Ifenthaler, D., Bellin-Mularski, N., & Mah, D. (2016). Foundation of digital badges and micro-credentials: Demonstrating and recognizing knowledge and competencies. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
Ippoliti, C. (2018). History of micro-credentialing. In K. O’Brien & T. Jacobson (Eds.), Teaching with digital badges: Best practices for libraries (Innovations in information literacy) (pp. 3–14). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Kazin, C. J., & Clerkin, K. (2018). The potentials and limitations of microcredentials. USA: Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges.
Lakin, M., & Underwood, B. (2017). The state of stackable credentials: Trends and challenges. In The book of the States (pp. 446–450). The Council of State Government.
Lee, W. O., & Fleming, J. (2012). The institutionalisation of lifelong learning in Australia, Hong Kong and the United States: A bridge to the community or a competitor to the university? In D. N. Aspin et al. (Eds.), Second international handbook of lifelong learning (pp. 349–374). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer Publishers.
Mckinsey. (2017). Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages.
Milligan, S., & Kennedy, G. (2017). To what degree? Alternative micro-credentialing in a digital age. In Visions for Australian tertiary education (pp. 41–54). Australia: University of Melbourne.
New Zealand Qualifications Authority. (2021). Guidelines for applying for approval of a training schedule or a micro-credential. Retrieved from https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers-partners/approval-accreditation-and-registration/micro-credentials/guidelines-training-scheme-micro-credential/
OECD. (2001). Education policy analysis. Paris.
OECD. (2019). Survey of adult skills (PIAAC).
OECD. (2020). Survey of adult skills (PIAAC).
Oliver, B. (2019). Making micro-credentials work for learners, employers and providers. Victoria, Australia: Deakin University.
Rayome, A. (2018). Google launches IT professional certificate, 10,000 scholarships available. Retrieved from https://www.techrepublic.com/article/google-launches-professional-it-certification-10000-scholarships-available/
Rhyu, J. (2021) Man vs machine: Who will win the battle for the workplace? Forbes Online, 14 July. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/07/15/man-vs-machine-who-will-win-the-battle-for-the-workplace/?sh=5d24ee8a6d54.
Rimland, E., & Raish, V. (2019). The Badge ecosystem. Library Technology Reports, 55(3), 9–13.
Rossiter, D., & Tynan, B. (2019). Designing & implementing micro-credentials: A guide for practitioners. British Columbia, Canada: Commonwealth of Learning.
Shah, D. (2017). MOOCs started out completely free. Where are they now? Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-04-20-moocs-started-out-completely-free-where-are-they-now
Shah, D. (2020). The second year of the MOOC: A review of MOOC stats and trends in 2020. Retrieved from https://www.classcentral.com/report/the-second-year-of-the-mooc/
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). (2021). Singapore workforce skills qualifications (WSQ). Retrieved from https://www.ssg.gov.sg/wsq.html
World Economic Forum. (2020). The future of jobs reports 2020. Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Lee, W.O., Tan, J. (2022). Develop a Qualification Ecosystem for Adult Learners: Micro-credentialing to Formalize Informal and Nonformal Learning. In: Evans, K., Markowitsch, J., Lee, W.O., Zukas, M. (eds) Third International Handbook of Lifelong Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67930-9_40-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67930-9_40-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-67930-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-67930-9
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education
Publish with us
Chapter history
-
Latest
Develop a Qualification Ecosystem for Adult Learners: Micro-credentialing to Formalize Informal and Nonformal Learning- Published:
- 02 December 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67930-9_40-2
-
Original
Develop a Qualification Ecosystem for Adult Learners: Micro-credentialing to Formalize Informal and Nonformal Learning- Published:
- 23 July 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67930-9_40-1