https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5396-854X
Dear Editor
The phenomenon of micro-credentials is not a new one. Small, usually short in duration, courses leading to different types of awards or credentials are already dominant in many education and training sectors, professions and labour market systems such as in diving instruction, IT certification, and also very importantly in continuing professional development for health workers. Preliminary findings from the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training’s (Cedefop) ongoing study on micro-credentials role in facilitating learning for employment shows that employer organisations in the following sectors are most active in making use of micro-credentials: information and communication (31%), accommodation and food service activities (22%), human health and social work activities (22%) and manufacturing (22%).
Within Europe, a growing number of people need to update and improve their knowledge, skills and competences to fill the gap between their formal education and training and the needs of a fast-changing society and labour market. The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the digital and green transitions have accelerated the pace of change in how we live, learn and work and have highlighted the need for people to be better equipped to deal with current and future challenges. The pandemic has affected the career prospects of both young people and adults. It has also increased unemployment and damaged the physical, mental and emotional well-being of hundreds of millions of people in Europe
New and emerging technologies have been reshaping millions of jobs. Increasingly rapid advances in technology and the labour market require an adaptable workforce to be familiar with state-of-the-art knowledge, and to possess the knowledge, skills and competences needed to make full use of technological and non-technological know-how. This trend is likely to accelerate, and as skill demands continue to change, individuals will continually need to re-train reskill or redeploy to avoid redundancy, social and economic displacement in their local communities and to avail of new labour opportunities. McKinsey Global Institute’s (Charting the path to the next normal, 2020) claim that by 2030, 75 million to 375 million workers (3% to 14% of the global workforce) will need to switch occupational categories and that “around 85% of the jobs that today’s learners will be doing in 2030 haven’t been invented yet”.
People need access to quality teaching and learning provided in different ways and settings, to develop their personal, social, cultural and professional knowledge, skills and competences. Education and training systems have been called on to become more flexible and find solutions to deliver more learner-centred, accessible and inclusive learning to a wider range of profiles. Non-formal providers of education and training are also addressing this need by providing new and innovative opportunities for upskilling and reskilling.
An effective culture of lifelong learning is key to ensuring that everyone has the knowledge, skills and competences they need to thrive in society, the labour market and their personal lives. It is essential that people can access quality and relevant education and training, upskilling and reskilling throughout their lives. Lifelong learning opportunities should be part of the long-term strategy of education and training institutions to improve their responsiveness to the fast-changing needs of employers and learners. This would enable a more diverse body of learners (including graduates of these institutions and other adult learners) to upskill and reskill.
One of the objectives of the adopted European approach to micro-credentials is to deliver on the potential of micro-credentials with the specific objectives to support employability and lifelong learning.
Within these broad areas, micro-credentials can support the diversification and tailoring of learning opportunities to support individual learning pathways, they can be used to widen access to education and training to a more diverse range of learners, support employability and careers, as well as facilitate recognition and understanding of skills developed in non-formal and informal settings. Micro-credentials can be designed to expose learners of all ages to an area of study or employment and be used to demonstrate their commitment to learning and growing in a field.
Micro-credentials can also be used as part of targeted measures to support inclusion and accessibility to education and training to a wider range of learners, including vulnerable groups. Relevant, accessible and well-designed offers of micro-credentials could offer those usually excluded from traditional learning pathway into education and training, the labour market and society to grow in it.
The Rome Ministerial communiqué adopted in November 2020 by the 49 European Higher Education Area (EHEA) countries, identified micro-credentials as a conduit for “creating a supportive environment … that enables higher education institutions to tailor education provision to the needs of different types of learners (lifelong learners, part-time learners, learners from under-represented and disadvantaged groups) and to build a culture for equity and inclusion”.
The adopted European approach does not claim or represent micro-credentials as an alternative or single solution to issues of inclusiveness, lifelong learning or employability, but they can be part of a solution in specific situations.
Despite increasing global interest in micro-credentials and their potential, the lack of a shared definition is currently perceived as the most substantial barrier to further development and uptake of micro-credentials.
The status of micro-credentials is unclear in many countries as they are positioned as being alternative or supplementary to traditional qualifications such as degrees, and the term is poorly understood amongst educators, employers and the public. The lack of a shared definition of micro-credentials is a critical issue for their positioning including their design, implementation and perceived value by learners and stakeholders.
Several other labels and descriptors are commonly used instead of (or interchangeably) with the term micro-credential (e.g. digital badges, open badges, online certificates, alternative credentials, nano-degrees, micro-masters and modular qualifications).
The diversity of formats and providers of micro-credentials limits the ability of learners, employers and education and training institutions to engage with and understand micro-credentials, especially across sectors and borders.
The European approach to micro-credentials responds directly to the lack of commonly agreed definition, shared approaches and guidance. The recommendation provides building blocks including a commonly agreed definition, standard elements for describing micro-credentials, and principles for designing and issuing micro-credentials.
As a result, micro-credentials can be developed, used and compared in a coherent way among the EU Member States, stakeholders, and the different providers (from education and training institutions to private companies) across different sectors, fields and borders. It will support the building of trust in micro-credentials across Europe and promote their development.
An important element to support the uptake of high-quality micro-credentials will be to share information and promote good practices from different sectors and countries. In this context, Ireland has a lot to show and promote as a country. In the discussions that led to the adoption of the European approach to micro-credentials, Ireland has demonstrated its place as one of the leading countries in the development of micro-certifications in Europe.
Of the many practices that could be mentioned, the MicroCreds National Project led by the Irish Universities Association shows how higher education institutions can offer micro-credentials as a highly flexible, bite sized and accessible way of upskilling and reskilling, including in health and medicine. Within this project, the University of Limerick offers medical professionals to develop technical, nursing, leadership and management skills at their own pace using micro-credentials. Micro-Credentials Courses are also offered through a variety of online, blended and on-site learning and delivered by experts at the School of Nursing & Midwifery of the Trinity College Dublin.
There is no doubt that these examples will serve as an inspiration to others in Europe to find new ways of enabling as many people as possible to build learning paths adapted to their life paths.
Disclosure Statement
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could appear to influence the work reported in this letter to the Editor.