15 Certification Programs for Careers That Pay Well - Geoff Williams, US News

Certificate programs are far cheaper than college, but the cost can add up. You might spend $100 per credit, give or take, so a 12-credit course to earn a certificate could cost $1,200. Still, compared with a college education that can run tens of thousands of dollars over four years, a certificate program is much less expensive. Here are 15 certificate programs for the following careers, which all have an annual median pay above $30,000.

https://www.usnews.com/careers/articles/certificate-programs-that-pay-well

8 Certifications That Actually Impress Recruiters - Glassdoor Team

With the rise of online learning, there's no shortage of classes you can take that offer you a certification in a particular trade, skill or software program. But outside of positions that require certifications — pilots, emergency medical technicians and insurance agents, for example — do any of these make a real difference in a job application? We reached out to recruiters and HR professionals to get the answer. The consensus: Certifications certainly can make a difference, but not all certifications are created equal.

https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/certifications-impress-recruiters/

Certification Finder - Career One Stop

A certification is an award you earn to show that you have specific skills or knowledge in an occupation, industry, or technology. Earning a certification can help you qualify for jobs. It’s an item that hiring employers may look for on resumes. Some employers may also require workers to be certified in their fields. You usually need to pass a test to earn a certification. Some organizations that offer certification exams also offer related training courses to help you prepare for the exam. Or, you may find certification prep training at a local community college.Get started finding the right certification to boost your qualifications by entering a keyword below.

https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-certifications.aspx

8 STEPS FOR BUILDING AN ASSOCIATION CERTIFICATION PROGRAM - SBI Association Management

More and more, we’re seeing growth in certification and credentialing programs offered by associations. Depending on the industry, many organizations are rolling out certification programs designed to differentiate and distinguish members who desire a higher level of professional achievement or an endorsement for a proven level of expertise.

https://sbims.com/8-steps-for-building-an-association-certification-program/

7 steps for building a credible certification program - Connie Moorhead, Security Info Watch

Developing a quality program takes time and resources but the payoff is well worth it.  Many manufacturers in the security industry today offer a certification program; however, each program offers different benefits, has unique milestones and wildly varying quality standards. The seven steps listed below provide a roadmap for organizations in building a certification program that is both credible and successful.

https://www.securityinfowatch.com/video-surveillance/article/12289208/7-steps-for-building-a-credible-certification-program

Credentials: Closing the Relevancy Loop - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

One of higher ed’s challenges is to close the loop on relevancy for every student in every module of every class. It is essential that we review all of our courses and degrees for relevance and applicability to lives and careers of today and tomorrow. We must consider constructing assessments not on the memorization of history, principles and facts, but rather on applying what is learned to current and future challenges. Making authentic assessments a core value in course development can go a long way toward updating the curriculum. In doing so, the course and degree titles will naturally become more descriptive and appealing to both students and employers. While this is true for degrees, it is even more relevant in the burgeoning certificate and credentialing field. 

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/credentials-closing-relevancy-loop

Reaching Receptive Learners: Why Continuing Education Has to Target the Right Audience - Jill Pippen, Modern Campus

How leaders market and advertise CE programs to students matters, but so does who—which demographics of potential learners—sees the ads. Finding the right audience for the right message is imperative to any successful CE division.   On this episode of the Illumination podcast, host Amrit Ahluwalia is joined by Jill Pippin, Dean of Extended Learning at State University of New York at Oswego. The two discuss the importance of defining what a continuing education unit’s mission and vision, and how institutions of all sizes can use CE methods to develop for-credit programming.   

https://moderncampus.com/blog/reaching-receptive-learners-illumination.html

Building careers and capacity with microcredentials - University of Victoria

Local employees looking to level-up their job skills without going back to school full-time have a new opportunity—and better supports for achieving certification—thanks to a new collaboration between Microsoft and the University of Victoria’s Division of Continuing Studies. The new initiative advances accreditation in micro-credentials, which are standalone short-duration, competency-based learning experiences, preparing people for an evolving economy and workforce.

https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2022+continuing-studies-microsoft-collaboration+news

“The OU microcredentials are so good that I’m on my fourth!” - Megan Close, Open University

 Craig Finnie first dipped his toe into the OU microcredentials waters in 2020 and says these short courses were such a great opportunity to upskill that he’s now done four – all via the OU’s social learning platform, FutureLearn. They’ve even helped him to land a new job. With two distance learning undergraduate degrees under his belt already – including one from The Open University – Craig was after a short course that would help him in his role as a Development Officer for Scottish Union Learning. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, interest in online learning soared and Craig wanted to quickly improve his skills, so he chose an OU microcredential in Online Teaching; Creating Courses for Adult Learners. 

https://ounews.co/student-stories/the-ou-microcredentials-are-so-good-that-im-on-my-fourth/

Micro-credentials: Lifelong Learning for a new era - Trinity College Dublin, Irish Times

A survey published by the Higher Education Authority last September showed that almost half the Irish population would like to retrain to work in a more progressive and evolving sector. It seems that, as a nation, we are collectively looking to pivot into fresh professional fields or expand our knowledge of new and emerging trends. We want to develop new skills that will equip us to make a meaningful contribution to addressing the complex challenges of the future, and that are currently in demand from employers. In many cases, achieving these ambitions requires upskilling or reskilling to develop new technical and professional competencies. This is where micro-credentials – accredited bite-sized learning – can provide a quality-assured and flexible solution to career development.

https://www.irishtimes.com/advertising-feature/trinity-college-dublin/micro-credentials-lifelong-learning-for-a-new-era-1.4883693

Protein Industries Canada invests in micro-credentials program for indigenous youth to support food manufacturing careers - Canadian Manufacturing

On May 17, the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) and Whitecap Dakota First Nation, with a co-investment from Protein Industries Canada, announced that they are coming together to create a new micro-credential for Indigenous youth in Western Canada. This micro-credential will be developed in partnership with industry stakeholders across the country, helping narrow its focus onto skills most needed by employers in the sector. 

https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/manufacturing/protein-industries-canada-invests-in-micro-credentials-program-for-indigenous-youth-to-support-food-manufacturing-careers-281746/

Lessons Learned From Launching a Micro-Credential Program - Anissa Lokey-Vega & Raven Malliett, Kennesaw State University - Evolllution

We’re expecting the typical adoption curve, where it’s a little slow at first. We are hoping that once we start seeing more academic programs engage in micro-credentials, we will see more rapid adoption, especially because each individual degree program provides students with so many skillsets. We really anticipate academic programs to lead the take-off, and we have some new enthusiasm out of our Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, which is exactly where we should have that enthusiasm to communicate the degree alignment with workforce demand.

https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/lessons-learned-from-launching-a-micro-credential-program/

Apple Now Offers Training to Become an IT Professional - Zachary McAuliffe, C|net

Apple has introduced new professional training and certification programs to train IT workers, or anyone who wants to make a career change. The courses explain how to deploy, manage and support iPhones, Macs and other Apple devices used in the workplace. 

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/apple-now-offers-training-to-become-an-it-professional/

New program helps IT professionals keep pace with ever-changing industry - Chris Bournea, Ohio State University

Advances in technology are continual, accelerating and impacting business like never before, and The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business is offering a new program to meet those demands. To help professionals working in the information technology (IT) industry keep pace, the Fisher College of Business is launching the graduate certificate in IT business strategy that will commence classes this fall.

https://news.osu.edu/new-program-helps-it-professionals-keep-pace-with-ever-changing-industry/

Defining high-quality microcredentials for higher ed - Cynthia Proctor, eCampus News

Faculty wanted to ensure that microcredentials would have the same quality as SUNY certificate and degree programs and so, on campus, microcredentials follow a formal process that includes faculty governance—while still encouraging faculty innovation and responsiveness. Now four years in—with expansive growth in the past year as more campuses saw microcredentials as a means to serve learners, communities, and businesses impacted by the pandemic—SUNY’s policy-driven quality framework for microcredentials has proven to be effective.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2022/05/20/defining-high-quality-microcredentials-for-higher-ed/

IBM Announces 6 HBCU Cybersecurity Leadership Centers - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

As part of its commitment to train 30 million people globally in tech skills by 2030, IBM has partnered with six historically Black colleges and universities and HBCU systems to establish Cybersecurity Leadership Centers that will work to build a diverse cyber workforce in the United States. The participating institutions — North Carolina A&T State University, Southern University System, Clark Atlanta University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Morgan State University and South Carolina State University — are the first six of a planned 20-plus HBCU partners that will receive access to IBM cybersecurity training resources including curricula, cloud access and immersive learning tools.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2022/05/10/ibm-announces-6-hbcu-cybersecurity-leadership-centers.aspx

MEPs push for steps to create an EU-wide lifelong learning system - European Interest -

In a resolution adopted on Thursday by 519 votes in favour, 59 against and 21 abstentions MEPs want to make sure that the proposed Council recommendations on micro-credentials, individual learning accounts and environmental sustainability studies are followed up by actual measures and legislative efforts to introduce new solutions. They call on the Commission to come up with a “robust instrument” for motivating member states to implement micro-credentials system for recognition of short learning outcomes and ask to set up national micro-credential registers to guarantee their quality.

https://www.europeaninterest.eu/article/meps-push-for-steps-to-create-an-eu-wide-lifelong-learning-system/

Micro-credentials: Innovative opportunities for our evolving workforce - Rose Murphy, the Union

 Stackable credentials and digital badges are ways for individuals to acquire knowledge and skills in small portions. Learning can be directly aligned with workforce needs. By obtaining an assortment of credentials, rather than a single degree, learners progress in a current or future career pathway. By using digital badges and stackable credentials learners are finding opportunities to develop technical and soft skills to demonstrate their proficiencies.

https://www.theunion.com/lifestyles/family-focus/rose-murphy-micro-credentials-innovative-opportunities-for-our-evolving-workforce/

Credential Train Is Leaving the Station—Get on Board - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

In 1997, Sylvia Manning, then VPAA of the University of Illinois system, later president of the Higher Learning Commission, declared, “The online learning train is leaving the station—get on board or be left behind!”  Now, decades later, Manning’s message is true for alternative credentialing programs in higher education. An equally large—or larger—positive impact is anticipated for higher education with widespread adoption of credentialing that is shorter-term, less expensive, more timely and more career-centric than traditional full-length degree programs. The public demand is clear. It is for shorter, less expensive, more relevant certificates and certifications that have value in the workforce marketplace.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/credential-train-leaving-station%E2%80%94get-board

An Analysis of Workforce Intermediaries, Part I - George Lorenzo, Workforce Monitor

This is the first part of a Workforce Monitor analysis of workforce intermediaries (WIs). We begin with a definition of WIs paraphrased and mashed up from some of the current research: 

WIs are entities who provide education and training advisement, support, and delivery services to workers and employers. Although there is no formal count, WIs number in the unknown thousands and embody an enormous landscape of companies, organizations, institutions, and partnerships who offer numerous and varied services to learners, employers, and the overall workforce development academic community. Basically, workforce intermediaries (WIs) form the multi-faceted connections between job seekers and workers and employers.

https://wfmonitor.com/2022/05/18/an-analysis-of-workforce-intermediaries-part-i/

NSU develops micro-credential offerings to meet workforce in-demand skills - Tahlequah daily press

Northeastern State University officials are working with state officials and employers to create micro-credentials as an affordable, flexible way for students to earn in-demand skills. With no shortage of academic rigor, NSU micro-credentials allow students to “stack the workforce deck” for advancement and marketability, as well as provide a pathway toward a future degree should they choose.  “A micro-credential allows students to focus on a specific set of industry or discipline skills that employers are seeking,” said Director of Career Services at NSU Shannon Schwaebler. 

https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/nsu-develops-micro-credential-offerings-to-meet-workforce-in-demand-skills/article_9f6bfe5c-c338-5da6-95c5-1fc52dff9b63.html