The Importance of Upskilling Leaders and Managers - Dan Marzullo, Zenefits

In today’s rapidly changing world, leaders and managers should stay ahead of the curve. Keeping skills up to date is essential to stay relevant in this technological age. The emergence of new technologies and stiff recruiting competition will leave old habits and processes in the dust. With the nature of the economy today, people are looking to their employers for guidance now more than ever. Employees value skilled problem-solving and interpersonal skills from their managers. Insufficient management can cost a business billions. Therefore, it’s crucial that they stay sharp and knowledgeable about updates and new skills.

https://www.zenefits.com/workest/the-importance-of-upskilling-leaders-and-managers/

The benefits of a well-calibrated micro-learning ecosystem - Libing Wang, University World News

One way to increase relevance is to shorten and downsize learning programmes. Unbundling qualification programmes into small learning units can serve this purpose if they are separately recognised through credits that can either stand alone as micro-credentials or are stackable for full qualifications.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230125071706463

Show off students’ employability with e-portfolios - Lourdes Guàrdia , Marcelo Maina; Times Higher Education

E-portfolios are collections of work in an electronic format that showcase a student’s learning achievements over time. They are a useful tool in providing support for transversal and evidence-based assessment of students’ achievements. Skills-focused e-portfolios enable students to link their learning experiences with real-world practice, demonstrate their capacities through selected evidence and build reflective metacognition. Moreover, new developments can help connect e-portfolios and microcredentials to offer flexible routes to certification and extended recognition, increasing the graduate profile’s visibility.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/show-students-employability-eportfolios

IIE Refugee EdTech Program – edX MicroMasters®

IIE’s Refugee EdTech Program, is designed to help displaced and refugee students pursue advanced education online, from anywhere in the world, without the need to travel to a university campus. The scholarship is administered as part of IIE’s Student Emergency Initiatives. IIE is currently accepting applications for the 2023 IIE Refugee EdTech Program – edX MicroMasters. Please review all sections of this website before applying. The deadline is February 14, 2023 at 5 p.m. eastern standard time. 

https://www.iie.org/programs/iie-refugee-edtech-program-edx-micromasters/

Micro-credentials help Sarnia-area long-term care homes looking for staff - Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer

Sandy Vascotto, director of Lambton College’s Innovation Institute, spoke about the success of micro-credential training offered through the college during a job fair held Wednesday afternoon at Sarnia’s Dante Club to encourage people to explore careers in long-term care. Vascotto said the career exploration event was organized by a local long-term care staffing co-operative.  “What we’re trying to do is bring all the long-term care homes together under one organization to basically reflect as a team the challenges of staffing in the industry,” he said. One of its initiatives was creating micro-credential training through the college for human resources orientation for workers starting jobs at local homes.

https://www.theobserver.ca/news/local-news/sarnia-area-long-term-care-homes-seeking-staff

Micro-credentials guarantee quality of more flexible education - Mirage

WUR is participating in a national pilot aimed at offering accreditation-worthy education for professionals, given by colleges and universities. A micro-credential meets the needs of people who want to develop further during their careers. It is awarded after completing a short programme, such as a Master’s course or a minor, with a study load of up to 840 hours, or 30 EC. Those courses no longer have to be part of a full degree programme but will get their own award this way.

https://www.miragenews.com/micro-credentials-guarantee-quality-of-more-935030/

7 'Wicked Problems' Facing Higher Education and Solutions to Address Them in 2023 - Kate Lucariello, Campus Technology

In terms of higher education, WGU Labs believes institutions are not delivering what students need and expect from their education, and they are "seeking career-aligned credentials elsewhere with 220 million learners using Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in 2021, and non-academic providers offering 549,712 badges, course completion certificates, licenses, certifications, and apprenticeships," according to the report. WGU Labs, quoting statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, noted that three in five students who enroll in a four-year degree spend time, accrue debt, and don't get their degree within eight years.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2023/01/23/7-wicked-problems-facing-higher-education-and-solutions-to-address-them-in-2023.aspx

Clark State to host workforce grant information sessions - Brooke Spurlock, Springfield Sun-News

Clark State College will host a series of H-1B One Workforce Grant information sessions for students and employees to learn more about the grant and the college’s advanced manufacturing program. The college received $3,503,325 from the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program in 2021 from the U.S. Department of Labor to invest in training for key sectors of the economy, and to focus on the current workforce and training the future workforce for critical industries such as advanced manufacturing.“With this grant we focus on micro credentials that can be completed in as little as eight weeks,” said Nora Hatem, associate professor of engineering technologies.

https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/clark-state-to-host-workforce-grant-information-sessions/2TOYPYH52FADPAPXDCIUFKSVBQ/

Micro-Credentials - University of New Hampshire

UNH defines a micro-credential as evidence that reflects attainment of specific skills or competencies. Micro-credentials can be issued for formal and informal academic or professional learning experiences.  A digital badge is one example of a micro-credential. UNH seeks to equip learners with accessible pathways for skill attainment and recognition to better serve our ever-evolving NH economy.

https://www.unh.edu/continuingeducation/professional-development/micro-credentials

How technology is changing how we work – and what higher education can do about it - Jessie Hill, Halifax Daily News

Technology is disrupting how we work. The amount of work getting done online has ramped up since the pandemic, yet surveys show that most employees still feel unprepared for this new world of work, and companies are struggling to find employees with the skills needed for a future-ready workplace. With so many jobs being affected by automation and digitization, almost every job will require a different skillset in the coming years. What is the role of higher education in preparing employees for this changing world of work?

https://halifax.citynews.ca/spotlight/how-technology-is-changing-how-we-work-and-what-higher-education-can-do-about-it-6367298

Fast-Tracking Learning - Dennis Pierce, CC Daily

When Pima Community College in Arizona rolled out its first “Fast Track” programs in October 2021, allowing students to earn a stackable micro-credential that would lead to a high-paying job in as little as 12 weeks, Vice Chancellor of Workforce Development and Innovation Ian Roark wasn’t surprised that the programs generated a lot of interest from the community. However, he wasn’t prepared for just how popular they would be. “Within the first month, we had more than 1,000 people indicate interest,” Roark says. The college didn’t have the capacity to serve nearly that many students right away.

https://www.ccdaily.com/2023/01/fast-tracking-learning/

How industry can help fix its skill shortage problems for now and the future - Stuart Martin, FE News

With so many factors affecting industry simultaneously, something needs to change with both their recruitment and upskilling training. Industry needs ‘X’, the people out there looking for jobs have ‘Y’. This ‘Y’ may be that that they have some of the skills needed, or that they are coming from an industry which is transitioning to something different but with some transferrable skills. It is said that 99% of skills can be learned, it’s the person that matters. How can this be rectified to get X and Y together? My solution is micro-credentials.

https://www.fenews.co.uk/exclusive/how-industry-can-help-fix-its-skill-shortage-problems-for-now-and-the-future/

Sonora Quest Laboratories announces a collaboration pathway for employees - Your Valley Independent

Sonora Quest Laboratories, today announced a collaboration with Wiley to provide its 3,800 employees with access to career-connected online education programs. Sonora Quest’s education and tuition benefits will be administered through Wiley Beyond, the Wiley solution that aligns talent strategy with business strategy. The collaboration empowers the Arizona-based company’s employees to acquire new skills, pursue degrees and certifications, and advance their careers while helping the company close workforce skills gaps.

https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/sonora-quest-laboratories-announces-a-collaboration-pathway-for-employees,357563

Credential confusion? - Laura Ascione, eCampus News

More than half of available credential programs generally sit outside of traditional institutions of higher educations, according to a new analysis that reveals a maze of non-degree credentials, such as digital badges, certificates, certifications, and apprenticeships. The research comes from national nonprofit Credential Engine, which has released its fourth count of secondary and postsecondary credentials in the United States. This year’s Count of U.S. Postsecondary and Secondary Credentials report identified 1,076,358 credentials, from specialized certificates to bachelors degrees to PhDs. The report demonstrates the nation’s need to dramatically improve transparency in the credential marketplace to promote economic growth and individual mobility.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2023/01/09/credential-confusion/

College leaders look to flexible learning, microcredentials to boost enrollments - Laura Ascione, eCampus News

\As college increasingly becomes financially out of reach for many students and enrollments wane, concerned administrators are implementing new programs, flexible learning formats and marketing to new demographics to help ease the decline, according to new research from Cengage, Bay View Analytics and industry partners. The Fall 2022 installment of the Digital Learning Pulse Survey found that more than 80 percent of administrators, faculty and students think inflation will pose a problem for students and 88 percent of administrators are concerned about future enrollments.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2023/01/10/college-leaders-look-to-flexible-learning-microcredentials-to-boost-enrollments/

Green Jobs Are Booming, Including in the “Sustainable” Fashion Sector January 11, 2023 - Christopher Boone and Karen C. Seto, TFL

Sustainable fashion, for example, is one of the fastest-growing green jobs sectors, averaging a 90 percent growth rate annually between 2016 and 2020. At the same time, the rapid expansion of ESG investing – environment, social and governance – and portfolio management is opening up new jobs in sustainable finance. In 2021, the accounting firm PwC announced that it would invest $12 billion and create 100,000 new jobs in ESG investing by 2026. 

https://www.thefashionlaw.com/green-jobs-are-booming-including-in-the-sustainable-fashion-space/

Alternative credentials market size for higher education to grow by USD 2,275.05 million from 2022 to 2027 - Technavio

Technavio categorizes the global alternative credentials market for higher education as a part of the global education services market, which covers products, services, and solutions that are offered to educational institutions, corporate institutions, students, parents, individuals, and teachers. The size of the global alternative credentials market for higher education is estimated to increase by USD 2,275.05 million between 2022 and 2027. The market's growth momentum will progress at a CAGR of 17.8%.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/alternative-credentials-market-size-higher-003000302.html

Navigating the end of jobs: Skills replace jobs as the focal point for matching workers with work- Sue Cantrell and Karen Weisz, Deloitte

Since the dawn of the industrial age, the job has been the defining structure for organizing and managing every aspect of work. That approach made sense when business changes occurred slowly, and workers were just pieces in the industrial machine. The solution? A skills-based approach to managing work and workers, delivering business agility and worker autonomy by enabling work to be performed beyond formal job boundaries.

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends.html#navigating-the-end

Employers may finally stop caring about where you went to school, says HR expert: ‘We have been using education as a proxy’ - Natasha Piñon, CNBC

In a report this week, Gartner predicted that the most successful companies this year will be the ones “more comfortable assessing candidates solely on their ability to perform in the role, rather than their credentials and prior experience.”  That translates to a de-emphasis on four-year degrees, McRae says: One of the most useful ways to attract “nontraditional candidates” is removing education requirements. “We have been using education as a proxy, and it’s very important to figure out why,” McRae says. “What was it a proxy for? And how do we actually measure that?”  The trend has been slowly gaining traction for a few years now. Forty-six percent of middle-skill and 31% of high-skill occupations decreased degree requirements in job listings between 2017 and 2019, according to a 2022 study from the Harvard Business Review and labor market data company Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass).

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/05/gartner-expert-college-degrees-matter-less-in-2023-job-applications.html

Reimagining the broadband technology workforce - Nicol Turner Lee and Brady Tavernier, Brookings

We recommend 

1. develop better taxonomies of broadband occupations and competency-based learning progressions to better measure, train, and narrow the scope of these occupations.
2. People without college or advanced degrees should be the intended targets of IIJA-related job opportunities
3. Standardized high-quality credentialing and “soft skills” training programs, like those adopted by some private and civic sector employers, should be readily available
4. There must be intentional efforts to diversify unionized roles within broadband

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2022/12/22/reimagining-the-technology-workforce-in-broadband-infrastructure/

Micro credentials could stave off software engineer layoffs - Stephanie Glen, TechTarget

Software developers can take measures to protect their jobs with micro credentials tailored to their company’s needs within hot trends such as cloud computing and AI. Developers can take steps to shield themselves from layoffs by earning micro credentials that target the latest trends in application development, according to industry experts. The job market for developers has swung from red hot to cool in the last few months, with many tech companies implementing hiring freezes. One way developers can ride out the recession is to stay up to date with the latest programming languages and tools. A relatively quick way to do so is to earn a micro credential, a certification that focuses on a specific competency or skill, such as Agile development, UX design or cloud computing, as opposed to a full degree program.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchsoftwarequality/news/252528923/Microcredentials-could-stave-off-software-engineer-layoffs