Ontario Providing New Rapid Training Programs

The Ontario government is supporting the development of up to 250 new rapid training programs that will be available for enrolment in 2022 through the Ontario Micro-credentials Challenge Fund. The  milestone is an important part of Ontario’s micro-credentials strategy, helping Ontario’s internationally recognized postsecondary institutions offer learners opportunities to gain the skills they need for in-demand jobs. Some of these micro-credentials will build skills in areas such as artificial intelligence, network security, mental health, dementia care, Indigenous relations, tourism and digital marketing.

https://saultonline.com/2021/12/ontario-providing-new-rapid-training-programs/

U Illinois Gies College of Business Develops Microcredential Pathways with Google - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

The University of Illinois Gies College of Business is partnering with Google to bundle certificate programs in job-ready skills and create microcredential pathways for adult learners. Learners now can complete any of the Google Career Certificates along with Gies' Professional Success Skills Certificate to receive a dual badge of completion. All courses for the certificate programs are delivered on the Coursera platform. The Gies Professional Success Skills Certificate comprises four asynchronous courses, designed and taught by Gies faculty.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/11/22/u-illinois-gies-college-of-business-develops-microcredential-pathways-with-google.aspx

Commission takes action to improve lifelong learning and employability - European Union

At the Porto Social Summit in May, EU Leaders welcomed the EU-level target of 60% of all adults taking part in training every year by 2030. Today, the Commission has taken an important step in helping Member States meet this target by presenting proposals for Council Recommendations on individual learning accounts and on micro-credentials, as announced in the Skills Agenda and in the European Education Area Communication of 2020. A strong skill set opens up opportunities to individuals, provides a safety net in uncertain times, promotes inclusion and social advancement and provides the economy with the skilled labour force needed to grow and innovate. The success of both the digital and green transitions depends on workers with the right skills. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the need for reskilling and upskilling of workforce to adapt to the changing labour market and meet demand in different sectors.

https://europeansting.com/2021/12/13/commission-takes-action-to-improve-lifelong-learning-and-employability/

Online higher education is boosting youth employment in the post-pandemic world - Sumesh Nair, Times of India

To close this widening skill gap, a market-oriented education system had to evolve. This gave way for job-seekers to adopt ed-tech solutions and become job-ready by opting for bite-size certification courses. These bite-sized courses were revolutionary in nature. Firstly, the delivery mode was technology-led and could replace existing class environments. Secondly, there was unbundling of skills and only the most relevant ones had to be pursued. Unlike a traditional degree which is a stack of credentials that don’t serve any purpose, these courses were able to help in what the industry needed. Thirdly, the delivery took more engaging shapes as well – live classes, cohorts, peer learning and more, previously unavailable in large MOOC platforms. 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/online-higher-education-is-boosting-youth-employment-in-the-post-pandemic-world/

Crafting Talent In Hospitality And Tourism With Micro-Credentials - New Zealand School of Food and Wine

“We shine the light on the best New Zealand has to offer in terms of fresh ingredients, transformed into outstanding cuisine, exceptional wines and beverages, our spectacular scenery captured by so many memorable tourism experiences, yet as nation, we still struggle to understand and tell this story”, comments Celia Hay, director of the New Zealand School of Food and Wine. With NZQA approval for 13 micro-credentials, the New Zealand School Food and Wine hopes to inspire and attract new people to jobs in hospitality, wine and tourism and also enhance wider community understanding of our food and beverage story. “We export food and wine to the world, yet pride in this achievement is often lacking by our own communities,” say Hay.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED2112/S00019/crafting-talent-in-hospitality-and-tourism-with-micro-credentials.htm

Learning, working and winning - EDITORIAL the Australian

It’s true that fostering skills and remedying skill shortages are primarily tasks for the vocational education and training sector, which is often neglected because of a perceived lack of prestige. But higher education also has a vocational tradition – in the broad sense exemplified by medicine, law or engineering – and that expectation of a career pay-off has increased with higher fees and the rise of the corporate university. Meanwhile, micro-credentials would help universities respond more quickly to the fast-changing needs of industry if guided by more detailed feedback on skill shortages or national priorities. This is a chance for more competitive universities to seize the opportunities being opened up by online education technology.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/editorials/learning-working-and-winning/news-story/9e44ae06697a44be79c545b649ba8a4c

The Still-Evolving Future of University Credentials - Sean Gallagher, EdSurge

Today, there is ample evidence of demand for new types of educational credentials—especially since the start of the pandemic. The growth of educational platform companies such as Coursera and 2U is being driven in part by a surge in demand for certificate programs and “alternative credential” offerings. The number of open badges awarded nearly doubled from 24 million in 2018 to 43 million in 2020. And major companies and industry groups are increasingly getting into the credentialing game, exemplified by firms such as IBM and Google. Strada Education Network’s consumer polling has shown that 40 percent of working-age adults have earned some type of non-degree credential—and that non-degree credentials are at the top of the list for adults seeking education or retraining. Among employers, awareness of and experience with new non-degree and digital credentials is also continuing to grow—and the potential value proposition of digital credentialing resonates, according to survey results that we published just last week.

https://www-edsurge-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.edsurge.com/amp/news/2021-12-21-the-still-evolving-future-of-university-credentials

Micro-credentials demand increasing for up-to-date skills within the workforce in Sask. - Global News Canada

Micro-credentials are redefining the landscape of education and are quickly being adopted as an innovating learning tool for those working in high-demand industries.

(video linked below)

https://globalnews.ca/video/8427120/micro-credentials-demand-increasing-for-up-to-date-skills-within-the-workforce-in-sask

Micro-Credentials: The New Enrollment Funnel for Tomorrow’s University - Wiley Education

Stackable credentials—expandable qualifications, often parts of educational sequences—have become a critical pathway for learners to advance their careers, gain higher pay, and display competency in a shorter timeframe than full degree programs allow. These credentials—also known as micro-credentials, certificates, digital badges, and nanodegrees—are valuable signals for employers, especially since the COVID pandemic. When asked in 2019 how open they were to hiring candidates with education alternatives in place of a college degree, only 20% of employers selected digital badges as something they would consider. Fast forward to 2021, 54% of employers said they view micro-credentials as extremely/very important.

https://edservices.wiley.com/stackable-credentials/

Are Alternative Online Credentials a Threat or Opportunity? - Jackson Neil & Sasha Thackaberry, EAB

These for-profit entities, including Coursera, Guild, Udacity, even Google, offer everything from certificates to micro-credentials to full degrees, either in partnership with or independently from colleges and universities. Thackaberry explains why collaboration between these online upstarts and traditional higher education institutions is blurring the lines and creating both risk and opportunity.

https://eab.com/insights/podcast/enrollment/are-alternative-online-credentials-a-threat-or-opportunity/

Alternative Credentials on the Rise - Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed

The reasons alternative credentials are piquing the interest of more Americans are not new, nor surprising. For years the demographics of higher education have been shifting away from traditional-age, full-paying college students while online education has become more sophisticated and accepted. But a wide range of experts say the unprecedented societal turbulence caused by a pandemic, the worst recession in a century and a national reckoning over racism have accelerated and added urgency to the development of alternative pathways to career and life success.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/27/interest-spikes-short-term-online-credentials-will-it-be-sustained

10 Types of Credentials You Can Earn Online Various options for online students range from MOOC certificates to graduate degrees. - Jordan Friedman and Josh Moody, US News

When it comes to online learning, students should choose a credential that fulfills their goals while providing flexibility – whether it's a single course certificate or a full degree. "There's such a wide range of offerings to them at economical prices that allow them to target their education specifically to their career plan," says Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor for online learning at the University of Illinois—Springfield. In fact, the nonprofit Credential Engine calculates more than 738,428 "unique credential programs" in the U.S., a number that Executive Director Scott Cheney expects to continue to rise. Here are 10 different credentials students can earn online.

https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/slideshows/10-types-of-credentials-you-can-earn-online

A European approach to micro-credentials - EU

This background paper has been drafted in preparation for the first meeting of the Consultation Group on Micro-credentials. The paper introduces major current initiatives on micro-credentials primarily in the EU. During the first meeting, the intention is for the consultation group to reach a consensus on key terminology and issues at stake regarding the development of a European approach for micro-credentials. More specifically, this paper aims to: 1. contribute to a shared definition and understanding of the core terminology underpinning micro-credentials, and 2. facilitate a first identification of critical building blocks which should be features in a European approach for micro-credentials in higher education in the EU.

https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/c5001447-0ace-11ec-adb1-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

The 100 Most Popular Free Online Courses (2022 Edition) - Suparn Patra, Class Central

Check out this list of the top 100 new free courses launched this year. Class Central ranks the most popular; 20% of them and 18 of the top 25 are from Google!  These are the Career Certificate courses.

Over the years, the online course offering has continued to grow, to the point that it can be hard to navigate at time. So in this article, I’ve leveraged Class Central’s database of over 50,000 courses as well as course enrollment numbers to build a list of the 100 most popular online courses of the year.

https://www.classcentral.com/report/most-popular-courses-2022/

Google Enters Higher Ed in a Big Way - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Two years ago, Google announced that it was launching a career certificate program that would provide all the essentials to start a new career. With lightning speed by higher ed standards, Google has conceived and launched a number of career certificate programs. In just two years, they have gone from concept to credential programs in IT support, data analytics, project management, UX design and Android development. Google has built a consortium of 150 companies that give preferential treatment to the career certificate holders. While the certificate programs are getting the headlines, Google is continuing to develop new artificial intelligence–powered applications to make higher ed learning more efficient, accessible and personalized.

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/google-enters-higher-ed-big-way

Micro-credentials in Saskatchewan - Saskatchewan, Canada

Post-secondary institutions can ensure learners have access to quality, relevant micro-credentials by collaborating with employers and industry groups to identify current gaps in the labour force and developing programming to meet those needs. Saskatchewan's Guide to Micro-credentials provides institutions with a common foundation for understanding micro-credentials and a framework for developing and implementing new programming.

https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/education-and-learning/microcredentials-in-saskatchewan

Are Post-Pandemic Campuses Finally Ready for Competency-Based Education? - Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge

The basic idea of competency-based education, or CBE, is this: What if the way to get a degree or certificate was to prove to a college that you’ve learned the required knowledge and skills. It wouldn’t matter exactly how, or where you learned the knowledge—or competencies. Colleges would be in the business of certifying what students know, and giving them the coaching and materials needed to fill in any gaps to earn the credential. For this week’s EdSurge podcast we checked in with a longtime proponent of competency based education: Paul LeBlanc, the president of Southern New Hampshire University. And he lays out his latest thoughts about the approach in his new book, “Students First: Equity, Access and Opportunity in Higher Education.”

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-11-23-are-post-pandemic-campuses-finally-ready-for-competency-based-education

CEDEFOP: International conference on microcredentials

The event focused on the results of the mapping exercise regarding the role, the perceived relevance and use of microcredentials within vocational and professional education but also their independent use by companies and sectors. It bringed together selected international experts and researchers to discuss and reflect on the understanding of how micro-credentials are influencing national and international qualifications and certification systems.  Includes .ppt and handouts of sessions.

https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/pt/events/conference-microcredentials

University of Phoenix and ChildCare Education Institute Continue Making It Easier for Students to Turn Certificates Into College Credits Sofia Peterson by Sofia Peterson, the Hack Post

A long-standing agreement between University of Phoenix and ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI), an accredited online provider for training early care and education workers, has recently been renewed via an articulation agreement partnership. The agreement enables CCEI students to transfer their eligible certificates into college credits and continue working toward a college degree. Students who complete one of several available certificate programs can articulate up to four semester hours of credit through University of Phoenix’s Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). Eligible certificate programs include Child Development Associate (CDA), CDA Renewal, Director’s Certificate, and Florida Child Care Professional Credential (FCCPC). CCEI students can also translate 30 hours of training done as part of CCEI professional development into one hour of elective credit at University of Phoenix.

https://thehackpost.com/university-of-phoenix-and-childcare-education-institute-continue-making-it-easier-for-students-to-turn-certificates-into-college-credits.html

Atlanta Music School Offers Insight Regarding Online Music Certificate Options

Kieth O’ Neill, the senior instructional designer at AIMM, explains the difference between a music lesson and a music certificate, adding that a lesson is not as credible as a certificate or degree. “Lessons are more of a tutorial, one-on-one type learning situation. You will undoubtedly learn a great deal, depending on the teacher, but you will not receive a Certificate, Degree, or Diploma that holds credibility within the music industry,” says O’ Neill.

https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/atlanta-music-school-offers-insight-regarding-online-music-certificate-options

Promoting social inclusion through micro-credentials - Gillian Golden, Shizuka Kato and Thomas Weko Higher Education Policy Team, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills

Two new Education Policy Perspectives from the OECD Higher Education Policy Team provide new evidence on the opportunities and challenges that micro-credentials present to higher education systems. More work is needed to ensure higher education systems develop micro-credential programmes that are widely understood and recognised across institutions and systems. These programmes should also be inclusive, meeting the needs of a wide range of learners.

https://oecdedutoday.com/promoting-social-inclusion-through-micro-credentials/