Non-traditional credentials are beginning to get noticed by departments outside of CE, but oftentimes they’re creating this programming on the side of their desk. A centralized institution-wide approach to lifelong learning—lead by CE—is critical to deliver a modern learner experience. On this episode, Frederick Wehrle, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of California—Berkeley, discusses the need for a consolidated administration to deliver a seamless lifelong learning experience that students demand.
Dutchess Community College unveiled a new Business program offering on Saturday during a Cannabis Workforce Initiative (CWI) event held in Greenspan Cafeteria. The Cannabis Retail Management microcredential will welcome its first cohort in fall 2023, with registration now officially open. What is a microcredential? Microcredentials are short, focused credentials designed to provide in-demand skills, know-how and experience. Stackable microcredentials can also provide a pathway to a certificate or full degree. The 13-credit microcredential will help students develop critical business skills in retail management, merchandising, storeroom operations, cost control, customer service and cannabis science.
According to a global survey from Coursera, employers and students alike see value in microcredentials that document job-relevant skills and experience. The online learning provider commissioned research firm Dynata to poll 3,600 students and employers across eight countries — Australia, India, France, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States — about the motivations, needs, and challenges of both students pursuing a degree and employers hiring them. Globally, 89% of students in the survey agreed or strongly agreed that earning an entry-level professional certificate or microcredential will help them stand out to employers and secure jobs when they graduate.
The US already has all the technology needed to rapidly bring down carbon emissions. The trouble is finding enough people to install it all. So the jobs are there, but qualified workers to fill them are harder to find. “The green transition is going to generate upwards of 25 million new jobs [in the US] in the next 15 years—this is just going to be a tremendous transformation of the US workforce,” says Mark Paul, an environmental economist at Rutgers University. “You can’t outsource the installation of heat pumps or solar panels on somebody’s roof to China or Bangladesh.” But, Paul adds, “do we have enough electricians, enough solar installers, enough wind installers, enough home retrofitters to transition immediately? Absolutely not.”
https://www.wired.com/story/the-race-to-decarbonize-america-needs-more-workers/