Microcredentials are bringing forward a new era of educational recognition, reshaping the way learners acquire and showcase their skills.
Microcredentials are bite-sized, specialised certifications, typically offered by universities, colleges and online learning platforms. These compact courses offer targeted education – allowing individuals to customise their learning journey to meet industry demands and develop personal career goals.
FutureLearn highlights microcredentials’ ability to upskill learners in just one week. As the demand for upskilling and reskilling increases, microcredentials stand as a beacon for trendy, relevant and flexible learning. That’s why we’ve put together some key reasons for considering microcredentials as part of your course portfolio in 2024.
1. Recognises lifelong learning
As the job market rapidly evolves, continuous learning is more essential than ever. Microcredentials allow professionals to engage in ongoing education; upgrading their skills whilst keeping up to date with industry trends and advancements throughout their careers.
Microcredentials align with the lifelong learning trend by offering a modular approach to education. By offering microcredentials, training organisations can position themselves as supportive of lifelong learning, fostering a positive reputation in the education world.
2. Adapts to industry changes
The nature of microcredentials enables training providers to adapt quickly to industry changes. The short, focused, accumulative and often just week-long courses can easily be tweaked to ensure relevance and currency. The most popular microcredentials develop marketable skills in high-demand industries such as IT support, data analytics and cybersecurity - areas which are constantly evolving against the backdrop of AI.
The adaptability of these courses ensures that learners engage with the most up-to-date content. This is an attractive feature for those who want to enhance their employability in a dynamic, competitive job market.
3. Provides industry-relevant and targeted certifications
Collaboration with industry partners can enable training organisations to ensure that their microcredential programmes align with current industry standards and requirements - boosting the credibility and value of these certifications.
If learners can directly align their certifications with emerging job roles, they are more likely to participate in the course. Microcredentials are targeted in their approach and correlation with industry roles – encouraging learners to sign up and get on board.
4. Encourages cost-effectiveness
In general, microcredentials are more cost-effective compared to other training programmes. Many of these courses are delivered through online platforms, removing the need for physical classrooms and associated overhead costs.
Microcredentials are designed to address specific skills or qualifications, enabling providers to create focused and targeted content. This approach reduces time, effort and the resources required for curriculum development compared to more extensive training programmes.
5. Offers shareable, digital credentialing
Upon accreditation of a microcredential, learners are rewarded with digital badges or certificates and can be easily shared on professional platforms like LinkedIn.
Digital credentials highlight and enhance the visibility of an individual’s skills and qualifications in the online job market which is a desirable feature for professionals advancing through their career in a digital world. And what's more – digital credentialing and sharing boosts the training organisation’s brand visibility to attract more learners.
6. Gives you the competitive and current edge
As demand for lifelong learning grows, offering microcredentials allows organisations to position themselves as forward-thinking and responsive to the evolving needs of learners and industries. Staying “on trend” also means staying top-of-mind.
Many employers are considering removing “the bachelor’s degree required” for jobs and instead use microcredentials to accelerate a new employee’s on-the-job skills acquisition. Undertaking microcredentials in sequence, grouped as “stackable credentials,” could lead to a degree, depending on requirements. A recent study from Intelligent.com revealed that 45% of companies plan to drop bachelor’s degree requirements for some positions in 2024 and 75% of respondents said that their company values certificate programmes.
In conclusion, introducing microcredentials could help you to align with the changing dynamics of the education landscape, meeting the demand for flexible, relevant and accessible learning and development in the modern workforce.
If microcredentials are not already part of your course portfolio, it’s worth noting the pivotal role these courses can play in learners’ career progression. Their positive embrace of lifelong learning, adaptability, industry relevance, shareable digital accreditation, cost-effectiveness and modern quality are all important aspects to consider in 2024.
Do you already offer microcredentials but looking for new ways to reach your target audience? Read more about our services to find out how we can help you achieve your marketing goals in 2024.
