Towards a common definition of micro-credentials
English
International organizations
Information is gathered from other international organizations that promote skills development and the transition from education and training to work. The Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (IAG-TVET) was established in 2009 to share research findings, coordinate joint research endeavours, and improve collaboration among organizations working at the international and national levels.
Access to training
Access for all to good quality education, vocational training and workplace learning is a fundamental principle of social cohesion and economic growth. Some groups of people may require targeted attention if they are to benefit from education, training and employment opportunities.
This is particularly the case for disadvantaged youth, lower skilled workers, people with disabilities, and people in rural communities. The attractiveness of vocational education and training is enhanced when combined with entrepreneurship training and when public policies encourage utilization of higher skills by business.
Anticipating and matching skills needs
Anticipating and building skills for the future is essential to a rapidly changing labour market. This applies to changes in the types and levels of skills needed as well as in occupational and technical areas. Effective methods to anticipate future skills needs and avoid potential mismatches include: sustained dialogue between employers and trainers, coordination across government institutions, labour market information systems, employment services and performance reviews of training institutions.
Lifelong learning
There is a critical need for a greater overall investment in education and training, particularly in developing countries. Education and training investments should be closely linked to economic and employment growth strategies and programmes. Responsibility should be shared between the government (primary responsibility), enterprises, the social partners, and the individual. To make lifelong learning for all a reality, countries will need to make major reforms of their vocational and education and training systems. School-to-work schemes for young people should integrate education with workplace learning. Training systems need to become more flexible and responsive to rapidly changing skill requirements. Reforms should also focus on how learning can be facilitated, not just on training for specific occupational categories.
Research papers
Working papers, reports, and other publications from international organizations, academic institutions and bilateral agencies. Research findings to stimulate informed debate on skills, employment and productivity issues.
Micro-credentials are increasingly promoted as a new and more flexible way of recognizing knowledge, skills and competences. Micro-credentials are flourishing with more new brand names constantly emerging. However, acceptance and recognition of micro-credentials by employers and policy-makers is hampered because, among other challenges, there is no universally recognized definition that clearly communicates to lay users, particularly learners and employers, what micro-credentials are.
In recent years, policy-makers, scholars and educators have produced their own definitions, advancing scholarship in the area, and sometimes causing more confusion by adding yet another definition. Other challenges include determining whether micro-credentials complement or replace qualifications, or both; the dizzying array of providers and partnerships in the provision of micro-credentials; the need for robust quality assurance and the conundrum of how to enact it when providers operate outside of the regulated education sector; the lack of research and convincing evidence of micro-credentials’ efficacy so far; and the risk of unintended consequences if funding is diverted away from formal systems.
This study set out to address the first of those challenges, coming to a consensus on a proposed definition, in the hope of assisting the field to move towards a common definition. It proposes a definition arrived at through a consensus-building process by a global expert panel.