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How Micro-Credentials Can Conquer the Skills Gap

How Micro-Credentials Can Conquer the Skills Gap

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 In this article, Danny King offers insight into how stackable micro-credentials can help employers upskill their teams while steering employees toward their individual career goals.According to a 2021 study, over 80% of Scottish employees had never heard the term “micro-credential”. And while a surge in skills-based hiring has likely caused that percentage to shrink, for many leaders, the true value of these stackable skill credentials lies shrouded in mystery.A micro-credential is a single credential representing proficiency in a given skill, typically after a single course. When stacked with other similar credentials, micro-credentials can be accumulated together, roll into more comprehensive badges or certifications, and even help build long-term career pathways.In 2022, 78% of UK organisations experienced a decline in output, profitability and/or growth due to a lack of available skills, indicating a dire need for deeper investment in skills development. But while corporate training programs abound, the flexibility inherent to micro-credentials makes them especially attractive. Workers can complete courses at a reasonable pace without jeopardising day-to-day work, and with stackable micro-credentials, it becomes easier for leaders to rank individual proficiencies and monitor overall skills growth in the workforce.In the Learning & Development space, we speak often about “bridging the skills gap.” But no bridge is built without a surefire blueprint. Thus, the key is to help each individual create their distinct plan for career success. By this logic, we aren’t so much “bridging” the gap as we are enabling employees to find their own way across.I break this process down into four phases of the learning journey:Choosing the DestinationWhen choosing to pursue a micro-credential on their own, rather than under a company mandate, learners typically have two goals to consider: personal goals and organisational goals. The former is self-explanatory: They take courses related to their individual career goals, and if they’re outside the domain of their current position, they may have to fund them themselves. The latter, however, is where we’re going to focus. Organisational learning goals may be related to a role one wants in the company – i.e. “I want to learn SEO so I can create better company blog content and improve our lead generation” – or, they could be part of a larger effort to upskill the workforce in a diversity of ways.To this end, corporate L&D programs should employ micro-credentials to allow employees to pursue both personal and organisational goals at the same time. This can happen through a subscription to a learning platform that gives employees access to vast catalogue of micro-credentialed courses, or a learning stipend that empowers workers to pursue courses outside of their assigned training modules. In order to optimise costs and save time, organisations should do their diligence to identify overlaps between employees’ personal learning interests and the needs of the company. Employers can conduct surveys and solicit feedback from managers about not only employees’ current skill levels and performance, but also their interests and goals.Most importantly, before anyone sets out on their next learning journey, organisations must ensure that the micro-credentials they provide, whether through a third party or internally, are secure and verifiable, so employees get the premium value out of their experience. They should choose micro-credentials that offer a digital badge or certificate as immutable proof of a learner’s accomplishments. This will prove useful to both internal teams and as a means of external marketing of your skilled workforce.Setting CourseWhen employees and organisations have their goals in harmony, the next step is to determine what courses these intrepid learners must take to reach these goals.
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