HRD’s pocket guide Personal development
HRD’s pocket guide to...
microcredentials
Why do I need to know
about it?
As many jobs become increasingly
digitalised, technology changes at
pace, and people remain in the
workforce longer it will become
necessary to upskill and reskill more
often. Traditional courses from
universities and professional bodies
will struggle to keep pace and stay
relevant. Workers will need to have
an attitude of lifelong learning if
they don’t wish to be replaced by
a robot.
“Microcredentials are just what
the term connotates – shorter-form
educational or professional
credential programmes that are
smaller than traditional degrees,”
explains Sean Gallagher, executive
director of the Center for the Future
of Higher Education & Talent
Strategy, and executive professor of
educational policy at Northeastern
University in the US.
In keeping with the digital
landscape, microcredentials are
often expressed digitally (as opposed
to say a paper certificate).
“Microcredentials are a way to
verify and validate an achievement
or competency. They are typically
shorter in length than a more
traditional certification and can be
expressed using digital badges.
Badges are a digital representation
of information that contain rich
metadata about the achievement,”
says David Leaser, senior program
executive, innovation and growth
initiatives at IBM.
What do I need to know
about it?
Tech firms are as usual leading the
way in this area. IBM runs a digital
badges microcredential training and
accreditation scheme for both
employees and the public.
building partnerships with
credentialling organisations. Having
a specific set of qualifications in a
competitive job market could help
candidates stand out and make it
easier for HR to find the right people.
Similarly, if HR analyses the data
in the microcredentials of its own
workforce that can feed into
strategic workforce planning. “HR
can add value by mining the data in
digital credentials to understand
dearths, gaps and opportunities.
Badges create heat maps that can
show where an organisation has
talent and where it is lacking,”
says Leaser.
IBM has seen the business
benefits of its microcredentials
firsthand. An internal survey
found that 76% thought digital
badges motivate employees and
customers to develop current
skills, 72% said they recognise
employees for achievement, 48%
believe badges help them identify
verified talent, and 39% said it
increases engagement.
By widening the talent pool to
candidates with non-traditional
education diversity also improves.
“By focusing on skills over
degrees and geography IBM wants
to shift mindsets and make tech
more diverse and inclusive. Badges
provide an alternative credential
and a way to democratise the
workforce,” Leaser adds.
Anything else?
Microcredentials are expanding
quickly. “While we are at least five
years in to the development of a
microcredential market it is
still very early – new offerings,
standards, and experiments from
educational institutions and thirdparty
credentialling providers are
arriving each week,” says Gallagher. HR
Going
further
hrmagazine.co.uk February 2020 HR 51
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The HRD’s pocket guide series offers an explanation of areas outside
day-to-day HR that business-savvy HRDs need to have a handle on. By THIRZA TOOES
According to Dirk Ifenthaler,
chair of learning, design and
technology at the University of
Mannheim, there are two major
opportunities for businesses
when it comes to using
microcredentials:
“finding the right
person for a specific job
based on a competence
profile – earned
microcredentials” and
“independently certifying their
employees’ capabilities”.
While organisations have long
sent their employees on courses for
their CPD these are costly and can
take years in some cases. Training
for microcredentials is much
quicker, and therefore more
efficient and a potential faster
return on investment.
“Microcredentials almost
universally have a professional
and skills-oriented focus,” says
Gallagher. “Demand is rising
because of the faster-paced and
online nature of the job market and
professional development today, a
desire for more career-oriented
higher education, a growing supply
of programmes, and employers’
attempts to bridge the skills gap and
move beyond a reliance on
academic degrees in hiring.”
Where can HR add value?
Microcredentials’ social mobility
potential is huge. Once they become
more established they could be
used to help source talent
(particularly youth talent) from
non-university backgrounds.
It will be up to HR to decide
whether to accept microcredentials,
or require them as part of job
criteria. Ifenthaler points out that
advertising positions based on the
competences expected may require
Recommended
reading:
Foundation of
Digital Badges
and Micro-
Credentials
by Dirk Ifenthaler,
Nicole Bellin-
Mularski and
Dana-Kristin Mah
Education Micro-
Credentials 101:
Why Do We
Need Badges?
by Peter Greene for
Forbes. Accessible
at: bit.ly/2Twjuje
Information on IBM
digital badges
at ibm.co/3779vok
/hrmagazine.co.uk