Momentum for Microcredentials on the Learning Landscape

As the dynamic technology landscape recalibrates business models and calls for employees’ skills sets to be frequently refreshed, traditional paths for students to launch their careers are, in many cases, no longer sufficient.

University degree programs have difficulty keeping pace with the latest skills enterprises require, especially in IT fields and related disciplines in which artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies evolve more swiftly than university curricula can typically adapt. As a result, collaborations between academia, professional associations and industry to offer microcredentials covering in-demand skills, often supplementing traditional degree programs, are gaining increased traction.

A Times Higher Education article defines describes stackable microcredentials as “bite-sized qualifications that learners can accumulate and combine to build a specialised skillset or earn a larger qualification through a dynamic, flexible and learner-centric approach.” While microcredentials can be a helpful way to augment the knowledge gained through an academic degree, given the rising cost of higher education, as well as the time commitment of four-year programs, in some cases, up-and-coming professionals are turning to microcredentials instead of pursuing university degrees. Stackable credentials are also attractive to adult learners based partially on the flexibility in which the learning can be integrated into their busy lives.

“There is a change happening,” said Graham Bell, director of digital education at Cranfield School of Management, in the Times Higher Education article. “More and more employers are beginning to recognize microlearning and, certainly, microcredentials, and see them as a valid way for somebody to build their career path.”

Examples of in-demand, stackable credentials offered by global digital trust association ISACA include individual certificates in cloud, Internet of Things, blockchain and artificial intelligence – if taken collectively, a Certified in Emerging Technology (CET) credential – as well as fundamentals certificates in computing, networks and infrastructure, cybersecurity, software development and data science that make up the Information Technology Certified Associate (ITCA) credential. In Brazil, at Centro Educacional Assistencial Profissionalizante (CEAP), CET will complement CEAP students’ existing curriculum and prepare them for a range of tech careers.

As detailed in a new white paper from ISACA and UPCEA, “Flexible, Stackable Certificates: The Future of Education,” stackable credentials are “vital to staying ahead of the lightning-fast tempo of technology. Cloud computing, for example, has expanded over just a few years to focus on hyperscale cloud, and professionals now need to know how to bring multiple cloud providers together at scale. They also need to know how to audit these new structures and ensure their organization has optimal risk and governance postures. Keeping up with this pace requires a strong partnership among learning institutions, student learners and professional associations.”

There are many examples of these collaborations successfully unfolding. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee offers microcredentials along their degree paths, requiring the same academic rigor as the degree program itself. The State University of New York system offers more than 500 microcredentials in more than 60 disciplines. In the cybersecurity space, ISACA, through its One In Tech foundation, teamed up with City Colleges of Chicago to enable a diverse cohort of community college students to prepare for careers in cybersecurity, including an emphasis during the course on preparing for ISACA’s Cybersecurity Fundamentals exam.

In a sense, credentialing collaborations are similar to university partnerships with enterprises for co-op work programs, which, like the pursuit of credentials, can better position learners for finding employment in their field of interest after graduating. Absent these stackable credentials to fill in critical knowledge gaps, organizations often have to spend significant time and resources to train candidates for key aspects of their roles before they are able to be successful.

Academic institutions would be well-served to identify opportunities to connect their students with credentialing opportunities as demand becomes increasingly mainstream. According to an article from Ohio State University, “Nearly half of all working-age adults who have earned a bachelor’s degree have also earned some sort of non-degree credential. Not only are non-degree credentials usually quicker to earn than traditional degree programs, but they can cost less and demonstrate knowledge and skills in real time.”

In today’s technology-driven world, the skills landscape moves fast, putting more pressure on companies and their employees to gain new capabilities and quickly put them to use. By embracing microcredentials as a valued component of the modern learning landscape, academic institutions can give their students a better opportunity to keep pace.

ISACA is a global community advancing individuals and organizations in their pursuit of digital trust. For over 50 years, ISACA has equipped individuals and enterprises with the knowledge, credentials, education, training and community to progress their careers, transform their organizations, and build a more trusted and ethical digital world. This global professional association and learning organization leverages the expertise of its more than 170,000 members who work in digital trust fields. It has a presence in 188 countries, including 225 chapters worldwide. Through its foundation One In Tech, ISACA supports IT education and career pathways for under-resourced and underrepresented populations.