Micro-credentials in 2021: The Provider Handbook - Candlefox.
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Micro-credentials in 2021: The Provider Handbook
Executive summary Key takeaways
We’re living in a rapidly changing world. Subject bundles (the enrolment in subjects not part of a nationally
recognised program) made up 63% of the 4.2 million students
Dramatic changes in technology, shifts in industry demands and captured by the Total VET Students and Courses data.
changing labour market conditions are pushing Australians to look
Micro-apprenticeships are a new qualification designed to combine
beyond traditional learning.
work experience with short, digitally-focused online courses and
No one can predict how exactly these changes will impact us. But one compliment the push towards the fusion of formal and informal
thing is certain — as learners, we need to be malleable to thrive in learning.
disruption.
The BCA has recommended a national digital skills passport that
Our future calls for the most skilled, adaptable workforce yet. And micro- acts as a ‘single source or truth’ for all kinds of training to track
credentials are the building blocks that will set the foundation. qualifications and promote a complementary, lifelong learning
experience.
There is a clear urgency for policymakers to consider how and
where these short courses sit in the education system. The Australian COVID-19 has expedited a complete overhaul of the education sector,
government now recognises that upskilling promotes a resilient with NCVER data and our first-party survey and student sentiment
workforce. This has initiated a push to fast-track micro-credentials in VET index data all suggesting that students are demonstrating more
to “respond more effectively to the needs of students and employers” — a propensity to study to keep up with the demands of the future
central focus in 2021. (COAG Skills Council 2019) workforce.
Since our last handbook, micro-credentials have evolved, but the onus ‘Stackable programs’ are future-forward solutions for providers, as
remains the same — to offer learners newer, more customisable training they fuse two very different types of learning experiences built to
opportunities that exist outside of the traditional tertiary education promote customised, lifelong learning experiences.
system.
How have micro-credentials changed The role of subject bundles
in the last year?
A subject bundle is when a student enrols into a collection of three or fewer
subjects.
As a refresher, micro-credentials are short According to Bryan Palmer’s research report, ‘An Analysis of Micro-
qualifications designed to help learners credentials in VET’, these ‘bundles’ are undertaken at a single registered
skill up in specific knowledge areas. training organisation (RTO), defined as ‘RTO-student pairs’.
Palmer’s study unpacks popular learning areas that exist outside of a
A micro-credential can take two forms: nationally recognised program in VET, assessing the “extent of skill sets or
micro-credentials being taken by students in 2019”.
An accredited or ‘nationally recognised’ certification in the VET sector.
These bundles represent a combination of subjects that are performing as
Unaccredited training, such as a Microsoft certification. credentials in the current marketplace.
There are also two new micro-credential subcategories that are an
extension to the above:
1. Training package skills sets and accredited short courses
Recognised forms of short course training that are formally identified on
the national register of VET.
2. ‘Subject bundles’
Enrolment in subjects not part of a nationally recognised program (non-
qualification training in VET) — where a student enrols in a ‘bundle’ of
subjects at a single RTO.
Out of the 4.2 million students captured by the Total VET Students and
Courses data, almost 63% undertook a subject bundle. Enrolment in other
recognised forms of short course training pales in comparison, with “76,565
students enrolled in training package skill sets and 93,555 in accredited
courses”.
What subject bundles tell us about There is a market operating around meeting codes of practice and
competencies for specific jobs. Many subject bundles are ‘mandated’ to
the current education landscape ensure regulatory requirements are being met in the workplace.
These findings emphasise the opportunity for governments to fund
micro-credential courses to promote job readiness and lifelong
employment.
Regulatory requirements and skills Providers could see a flow-on effect from this government opportunity.
maintenance are largely driving subject Government participation in expanding subject bundles beyond
bundle initiatives. regulatory activity prompts a more stimulated market — heightening the
demand for these kinds of short courses.
More than “93% of bundles [are] funded on a fee-for-service basis”, with
This segment currently appears as a largely ‘private’ market with little
a primary focus on regulation and skills maintenance. This implies
to no government intervention, despite its existence attributed mainly
that employers and individual learners are funding these grouped
to government regulations around specific VET requirements for a wide
qualifications due to regulatory requirements.
range of jobs.
NCVER data showed the need to refresh existing knowledge has resulted
in high engagement in some subject bundles.
For example, the largest subject bundle includes cardiopulmonary
resuscitation as a unit, which is only valid for 12 months. The second-
largest, the first aid certificate, must be refreshed every three years.
It was found that many of the popular subject bundles analysed were
centred around workplace safety, emergency preparedness and
authorisation to operate dangerous equipment.
remains the same — to offer learners newer, more customisable training
opportunities that exist outside of the traditional tertiary education
system.
NCVER’s 2020 National Student Outcomes Survey suggests that 9.2% of Knowing the effect that funding plays on the propensity to study, the
subject bundle training was paid for by the government. government can also stimulate training in skills gap areas set to boost
the economy by injecting funds into micro-credentials.
With this boost, providers should also feel positive effects.
Although micro-credential funding details are yet to be announced,
there is a good chance that RTOs will see funding allocation set towards
responding to emerging skills needs (micro-credential or equivalent
courses).
Private providers should also see some uplift in interest, as not all learners
may be seeking funded learning.
Despite this, some fee-for-service courses may still have been indirectly
funded through the government. One scenario might be that an
independent agent such as an employment service provider funded
a subject bundle (labelled as fee-for-service), despite receiving
government funding for this training.
This observation tells us that government funding does play a small role
in driving motivation to study subject bundles. Data collected is more
focused on units that are mandated in particular contexts, and do not
necessarily align with ‘skills of the future’, such as digital literacy, soft skills
or new technology skills.Micro-apprenticeships How a digital skills passport could help
track formal and informal learning
In the report, ‘Skills, training, opportunities crucial to filling the jobs gap’,
Similarly to micro-credentials, micro-apprenticeships are short, practical the BCA has suggested a national digital skills passport that acts as a
qualifications. ‘single source of truth’ for all kinds of education and training. It would
include formal and informal learning, incorporating micro-credentials,
They’re designed to “bridge the growing gap between demand for micro-apprenticeships and other short course equivalents to create a
expertise in new technologies and the lack of workers with relevant complimentary, lifelong learning experience.
technical qualifications”.
The BCA explains this lifelong skills passport would mitigate “the maze of
Micro-apprenticeships echo the sentiment from our last micro- standards” that currently exists in qualification recognition. The digital
credentials handbook — the skills and training system requires a document would stay with a person from high school all the way to
complete overhaul to promote the shift towards preparing workers retirement. It would track qualifications and provide employers with a
for their future. Technological disruptions are forcing rapid change in quick solution to determine whether a candidate has the right skill level
workplaces and reinforcing the need for new combinations of skillsets. and competencies for a role.
These qualifications would combine work experience with short, digitally- Introducing a digital skills passport further promotes the shift to
focused online courses that are “tailored to the needs of both learners ‘stackable learning’ — helping workers skill-up to meet evolving
and their employer”. Like a ‘digital trade’, micro-apprenticeships present business needs and allowing employers to source appropriately skilled
workers in emerging fields with the opportunity to gain hands-on employees.
experience in a practical environment.
According to Julie Hare at the Australian Financial Review (AFR), micro-
apprenticeships are one solution to fast-track VET reforms for a “rapid
and sustainable economic recovery post-COVID”.
Their design would help to promptly address current skills shortages and
advocate for a “more modular and flexible skills system in the future”.‘Stackable’ programs The combination is worth 12 credit points that can be transferred to
specified degrees at RMIT University. Future Skills includes approved credit
pathways to RMIT programs within the College of Business and Law (COBL)
and College of Design and Social Context (DSC), which are more likely to
be added in the near future.
Universities have begun creating their own stackable micro-credential
programs that are flexible enough to satisfy the needs of all students — The future-focused program has fused two very different types of learning
whether they are purely looking to upskill with a micro-credential style experiences in a flexible format that supports both individuals and
course or are looking for pathway options that ultimately lead them to a Australia’s economic recovery. It has been built specifically to promote
formal qualification.
Leading by example, these institutions offer providers some inspiration to
feed micro-credentials into their own curriculum.
What does this mean for providers?
We know traditional degree structures in isolation are becoming a thing of
RMIT Online’s ‘Future Skills Credit Pathway to the past.
Degrees’ Flexible learning options are becoming the norm — providers must
reimagine education by moulding their courses to the learner’s needs and
RMIT Online has taken micro-credentials one step further with its own the future workforce.
stackable learning model.
Our 2020 handbook uncovered ‘unbundled’ learning pathways as an
Students can study a selection of Future Skills courses (or one subject opportunity for providers looking to expand into the micro-credentials
of approved post-graduate qualifications) as part of a two-course space. Providers can unpack their existing qualifications into separate
combination. components for a more customised learning experience (reverse subject
bundles).
The potential risk with this process is that there is no one defined way for
stakeholders such as employers to understand the value of the variety of
credentials currently in the market.
However, the abundance of discussion and research in the space,
especially in the last few months, suggests that we are on the cusp of
receiving standardised frameworks and set practices to develop and
teach micro-credentials effectively. These frameworks will help clarify
where micro-credentials sit in the broader education landscape and how
they interact with other learning forms.Providers should begin thinking about: Q. Why has COVID-19 made you more likely How students currently interact with their qualifications and how to begin a training course? they expect this to change in the future. Gaps in their current course offerings and how micro-credentials could fill these gaps. The place of micro-credentials in their current course offerings. Gaining an understanding of the above will help to define how micro-credentials are set to blend with providers’ learning curriculums once a more defined framework is released. The relationship between micro-credentials and COVID-19 A catalyst for drastic change, COVID-19 has sparked massive responses to the current state of the education sector. Short course training is more important than ever — governments are promoting this type of training to help combat the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Disruption in the labour market, changing skills needs, and urgency around quickly adapting future workers for job changes post-pandemic have shown an “enormous amount of effort and policy and funding going towards micro-credentials”. NCVER data showed that training package skillsets increased by 128% from January to September 2020, compared to the same nine months in 2019. Our COVID-19 2020 survey data also shows students demonstrating more propensity to study compared to pre-COVID:
The NCVER report also found that non-formal, government-developed Abnormal displays of high sensitivity to funding in March 2020 suggests
skillsets “jumped by 171% in those nine months, partly stimulated by the job factors such as higher rates of unemployment, lower wages and higher
trainer initiative, which was about a billion dollars collectively between all costs of living all played a part in student reliance on funding during this
governments that started coming”. period.
Our Student Sentiment Index 2020 data reinforces student reliance on
government funding, with young people aged 18 to 24 and older people What does this mean for providers?
aged 45 to 65 feeling the most significant impacts during the height of the
pandemic. COVID-19 has expedited the need for micro-credentials to satisfy emerging
industry needs in Australia’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
The urgency for future skills presents an opportunity for providers to fill the
‘education gap’. Providers can develop micro-credential qualifications to
create a bridge to meet these demands.
By offering upskillers with refresher training on competencies they might
already have, providers can facilitate this much-needed shift. This kind of
training will elevate learner skillsets — helping them move from a job that
is becoming redundant to one that is in demand.What’s next for micro-credentials? The new National Skills Agreement (NSA) has committed to “developing and funding nationally accredited micro-credentials and individual skill sets”, with a key focus on supporting “lifelong learning through an integrated tertiary education system”. The NSA will replace the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development (NASWD) and is due to be finalised in August 2021. Summary Micro-credentials have sparked a remarkable shift in the way we learn. The push towards these skills-focused courses reinforces the widespread urgency to keep up with industry demands on professional development. It’s no secret that we can no longer depend on traditional learning to carry us into the workforce of the future. Education providers have the chance to empower learners by promoting a more personalised way of learning. It’s time to advocate for the tools set to build a more resilient workforce.
You can also read
