Microcredentials Forge the Links Between Businesses, the Community and their College

The traditional degree model isn’t providing people with the just-in-time skills they need, and companies are turning to alternative solutions to fill their talent pipelines. Employers needs people with relevant technical skills and robust cross-functional professional competencies like critical thinking, and they need those skilled workers quickly. Given this context, where does the working learner fit into the postsecondary landscape?

How do community colleges meet rapidly changing employer demands?  To respond to the changing requirements of postsecondary learners and workers, higher education must shift away from the all-or-nothing model that puts firm distinctions between credit (leading to a degree) and non-credit (supporting the workforce) programming.

It’s time to develop smaller, more discrete credentials like badges, microcredentials, and nanodegrees, where credit can be assigned and collected in smaller formats and then applied to longer-term traditional degree models. Community colleges need to shift their learning strategy to embrace not only degree completion, but also content completion, which can provide employers with the talent they need, when they need it.

Read the rest of this post on The EvoLLLution and you can see more details on my YouTube channel, Learning: Your Strategic tool for Success!, and this short video, “Filling tomorrow’s talent pipeline today“.