Short courses are not new. For decades, extension courses have enabled further education, community engagement and lifelong learning. Since 2012, online short courses - often called massive open online courses (MOOCs) - have been offered by hundreds of providers, mostly universities. Employers have offered their own in-house training programs for years, and industry bodies have managed certifications and licences to practice. These various forms of non-formal learning have enabled learners - working or not, and across the lifespan - to stay engaged with intellectual challenges, and to... [+] Show more
Short courses are not new. For decades, extension courses have enabled further education, community engagement and lifelong learning. Since 2012, online short courses - often called massive open online courses (MOOCs) - have been offered by hundreds of providers, mostly universities. Employers have offered their own in-house training programs for years, and industry bodies have managed certifications and licences to practice. These various forms of non-formal learning have enabled learners - working or not, and across the lifespan - to stay engaged with intellectual challenges, and to remain current in their working lives. The disruption coming to the world of work is well documented. Micro-credentials and other forms of non-formal learning are emerging as potential solutions to the rapid upskilling that will be required. The formal qualification system is unlikely to cope, burdened with ever-increasing cost. The very people who could use micro-credentials most - mature learners already in the labour force - are engaging less in certified learning just when certification of skills will be required more. But microcredentials alone will not meet any nation's future educational needs: the key opportunity is to enable formal qualification systems to evolve to include short form credentials, some of which might be credit-bearing. This report focuses on higher education qualifications, but the recommendations might equally apply to vocational education. This report recommends immediate next steps to make micro-credentials work - or work better.
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