A global shortage of skilled technical workers in areas such as advanced manufacturing, semiconductor production, and IT is impacting both the private and public sectors. While these in-demand technical roles require specific skills, they often don’t require four-year degrees. As a result, organizations are utilizing skills-based hiring practices to help fill workforce gaps.
Rather than focusing on degrees, skills-based hiring prioritizes a candidate’s capabilities and competencies. In other words, hiring managers are focusing on whether candidates can perform the skills needed for the role, instead of the degree a candidate holds.
In the U.S. alone, 23 states and territories have started shifting toward skills-based hiring and nearly two-thirds of employers in the U.S. are using skills-based hiring to find qualified candidates.
The current shift toward skills-based hiring presents a major opportunity for technical training providers. While programs like apprenticeships, vocational training, and professional certifications are excellent for filling the workforce pipeline, organizations still need a way to assess whether learners possess the specific skills required for the job. This is where skills-based microcredentials come in.
What are skills-based microcredentials?
Microcredentials show mastery of specialized skills in high-demand technical areas like cleanroom safety, manufacturing equipment repair, and data analysis. Learners earn microcredentials by demonstrating their skills through performance assessment. These credentials may also be stackable, allowing learners to earn several to show a collective or growing skillset in a defined area. They are also verifiable and digitally shareable, highlighting to potential employers the skills learners have acquired.
Benefits of IEEE Microcredentials
As training providers consider offering skills-based microcredentials, choosing the right partner to validate credentials will be key for industry recognition. IEEE has the credibility and infrastructure to offer trusted verification of microcredentials that meets industry needs and creates new opportunities for those traditionally underrepresented in technical fields.
IEEE has been partnering with training providers, conference organizers, and industry leaders to validate training programs and issue verified professional technical credentials for more than 30 years. Here are the key ways that IEEE delivers for training providers.
1. Provides standardization and trust
IEEE is setting the standard for validation of skills-based microcredentials by establishing a common definition for microcredentials, assessment validation tools and methods, qualifications for instructors, and the credentials themselves. The IEEE seal of approval ensures that microcredentials are backed by rigorous assessment and recognized by industry.
2. Offers seamless implementation
IEEE has an existing digital credentialing platform and governance structure that makes it easy for a variety of training providers to offer verified skills-based microcredentials seamlessly and efficiently. The IEEE credential platform serves as a central hub where training providers can upload course material, assessments, and instructor biographies.
3. Designed for industry relevance
IEEE works with training providers to design industry-recognized microcredentials to help fill the workforce pipeline and validate the skills needed for technicians and operators – ensuring learners are industry ready. With IEEE, training providers can build tailored skills-based microcredentials and perform rigorous assessment, ensuring that industry leaders trust the quality of the credential being provided.
4. Drives revenue opportunities
With IEEE, training providers can use microcredentials to reach more learners and enhance program offerings. Microcredentials are accessible to a wider group of learners and workers because they are less time intensive and more affordable than traditional degree programs. Additionally, the stackable nature of microcredentials encourages learners to return for sequential, specialized programs, generating recurring revenue and supporting lifetime learning.
5. Supports new career pathways
IEEE microcredentials offer new pathways to technical careers for learners regardless of where they are in their professional journey. Entry-level professionals can use microcredentials to gain and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to enter skilled technical roles in areas like electronics, mechanics, and semiconductor manufacturing. Current professionals can also earn microcredentials to upskill for new opportunities or reskill for an organization’s emerging business needs.
Interested in expanding your learning programs with IEEE Microcredentials? Contact us and our team will help you get started.