Microcredentials address skills shortages – but we must keep it real

Inherently, the programs are of short duration – anything from a few hours to a few weeks – and, typically, are offered online for added flexibility.

Ideally, microcredentials are a pathway to more formal learning such as a diploma, especially when two or more courses are combined – or “stacked” – on each other.

Not all credentials are the same

As the vocational education sector’s past woes have shown, there’s a need to ensure the microcredentials sector is subject to appropriate standards that also don’t impinge on the more informal and flexible nature of the learnings.

There are myriad short-form courses on offer – many of them free and not providing the outcomes for learners or giving confidence to prospective employers.

So, what are the key traits of a genuine microcredential course?

The short-form answer is that they must be structured and conducted with clearly stated objectives and with relevance to the real working world.

Crucially, the students should be formally assessed on the acquired skills.

The nature and purpose of microcredentials is being addressed by Canberra’s highest echelons, as the government seeks to address stubborn skills shortages and better define the sector.

The recently released final report of the Australian Universities Accord proposes a system of microcredentials that are “funded, accredited and recognised” federally.

The report’s recommendations – including enhanced student funding – are yet to be legislated. But the federal government has already committed $18.5 million to a pilot scheme, aimed at testing microcredentials in skills-deficient industries such as health, engineering, IT, science and education.

Funding up to 4000 students, the pilot is assisting higher education providers to design and deliver microcredential courses that provide credit towards a higher education qualification.

Industry partners add clout

Pleasingly, there’s a strong recognition from governments and universities alike about the importance of “real world” industry partnerships, rather than the content being delivered by academics alone.

This “keep it real” ethos is embodied in RMIT Online Future Skills which offers 65 microcredential courses, all of them co-created with industry partnerships.

The courses cover popular core disciplines such as digital marketing and product and project management, but also future-facing topics such as sustainability for business, blockchain and AI.

In collaboration with the disability agency Melba Support Services, a registered NDIS provider in Victoria, RMIT Online has built a microcredential course addressing accessibility standards in the workplace.

In a market first, RMIT Online and accounting and consulting firm Deloitte have launched a course on new sustainability and climate-related financial reporting standards.

The timing is not a coincidence, as it comes ahead of the introduction of new accounting mandates that will require organisations to identify sustainability and climate risks and develop strategies to mitigate them.

In a reference to the relevant global and local accounting standards, the course is known as “sustainability and climate-related financial reporting: ISSB, ASRS and beyond”.

The rules apply to Australia’s biggest companies from July 2024 and, rather like tax time, they are likely to creep up on them. So, there’s an urgent need for companies to upskill their accounting and compliance people, enabling them to transcend the traditional numbers-only or “box-ticking” reporting mentality.

According to an RMIT Online survey of 400 Australian employers, businesses plan to spend about $8 billion on learning and development this year ­– a 15 per cent increase year on year.

That shows businesses know they not only need to upskill employees to stay competitive, but to counteract the skills shortage by keeping employees motivated and more likely to stay.

On the flipside, employees increasingly are aware of the need to acquire real life skills at a time of declining white-collar job security.

For both parties, RMIT Online’s partnerships with leading organisations have set the benchmark for accredited and well-constructed microcredentials.

Julian Stevenson is RMIT Online’s director of product and operations.