IEEE Offers Skilled-based Microcredentials – IEEE Spectrum

High-tech industries around the world need skilled technical workers, employees with skills-based knowledge. A recent Deloitte report estimates that the semiconductor industry alone will need more than 1 million workers globally by 2030.

Many of the most essential jobs, while specialized and requiring specific skills, don’t necessarily require a four-year degree. As a result, companies are considering different programs to evaluate workers’ skills for industry-readiness. Apprenticeships, vocational programs, and professional certifications are great ways to fill the talent pipeline, but companies still need a method to assess whether learners have the required skills. One way is through skills-based microcredentials.

What are microcredentials?

Microcredentials can validate specialized skills in high-demand technical areas such as clean-room safety, manufacturing equipment repair, and data analysis. Learners earn microcredentials by demonstrating their skills through an assessment designed to evaluate them.

Microcredentials are stackable, allowing learners to earn multiple credentials within a single defined area, showing a growing skill set. They are also verifiable and digitally shareable, enabling employers to see the skills that each learner has acquired.

Difference makers

Credential is an umbrella term for achievements professionals earn through educational programs. Non-degree credentials often are earned over a shorter period of time, cost less, and can be used to highlight skills for specialized roles. Some common types of credentials include certifications and microcredentials.

Certifications validate mastery of a specific body of knowledge through a rigorous exam, and they often require ongoing education. They typically are given for completing a training course and passing an assessment test to earn professional credits or fulfill licensing requirements.

Microcredentials can be more accessible because they take less time to earn and are more affordable. They also have fewer rules governing their definition. Industry recognition, the issuer’s reputation, and third-party validation of the program can help assure their quality.

Who can earn microcredentials?

Prospective employees and those currently working in technology fields can use microcredentials to demonstrate newly acquired knowledge. Microcredentials can help entry-level professionals gain the knowledge and skills needed to join fields such as electronics, mechanics, and semiconductor manufacturing.

Getting started with IEEE

As companies look for valuable credentials to help ease their labor shortages, IEEE has the credibility and infrastructure to offer trusted verification of skills-based microcredentials that meet industry needs and create new opportunities for those traditionally underrepresented in technical fields.

IEEE Educational Activities 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.

To learn more about IEEE microcredentials and how your organization can offer them, check out the IEEE Credentialing Program web page or contact us.