According to one recent study, a massive 70% of corporate leaders say they've already identified some type of "critical skills gap" in their organization.
In this context, such a gap is defined as a lack of capability that is having "a negative impact on business performance."
Keep in mind that this is an issue impacting more than just short-term productivity.
Another study indicated that by the end of the decade, the combined talent shortage across all industries will cost the United States economy alone an estimated $8.5 trillion.
Sectors see skills gaps for a wide range of different reasons, but the overall theme is straightforward.
Businesses have a pressing need for highly specialized roles without highly specialized workers to fill them.
In an over-arching way, these are the types of issues that micro-credentials are designed to address.
Skills gaps are a short-term problem with long-term consequences.
They demand quick solutions and many can't afford to wait the minimum of four years for entire generations of employees to go back to school and earn new degrees so that they can shift the trajectory of their careers.
Micro-credentials have become a viable way to address that, allowing workers to let current and potential employers know that they have proficiency in a particular subject area, while allowing those same employers to easily identify those that can fill any skills gap that are present.
It's a win-win situation - employers get the labor they're after, and job candidates get to look as competitive as possible in a crowded marketplace.
From the perspective of companies everywhere, micro-credentials are a significant opportunity just waiting to be taken advantage of.
This type of targeted learning can not only boost employee performance, but it can also help an organization compete in the marketplace like never before.
Getting to that point, however, requires you to understand a few key things about what micro-credentials can do and where they can potentially take you and your workforce.
The Challenge of Skill Gaps in the Modern Workforce
Again, it's important to note that skills gaps are industry agnostic.
There isn't really any field that is totally immune to it, nor is there a business that can be "too small" to avoid impact.
In fact, it's those small and even mid-sized enterprises that will likely have the hardest time finding and retaining top talent.
One recent report indicated that by 2030, there could be as many as 85 million jobs that are unfilled.
That doesn't mean there will be 85 million fewer people looking for work.
That means there are 85 million roles where an ideal candidate to fill it may literally not exist - leaving both jobseekers and prospective employers in a harrowing situation with no easy solution.
Not only that, but research also indicates that the skills gap is growing.
About 1/3rd of employers who responded to one survey said that the issue was worse today than it was a year ago.
That's an unfortunate trend that shows no signs of slowing anytime soon, as 56% of hiring managers said that they believed technologies like artificial intelligence and other types of automation would again majorly shift the kinds of skills they look for in employees.
Micro-credentials help with all this enormously by offering highly targeted, industry-relevant, and most importantly, accessible training opportunities to prospective job hunters.
Think about it like this: if you're an employer looking for someone with a highly specialized skill, you may not be able to easily find it if you look at someone's four-year degree alone.
However, thanks to micro-credentials, you can easily add that skill as needed.
The same is true of job seekers.
If the market in a particular field shifts around you, and you're suddenly worried that your four-year degree or training isn't as relevant as it once was, you can always augment it through micro-credentials and continuing education.
That way, you can remain as competitive as possible, regardless of how frequently or quickly things change.
Identifying Skill Gaps in Your Organization
Within the context of your particular organization, one of the best ways to identify any issues you're dealing with has to do with periodic surveys and assessments.
Go to team leaders and department heads and ask them what they need in a candidate to be able to fill available positions.
What skills are required that they don't have access to right now?
Assessments can also be invaluable to that end because they can help identify areas where your current team might come up short.
Engaging in regular employee feedback and performance reviews is a similar concept.
You should also use industry benchmarks that, coupled with competitor analysis, will help you understand where you should be versus where you currently are.
If there is a competitor that you can't seem to outmatch, find out what skills they have that you don't.
How Micro-Credentials Offer Targeted Learning Solutions
One of the biggest ways in which micro-credentials benefit an organization comes by way of the focused modules for skill enhancement that they offer.
Something like a Computer Support Specialist micro-credential is more specific and targeted than a general computer science degree, for example.
Online Teaching Fundamentals micro-credentials are more specific than a general education degree.
This allows you to not only go after exactly the type of skills that you're looking for, but you can do so in an inherently customizable way.
With micro-credentials, everything can be tailored to suit the needs of the individual or organization.
There is nothing "too precise" or "too niche" to look for at that point.
This leads to a situation where a short-term commitment leads to significant long-term gain.
Many micro-credentials only take about 10 to 15 hours to complete and for that, individuals become more attractive to employers and employers remain competitive in an ever-changing market.
The Role of Management in Implementing Micro-Credentials
If your own organization wants to implement micro-credentials for employees, there are a few key steps you should follow.
First, as is true with almost any type of organizational change, your efforts must begin with leadership buy-in and support.
If company leadership doesn't see micro-credentials as important, employees won't, either.
Leadership needs to be wholly invested in these efforts if they are to have any serious chance of success.
This also means making sure that resources (including critical funds in the budget) are allocated to micro-credentials.
If you want someone to take a desired step, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to do so.
In terms of micro-credentials, it shouldn't be hard for employees to pursue this opportunity.
The organization should provide the resources for them to do so on their own terms.
Similarly, you should always monitor and track employee progress moving forward.
As people earn micro-credentials, you need to be able to track your own return on investment.
You should, in theory, be getting just as much out of it at an organizational level as the employees are.
If you're not, you need to ask yourself why and figure out what you can do about it.
Integrating Micro-Credentials into Existing Learning and Development Programs
One great way to integrate micro-credentials into your existing learning and development programs involves making them something of an extension of any cross-training opportunities you offer.
Cross-training itself is all about teaching employees new skills to perform tasks that their job may not have originally required.
Micro-credentials are largely the same thing but on a much larger scale.
Not only does this create more collaborative employees because with the new skills they're able to work with more people on varied projects, but it also helps to keep those employees engaged as well.
With micro-credentials and cross-training opportunities, people are less likely to see any position as a "dead-end job."
Another perfect way to integrate micro-credentials into what you're already doing involves making them a part of your continuous education credit program.
The best employees are always ones who are looking for opportunities to learn more, expand their skills, and develop into the best possible version of themselves.
Micro-credentials are a perfect way for them to do it.
As is true with continuous education as a whole, it makes employees more effective in their positions today and agile enough to evolve as things change in the future.
The ROI of Investing in Micro-Credentials For Skill Gap Closure
According to another recent study, there were roughly 1600 micro-credentials available in 2022 - nearly twice the amount available just a year prior.
The market wouldn't be growing that significantly were there not major benefits from micro-credentials, particularly in terms of the overall skills gap closure.
Micro-credentials help keep employees engaged, for example, because they make it easier to perform in a role and show employees that their employer is as invested in their success as they are themselves.
Not only is a happier and more engaged employee also more productive, but a highly engaged workforce can increase a business's overall profitability by as much as 21% in some cases.
Micro-credentials also go a long way towards helping to combat high employee turnover rates, too.
Again - people are less likely to see something as a "dead-end job" if they know that there are always opportunities for career advancement and development.
When you consider that it costs a business an average of between 6 and 9 months of an employee's salary to replace that person should they leave, it's easy to see why employee turnover is something you should always be focused on.
But most critically, it gives both employees and employers a competitive edge in the market.
If someone is looking for a job and there is a particularly competitive position they're after, they can make themselves a better candidate through micro-credentials.
Businesses don't have to scour high and low for someone with an education so highly specialized to fill a role that such a person might literally not exist.
They can fill in those gaps with micro-credentials.
Future Trends: Micro-Credentials and Evolving Skill Landscape
As mentioned, the skills gap is something that is already impacting virtually every industry you can name.
Thankfully, micro-credentials can allow all parties to adapt at this crucial moment in time.
Take software developers, for example. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be a global shortage of software engineers totaling 85.2 million by as soon as 2030.
Micro-credentials can help tremendously.
Job hunters can expand their skills into certain areas and niches that make them more competitive based on their own long-term goals, as opposed to entering the market with a more general technology or software development education.
Over time, micro-credentials will become so widely used that they will be subject to accreditation bodies and industry partners much like "traditional" degrees are now.
Where you achieve your micro-credentials will become just as important as having done so at all.
Changing the Workplace, One Skills Gap at a Time
Overall, micro-credentials are a proven, effective way to address any skills gaps that exist within your organization.
As soon as an issue is identified, micro-credentials represent an action that you can take to address those gaps and ensure that your business remains as competitive as possible, regardless of how quickly the world changes around you.
Of course, there are other benefits as well - many of which often go overlooked.
Micro-credentials give business leaders an opportunity to personalize their workforce through a highly specialized education that is essentially tailor-made with their goals in mind.
It helps enhance employee engagement and retention, two things that motivate people to do their best.
It also encourages lifelong learning - there's nothing better than an army of workers who are constantly striving to improve their capabilities over time.
Every organization's implementation process for micro-credentials will look a bit different, but one option you can explore is adding them to blended learning solutions.
That, continuous education credits, and cross-training opportunities are the perfect way to encourage workers to benefit themselves in a way that ultimately benefits you, too.
With all that in mind, it becomes clear why micro-credentials are of strategic importance.
Today, they help close the types of skills gaps that will negatively impact you tomorrow.
They allow your operations to remain competitive and, most importantly, flexible - regardless of what is going on in the world around you.
They help with productivity gains.
They improve employee retention rates.
But they also give you a competitive edge in the market - which in and of itself is the most important benefit of all.
If you'd like to find out more information about micro-credentials and the important role they will play in addressing the workplace skill gaps that exist all around us, or if you have any additional questions about a marketing plan for micro-credential program offerings that you'd like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please don't hesitate to contact us today.
