We’re sleepwalking into a microcredentialised world.
For those who are not fans of neologisms, a microcredential is like a regular credential (an honours degree, a kitchen hygiene grade, a “Safety in Water” certificate…) but – well – smol.
Microcredentials are not the same as a short course – which may well be the same size as a microcredential – because a short course doesn’t always work in isolation and lead to a specific and useful qualification.
Massive Open Online Courses are another example of something that is nearly but not quite a microcredential – despite the name these are generally pretty short, and you can sometimes pay a MOOC provider some money to let you print out a certificate to put on your wall. However, very few reputable employers or educational institutions would care if you used a MOOC certificate to claim you had some kind of knowledge or skills.
