“For organisations, micro-credentials can be the key to bringing women back into the workplace,” writes Heather Shulick, EVP of HR at ALL Campus for Fast Company. These micro-credentials might just be what is needed for women looking to re-enter the workforce in a post-pandemic era.
Short courses are called micro-credentials (also, mini-qualifications or nanodegrees) and can indicate several important elements about a candidate. A micro-credential is a skill that has been learned, tested, and assessed. The person has verified proof that they have achieved something from a skills point of view.
What has changed in the workforce?
Over the past years, many professional women have been forced to reset their life priorities. Some have had to take a break from full-time work to take care of their families during this challenging time.
Through this they have not only become resilient in their diverse skills, but have rethought new ways of re-entering or upholding their careers. For some, upskilling through digital training programs, online short courses and other career boosting programs has helped them to gain much needed current skills which are highly sought after.
The learning hasn’t all resulted in one ‘macro’ credential such as a university degree, but rather smaller, more focused skills development such as short courses. These acquired skill sets may be on the recently released South African critical skills list, they might be tech oriented which would give any organisation an advantage in the new digital age. These types of nanodegrees on a CV will strengthen the way your company can hire highly sought after newer skills, and enable a candidate to fill the much needed requirements in a job spec. Which means employers need to consider the value of experience and smaller skills-based credentials to hire the right people.
Women are looking to re-enter the workforce
Now that the worst of the pandemic is over, many women are looking to re-enter the workforce which makes it the perfect time for employers to recruit skilled women.
Dr. Kristin Ferguson suggests that employees are looking to find meaning and purpose in their work as well as to search for organisations that align with their wants and needs. As an employer, you could be missing out on critically skilled women due to overlooking micro-credentials and additional courses on a CV.
So, what should employers be looking for on a CV?
The quality of the applications you receive will ultimately rest in the candidate's character and the overall value that they are able to bring into your organisation. However, there are a few key things to look out for on a CV that we would consider to be micro-credentials.
Short courses
When it comes to valuable and verifiable micro-credentials, you could look at the short courses on a candidate’s CV. Completed short courses are beneficial to a company in a few ways because they show commitment, self-discipline, time management and that someone has a desire to learn. Not to mention that the candidate is aware of the latest information within their field.
Learning programs or bootcamps
Nanodegrees can be found in learning programs or bootcamps. For example, a year-long data science program. Look out for upskilling in several different, relevant skills through non-traditional routes of learning.
Digital badges
This would be a shorter part of a possibly bigger online course completed in something specific. You may have seen these sorts of quizzes and mini accomplishments on LinkedIn and various other channels. These digital or web badges are often shared on social media and possibly listed on a CV. They would be defined as evidence that the person has acquired a certain set of skills or knowledge.
Forward-thinking recruitment and hiring solutions
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