Micro-credentials recognize standalone, short-duration learning experiences that are competency based; align with industry, employer, community, and/or Indigenous community needs; and can be assessed and recognized for employment or learning purposes.
Micro-credentials are the result of post-secondary institutions working together with industry and non-profit associations. They are flexible, small, bite-size pieces of learning that are highly applicable.
The micro-credential project will benefit many people in our province — people who need to retrain to meet an industry skills gap, those who want to be recognized for skills they already have, and learners who have barriers to access that need to be removed. Stakeholders for this project include learners, industry, post-secondary institutions, and non-profit associations.
Building Capacity in B.C. Post-Secondary Institutions
BCcampus is involved in the third phase of a project with the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills that focuses on building capacity to design, develop, and implement micro-credentials in post-secondary institutions in B.C. Two key aspects of this project are
- Adaptation of eCampusOntario’s Micro-Credential Toolkit to be used in B.C. This toolkit will be launched in spring 2023.
- Design and delivery of a one-day online learning event focused on competency-based learning and micro-credentials. This event, Micro-Credentials: Competency at the Core, took place in February 2023.
Micro-Credentials: Competency at the Core
The following recordings from the Micro-Credentials: Competency at the Core learning event are available:
- Dr. Lena Patterson’s keynote: Transitions: A Competency Approach to Micro-credentials
- Dennis Green’s session on competency frameworks
- Panel 1: DigiBC, Vancouver Community College, and Industrial Light & Magic
- Panel 2: BCIT and EllisDon Construction
- Graphic overview of the day by Michelle Buchholz from Cassyex Consulting
Related resources:
Several recent reports on micro-credentials are available online:
- Micro-credentials: Trends in Credit Transfer and Credentialing: Prepared for the British Columbia Council on Admissions & Transfer by Joanne Duklas
- Is the Future Micro?: Prepared for the Ted Rogers School of Management Diversity Institute, Future Skills Centre, and eCampusOntario by many co-authors
- National Framework for Microcredentials: Written by Colleges and Institutes Canada
- Making Sense of Microcredentials: Prepared for the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario by Jackie Pichette, Sarah Brumwell, Jessica Rizk, and Steven Han
- Micro-Credentials Overview: Infographic created by BCcampus
- Micro-credential Framework for B.C.’s Public Post-Secondary Education System: Created by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training (now the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills) in September 2021
- eCampusOntario Open Competency Toolkit by Dennis Green and Carolyn Levy
Learn more:
BCcampus offers a Creative Commons–licensed online course called Micro-Credentials in the B.C. Context.
Please reach out to Ross McKerlich, project manager, BCcampus Micro-Credentials project, if you would like to use this course at your institution or for more information about this project.