The World Economic Forum’s most recent Future of Jobs Report(released January 9, 2025) includes more than 1,000 global employers representing more than 14 million workers and reports that “workers can expect that two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period.” Broadening digital access and the need for new technical skills, increasing costs of living, and key demographic shifts will “drive an increase in demand for skills in talent management, teaching and mentoring, and motivation and self-awareness.”
Additionally, a misalignment between skills, education and training opportunities, and labor market needs is plaguing industries (see The Great Misalignment from Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University), and will only be exacerbated given the rapid advancements in technology and the dynamic global, political, workforce, and social conditions.
HLC’s Credential Lab is aiming to help institutions navigate these dynamic conditions.
A New Resource: The Microcredential Partnerships With Purpose Planning Tool
Here is the first of many tools to support institutions in partnership with employers: The Microcredential Partnerships with Purpose Planning Tool.
Created by Laura Pedrick from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erica Noll Crawford from Miami University, and Melanie Booth from HLC’s Credential Lab, this tool is intended to help institutions identify and assess various employer and community-based partnerships and opportunities and align them with institutional goals for microcredentialing.
The tool guides microcredential partnership designers in reviewing existing institutional partnerships and developing new partnerships that have the highest potential for impact and growth. By embracing and adapting tools such as this, institutions can forge meaningful partnerships that advance education and workforce alignment, driving success for learners, employers, and communities alike.
The Microcredential Partnerships with Purpose Tool is just one of many resources to come that will be developed through HLC’s Credential Lab Innovation Center. As microcredential initiatives evolve, so will these resources, incorporating new insights, employer needs, and opportunities for higher education to improve alignment to labor market needs and connect learners to career opportunities.
HLC’s Innovation Center Design Team came together in November to envision and design a collection of resources and programming aimed at helping institutions facilitate change and support for educational innovation to meet the needs of 21st century learners and employers.
Update on HLC’s Credential Lab Education and Training Provider Endorsement
HLC’s Credential Lab has been continuing its work with national experts on the Quality Assurance Design Team and is in the process of piloting the Endorsement prototype created for third-party credential-related educational providers. Six education and training providers, representing diverse industries and offerings, are engaged in the first pilot. The Endorsement aims to support and inform strategic and effective partnerships by highlighting third-party education and training provider organizations that are trustworthy partners in developing learners’ skills to advance career opportunities and address labor market needs.
For more information about HLC’s Credential Lab, to connect, or to get involved, contact [email protected].
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