Micro-credentials at Higher Education Institutions: Towards Smooth Sailing Ahead

Abstract

Micro-credentials have gained tremendous popularity in education particularly over the past few years. This is largely due to the continual economic demands for lifelong and life-wide learning of all adults to remain employable, adaptable, and productive. The job market today has demonstrated urgent needs for Micro-credentials -short learning chunks that focus on specific professional skill sets. As a result, many higher education institutions (HEIs) today is offering micro-credentials both to working professionals as well as students. They ensure that the qualification earned will meet industry-specific needs and is relevant and recognized by future employers. Despite all the benefits gained from Microcredentials, it has not yet been extensively adopted even with guidance from UNESCO through The Global 2030 Agenda and MQA through the Guidelines to Good Practices (GGP) in Malaysia. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome before micro-credentials can sail smoothly ahead. This paper aims to examine the challenges faced by HEIs in implementing micro-credentials. The review will pro-video input to HEIs to facilitate a more efficient implementation of their micro-credential programmed.