Employees learn and develop with microcredentials

What is a microcredential?

‘We actually cut the current study programme around a certain topic or theme into small modules to be able to fill in the demand together with the work field. It is really demand-driven with the knowledge from the content present within Fontys and supplemented by the work field, the need. If someone then successfully completes this module, he or she receives an officially recognised certificate, in the form of a microcredential. This states what they have learned and what knowledge they possess after completing the module. This allows participants to acquire skills and competences in a targeted and just-in-time manner and to shape their personal development path at their own pace. Whereby it is possible to use the microcredentials to demonstrate the knowledge you have gained, allowing you, for example, to get an exemption for certain parts of a master's degree. In the future, ideally, a combination of microcredentials could even enable you to obtain a master's degree. But that is still future music,’ Noud Dirkx, consultant education & research within Fontys University of Applied Sciences, notes enthusiastically. ‘We as Fontys are thereby giving a new impetus to Lifelong Learning and it contributes to making education for Professionals more flexible.’

The Data Driven Business Lab course

Fontys ICT was one of the first Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands to obtain a microcredential for the abbreviated Data Driven Business lab study programme. The abridged study programme, which teaches you how to become a data-driven professional, is part of the Accelerate IT programme within Fontys ICT. This range of 18-week study programmes is aimed at developing skills that match the current needs of the labour market. Besides Data Driven Business Lab, courses such as AI for Society and Digital Marketing are also available. Dirkx: ‘With this, we are building a bridge between education and practice. The first reactions are enthusiastic and you can see results. The road is now open to obtain microcredentials for several study programmes. Because what is applicable in the field of ICT is of course also interesting for other work fields.’

Connecting to practice

That Fontys meets a need with the microcredentials is also certainly recognised by Maurice van Veghel, chairman of the board of SPARC & CTO Logicall. Within this cooperative, a number of regional ICT companies have joined forces with the aim of increasing the region's ICT innovation power and speeding up processes. SPARC does this partly by submitting research proposals which, once approved, are carried out within educational institutions such as Fontys in the form of applied research. ‘And in that context, I definitely see added value in terms of microcredentials. Professionals and students work side by side, learning from each other and developing innovative solutions to complex issues. Such a collaboration offers both students and professionals valuable practical experience and makes learning very valuable,’ Van Veghel emphasises. ‘ICT is probably the most recognisable example of this. Digitisation is unstoppable and new developments - for example in the field of AI and robotics - are going so fast that we as a society in general and the business community in particular have to pull out all the stops to keep up. But the issues of the day combined with a tight labour market often prevent us from being able or willing to free up time. But taking a module with a microcredential certification does offer you the chance to brush up on your knowledge in a short and efficient way. In doing so, Fontys meets a need that we as an ICT sector have, at least very strongly. And I am convinced that this applies to more sectors.’

Practical experience

Bas Kardaun works as a care coach at an organisation that supports people with disabilities so that they can live their own lives independently as much as possible. Kardaun specifically coaches some of the colleagues in their care towards clients. He is taking the course ‘Data Driven Business Lab’. ‘I am convinced that data can help us do our work better. But how can you unlock data, what options and systems are there and how can you allocate the conclusions from that data in your business operations? You'll gain that insight by taking this course. But more importantly, you can also apply it directly in your work. In fact, there is room within the study programme to use your own accents from the work field. That makes it very useful. Not least because of the input of your fellow students, with whom you work together in a project group, but certainly also because of the students' input. They often have a slightly different, fresh perspective, which forces you to think out of the box. That keeps you on your toes and makes you alert on the shop floor. So for me, taking this course, which I hope to complete in January, is a great way to develop myself and help the organisation move forward. In my own way and at my own pace. Because unlike a full study programme, being able to divide your time, energy and also budget is also something that appeals to me. Getting a microcredential is feasible and affordable. As far as I am concerned, therefore, an initiative worth following.’

Find out more about microcredentials at Fontys at the website.

Want to know more about courses for professionals at Fontys ICT? www.fontys.nl/accelerate-IT

Source: Brabant in Business