The European Digital Education Hub recently hosted a two-day workshop on micro-credentials in Castelldefels, Spain, on 20 and 21 March 2023. The workshop brought together participants from 16 countries and from various educational contexts, including higher education, vocational education and training, adult learning, non-formal education, as well as public, non-governmental, and international organizations. The workshop aimed to identify the best ways to implement the Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability.
The Council Recommendation, adopted in June 2022, was the first time that multiple EU states agreed on a shared definition of micro-credentials, as well as the potential to use them to specifically target disadvantaged groups. Micro-credentials have emerged as an important policy topic in recent years, particularly with regards to the European workforce’s need for reskilling and upskilling.
The workshop began with an introduction on the value of micro-credentials in different contexts and for various groups such as employers, employees, educators, and public authorities. This was followed by a session where participants shared their visions for micro-credentials. Yann-Maël Bideaud from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture presented the European approach to micro-credentials.
The participants reported current challenges in education and discussed possible solutions. For instance, employees have difficulties getting recognition for prior learning and generally lack knowledge and information regarding micro-credentials. On the second day, participants discussed how the challenges related to micro-credentials impact the identified groups active in the field, leading to the establishment of a working group on micro-credentials that will collaborate in the European Digital Education Hub environment and address the challenges discussed during the workshop.
The workshop was held in conjunction with the Micro-Credentials Summit, which took place from 21-24 March 2023. The summit aimed to build on the EU Council Recommendation by finding ways to use this legislative basis to accelerate adoption, acceptance, and recognition of short-form education across the continent and beyond. The summit was an international gathering of thought leaders, innovators, policymakers, and practitioners working to improve the flexibility and responsiveness of educational systems.
The European Year of Skills 2023 has been declared, which means that there are several policy developments on the broader topic of skills. As the demand for reskilling and upskilling grows, micro-credentials may become an increasingly important tool for lifelong learning in Europe.
