Many of the key market players have shown optimism for self-directed learning in corporate culture. And they are also the most hopeful about the acceptance of alternate credentials as proof of job candidates’ training. Credentialing may not negate the need for smarter and more ubiquitous learning analytics in this market, but it certainly can establish a certain quality in skillset and ability that is attached to an employee.
These brief case studies establish the promise for the current and near future incarnations of self directed learning in the professional world:
Micah Altman, director of research at MIT Libraries, wrote, “Over the last 15 years we have seen increasing success in making open course content available, followed by success teaching classes online at scale (e.g., Coursera, edX). The next part of this progression will be online credentialing. Starbucks’ partnership with Arizona State University to provide large numbers of its employees with the opportunity to earn a full degree online is indicative of this shift. Progress in online credentialing will be slower than progress in online delivery, because of the need to comply with or modify regulation, establish reputation, and overcome entrenched institutional interests in residential education. Notwithstanding, I am optimistic we will see substantial progress in the next decade – including more rigorous and widely accepted competency-based credentialing.”
Justin Reich, executive director at the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, commented, “New forms of for-profit certification, like programming boot camps and Code Academy, will present themselves as new and revolutionary, though they continue in a tradition of IT certification that goes back to Microsoft certificate programs and further back. New forms of certificates and credentialing will be accepted by employers in limited circumstances, especially those in which employers are involved in developing the certificate.”
Mike O’Connor, now retired, wrote, “Online classrooms have advanced a lot since the early days. And the good ones can do a great job of developing crucial online collaboration and learning skills. … Employers who only accept traditionally credentialed applicants are stupid. Speaking as an entrepreneur with several successes (and many failures) under his belt, I can testify that we hardly ever looked at traditional credentials when making key hires.”
Will there would be enough supply for the rising demand ?
The coming years are projected to mark a shift in the longevity of career skills. The latest research indicates that a half-life of a professional skill will go from 30 years to 6 years in short order (Deloitte Insights 2017. World Economic Forum 2018). We project this to mean that corporations will need to step in, adopt industry-wide or geographically recognized credentials that have been attained by working professionals. Education institutions alone will not be able to keep pace with the future of life-long learning, when careers hang in the balance of mastering a new set of skills every half-decade.