1.2.3. Properties and Elements of a MC (building blocks)
a) properties
In the first section a) of §5 of the EU Council Recommendation, we can find criteria for the properties of MCs: ‘Microcredentials are owned by the learner, can be shared and are portable. They may be stand-alone or combined into larger credentials. They are underpinned by quality assurance following agreed standards in the relevant sector or area of activity’.
With this in mind, you are invited to have a look at the slides below.
b) elements
The EU Council Recommendation also gives details on the constituting elements of a MicroCredential in Annex 1, stating: ‘The use of the European standard elements to describe micro-credentials does not, in itself, imply official validation or recognition, but is a key enabler for it’. This is a remit and mission for issuers, quality assurance agencies and recognition departments of various stakeholders.
The following slides will give an overview.
With background described here, the partners in EU are invited and challenged to transform the recommendations of the EU Commission into something more tangible. The 2023 European Year of Skills is an opportunity to take on this task.
Every transformation needs exploration and discussion, particular with regard to MicroCredentials:
Fig. 1.9. Reasons and Impact of MCs (Graphic: CEDEFOP ACVT/DGVT meeting 2022) https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news/microcredentials-new-opportunity-lifelong-learning
As shown in the picture, expectations and speculations are manifold in times of shortage of skilled employees. However, political, institutional and operational settings provide for the substrate fostering the development of MCs, and each implementation of a MC will bring new insights helping to channel the debate towards a reasonable design of these small and flexible learning units.