Imagine an educational and employment landscape where micro-credential is not just an asset but a necessity.
Within the dynamic European professional landscape marked by continual technological and economic advancement, the call for innovation in educational and training frameworks has escalated to unprecedented heights. The significance of innovation in both individual and institutional learning and teaching cannot be overstated. With the continuous progression of technology and the ever-evolving nature of work, micro-credentials are emerging as an increasingly integral aspect of the educational and employment domain.
This is the essence of the Microidea project, an initiative conceived under the Erasmus+ umbrella. The project addresses the need for individuals to continuously update their skills and the demand from employers for a more streamlined approach to identifying candidates with specific skills.
The question we posed was simple: How do we achieve this? What if we could directly connect micro-credentials with the labor market? The skills acquired should align with learning outcomes and occupational skills, facilitating gainful and sustainable employment by securing skills and qualifications, and where possible occupation.
The goal of Microidea is to introduce a holistic and comprehensive methodology for establishing principles to design, issue, assess, validate, and certify micro-credentials that are widely recognized in a European level, integrated into existing quality and assurance systems. The project advocates for:
- Innovative approaches with the potential for mainstream adoption to enhance educational and training systems, as well as the effectiveness of policies and practices.
- Launching pilot actions focused on the Tourism sector, a vital component of the economies of participating countries.
- Supporting transnational cooperation and mutual learning.
However, Microidea goes further, having specific objectives:
- Developing a micro-credential system linked to ISO 17024.
- Formulating a methodology to harmonize national certification systems with an international validation/certification system (ISO/IEC 17024)
- Designing and implementing an online tool to support skills needs analysis, accessible to all.
- Implementing the introduced micro-credential system for occupations in the Tourism sector.
- Communicating, disseminating, and exploiting projects outputs and results to ensure lasting impacts on relevant European policies.
This project is driven forward by dedicating partners from five countries: Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Polland and Belgium. Each brings a unique perspective to the table, united by the common goal of making micro-credentials applicable to lifelong learning and employability across all sectors.
Microidea is more than just a project, it’s a movement that enables portability of micro-credentials across countries, employers, education sectors, and labor markets.
Stay tuned for further updates on progress and results of Microidea.