Abstract:

Triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital transformation accelerated not only in workplaces but also in the private sphere. The European Commission has found that people need to close the gaps between their past formal education and the demands of the changing labour market and society. According to a study by McKinsey, a large number of workers will lose or change their jobs as a result. With automation and digitalization, demand occupations will be redundant.

Microcredentials are based on a principle of lifelong learning. People will acquire qualifications in the form of further education or work experience throughout their lives and thus continue to develop. Compared to traditional degrees today, people are more flexible in acquiring qualifications. Work experience forms an essential component of skills acquisition.

A micro-credential defines an isolated demonstration of a learner’s performance in a small, well-defined learning task. It describes the knowledge and skills at various learning levels for a particular subject area. A qualified organisation is responsible for providing quality assurance to establish the standard in order to issue the credential to the student.

Online learning platforms, such as Coursera, edX, or FutureLearn, already provide such microcredentials. These are however neither regulated nor accredited. To make microcredentials suitable for mass use, the EU has set itself the goal of clarifying all open questions about transferability and recognition in comparison with other educational institutions by 2025. In a survey conducted by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in spring 2022, 20% of educational institutions already reported issuing micro-credentials. A further 24% are currently discussing the introduction of micro-credentials.

One example of the issuance of microcredentials for work experience is the acquisition of knowledge in a dual study program. A dual study program consists of theoretical and practical phases, which are ideally coordinated in terms of content. Students spend the practical phases at companies of various sizes. The goal of this paper is to understand the skills that are acquired in the practical phase in more detail for students of Computer Science and Business Informatics at the Cooperative State University of Baden-Württemberg, one of the largest German undergraduate institutions. A survey will collect information about hard skills (ie. Python), dispositions (ie. teamwork) and methodological skills (i.e. Agile PM). At this time, 116 responses have been received and more are expected. 94 of the respondents would like to receiving certification for their practical experience. The results of the survey will lead to a standardised skill description for certifying a practical phase. Practical phases are already accredited and receive ECTS points. We will report on skills in relation to the IEEE standard for Dispositions, referenced below.

Keywords:

Work Skills, Microcredentials, Dispositions, Future Skills, Lifelong Learning.