Mini-Guide: Micro-Credentials for Corporate Training Programs

As a corporate training professional, it’s your job to create learning experiences that improve your employees’ effectiveness and encourage retention. In order to achieve this, your organization needs to deliver high-value content in accessible, bite-sized bursts.

As a result, microlearning has risen in prominence in the world of instructional design, whereas instructor-led training sessions are being used during in-person training events. 

So, how can you deliver these learning experiences as part of your corporate training strategy? Enter micro-credentials. 

In this article, we’ll explore what micro-credentials are, their benefits, and how they can fit into your corporate training strategy. We’ll also describe how corporate event management software can help you reach your training goals. Let’s dive in! 

What Are Micro-Credentials?

Like many companies, your organization might be undergoing a “skills revolution.” That is, you’re realizing that upskilling your employees is crucial for staying competitive in today’s rapidly evolving landscape. 

In fact, upskilling employees is a priority for 62% of CEOs recently surveyed by LinkedIn. 

This is where micro-credentials come in. 

Micro-credentials are short, stackable courses that your employees can use to develop specific skills. These courses are hyper-focused on a specific ability and generally completed quickly enough that employees can easily fit them into their existing workload. 

Their short, modular nature has made micro-credentials a popular solution to the ongoing need for upskilling and reskilling corporate teams.

Some fields that benefit most from micro-credentials include:

• IT Support
• Project Management
• UX Design
• Cyber Security
• Marketing

This is far from an expansive list when it comes to the possibilities of micro-credentials. These courses can effectively train employees on a wide range of activities—from soft skills like hosting effective presentations, to technical skills such as navigating data analytics software.

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What Are the Benefits of Micro-Credentials for Corporations?

Adjusting your corporate training strategy often requires significant time and resources. There are 2 primary benefits that suggest micro-credentials are worth the investment, including:

1. Improved employee retention

Hyper-personalization has taken center stage when it comes to the type of learning that employees actually want to complete. 

With micro-credentials, employees can target their training to align with their personal career goals, such as becoming a cybersecurity analyst or digital transformation expert. 

When employees see a clear path toward their goals through your corporate training program, they’re more likely to remain with your company.

2. Higher skilled employees

Building a learning culture means your staff will continuously improve their skills over time. A proficient staff translates into greater productivity and efficiency, fewer mistakes, improved retention rates, and a competitive edge for your company.

Micro-credentials can be developed fairly rapidly with the help of instructional design professionals. This makes them a sustainable training method, empowering you to continue creating credentials that meet employees’ needs now and in the future.

How Can Micro-Credentials Fit into Your Organization’s Training Efforts?

From the learner’s perspective, completing a micro-credential involves the following steps:

1. Choose a skill-focused credential to complete, e.g. machine learning and artificial intelligence.
2. Review recorded lectures, seminars, or online learning materials.
3. Complete any corresponding assignments.
4. Pass an assessment or skills test to demonstrate learning. 
5. Earn the micro-credential badge or certificate, if applicable.

Once you understand what these courses look like from the learner’s perspective, it’s easier to see how they can fit into your company’s training efforts.

How Are Micro-Credentials Delivered?

Generally speaking, there are 2 ways to deliver micro-credentials for corporate training:

Asynchronous online learning

This is the most common method of delivering micro-credentials to employees.

Employees complete a credential fully on their own time, whether between meetings, during their lunch break, or after normal working hours. 

The credential materials are delivered through a self-directed online course. This ensures employees are absorbing the information at their own pace in a way that’s conducive to their unique learning style.

Asynchronous online learning works well for required courses. It’s also perfect for employees who want to go above and beyond by completing non-required credentials for their own professional development.

Corporate training events

To encourage a large number of employees to complete the same credential at once, we recommend pairing micro-credentials with corporate training events. 

For example, you can use a corporate training event to:

• Kick off a new micro-credential. Employees attend a synchronized lecture before splitting off to complete additional independent training.

• End a micro-credential. In this scenario, employees take their final assessment and get recognized for their achievements.

You could even host a multi-track event that features different micro-credential opportunities, giving employees the option to choose which credential they’d like to complete!

And because micro-credentials are largely completed online, these strategies work well whether you’re hosting an in-person, virtual, or hybrid training event.

LEARN MORE: Building a Winning Corporate Events Program: 7 Critical Success Factors

How Can You Get Started with Authoring Micro-Credentials for Your Team?

If you’re ready to begin using micro-credentials in your corporate training strategy, consider partnering with an instructional design expert.

As with public speaking, authoring micro-credentials is a skill. Your in-house instructors and learning professionals may not be familiar with this type of course. 

An instructional design expert can train your team on how to author micro-credentials effectively. This will give your team the foundation to continue authoring these courses going forward.

Further, many instructional design partners now use rapid instructional design to bring courses to life faster and more efficiently than ever before! So, if your team is at capacity and unable to develop its own credential materials, a partner can remove that task from your to-do list.

Manage Your Entire Portfolio of Corporate Training and Education Programs in One Place

In today’s competitive landscape, it’s never been more important to offer personalized, accessible, and skills-focused learning to your employees. Micro-credentials are the ideal solution to meet all of these requirements!

If you’re looking for a partner to streamline your corporate event management, look no further than Attendease by Tripleseat. 

Our corporate event software enables the following: 

• Your portal for all education events
• Deliver in-person, virtual, or hybrid experiences
• Keep control of your brand
• Save time and resources with automation

Ready to make employee upskilling easier and more seamless than ever before? Book a demo today!

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