Microcredentials: what are they, and will they really revolutionise education and improve job prospects?

By Renee Desmarchelier, Director (Microcredential Unit), University of Southern Queensland

In June 2020, then education minister Dan Tehan together with employment minister Michaelia Cash, announced A$4.3 million for a microcredential “marketplace”. This would, they said, provide a nationally consistent platform to compare course outcomes, duration, mode of delivery and credit value.

The announcement came when universities were losing money from COVID border closures that locked out international students. It showed the importance the federal government placed on funding…

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