Considering the relative novelty and growing use of microcredentials, evidence of their impact is still scarce. Cedefop’s (2023)evidence shows that to assess the added value of microcredentials fully means observing that value is shaped by both supply and demand side factors. Their relative value varies across national VET systems and industry sectors and is shaped by various factors; the skills intensity and innovation dynamics in sectors of the economy, the governance and configuration of national VET systems, and the role of training in labour market policies. Ensuring employers’ trust in the value of microcredentials remains a key policy challenge.
The existence of digitally enabled learning ecosystems is another key factor affecting whether (digital) microcredentials proliferate in a labour market. Such digitalisation of learning processes further interacts with the extent to which employer trust in the value of microcredentials can be assumed. Cedefop’s (2020) Crowdlearn study, for instance, sought to understand the evolution of learning in the online platform economy, a new, innovative and rapidly growing segment of the labour market. Crowdlearn evidence highlighted the clash taking place between the value of crowdworkers’ qualifications and additional (micro)credentials with other forms of skills validation/screening (Box 1). Several online labour platforms offer freelancers the opportunity to gain digital micro-certificates by passing the platforms’ own skill certification tests. For instance, Upwork offers hundreds of different skill tests on topics ranging from communication in English to graphic design techniques and programming language expertise. Once a test is successfully passed, a digital badge certifying completion is displayed on worker’s profile.