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714 Address the Skills Gap with Micro-Credentialing

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM Tuesday, October 27

As the skills gap in our workplaces increases, more organizations are having to rapidly contend with the problem in their own backyards. Essential technical and software skills are falling behind, and almost half of CEOs from 500 major corporations across the US report that durable skills like communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity aren't at the levels they need to succeed. To prepare future workforces, we need a way to track current skill sets, identify gaps in skills development, incentivize people to pursue additional skills development, and create a common mode of sharing these to demonstrate those skills to others so that they can't be falsified.

Using Open Badges to provide micro-credentials is a great way to track upskilling and career pathing for learners within organizations. This session will cover how micro-credentialing supports ongoing professional development and personalized learning pathways as it pertains to accomplishments and skills.

In this session you will learn what challenges micro-credentialing will solve, and how. For example, as an individual, open badges will allow you to get a digital accreditation that you can take with you. It will also provide others with insight into your professional development and demonstrate efforts to improve. Finally, micro-credentials can incentivize you to pursue new skills, with micro-credentials acting as a currency in the workplace. On the other side of the equation, micro-credentials help organizations identify areas for improvement as well as the distribution of talent and gaps; increase completion, productivity, and engagement; demonstrate a culture of learning, and finally, help create alignment with skills needed for continuous improvement across sectors.

In this session, you will learn:
  • How to leverage an open badge framework
  • How to track progress to act as a workplace currency
  • How to analyze why most organizations that try badging don't succeed in their goals
  • How badges help solve the skills gap, and how clients are using them to transform their learning culture
  • Strategies for badging effectively in your organization

Technology discussed:

Brightspace, D2L's learning platform

Laura Janusek

Senior Product Manager

D2L

Laura Janusek loves building solutions that improve the education space. She has overseen the development of a range of EdTech products, both as a founding team member at digedu and as the head of product at Modern Teacher. Most recently she has joined the team at D2L, a top learning management system serving millions of users globally. Laura is an active member of communities for women in technology, a regular conference speaker, and a passionate believer in technology’s ability to improve lives in the education space and beyond.

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