The role of micro-credentials in skilling Australians

The role of micro-credentials in skilling Australians Report was produced by  National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).

Short-course training, often referred to as micro-credentials, is being seen as an increasingly important form of training, particularly as the world comes to terms with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the vocational education and training (VET) sector, training package skill sets and accredited courses are recognised forms of short-course training.

Nevertheless, a surprising amount of other, shorter, non-qualification training occurs in the VET sector, officially known as enrolments in subjects not part of a nationally recognised program (course). This report refers to them as ‘subject bundles’. This is construed in this paper as a student enrolling in a ‘bundle’ of subjects at a single registered training organisation (RTO), termed here ‘RTO-student pairs’.

Indeed, in 2019, there were about 2.6 million students who enrolled in these subject bundles, by comparison with 76 565 students enrolled in training package skill sets and 93 555 in accredited courses. But what are they actually training for and why?

This report contributes to the information already available on the largest segment of the VET sector, by analysing these subject bundles and their salient features. We found that engagement in subject bundles was found to be typically short, with bundles of three subjects or fewer accounting for 89.5% of
RTO-student pairs.

The report can be accessed by following the weblink provided.