Taking Competency-Based Credentials Seriously in the Workforce - John K. Waters, Campus Technology

Companies like AT&T and Google are expanding their partnerships with online education providers, creating new educational pathways to real jobs. It sounds cutting-edge, but the concept of a competency-based education that results in an institution-agnostic microcredential isn't new. For well over a century, industries have worked with colleges and universities through various types of extension programs to salt the workforce with better-qualified candidates. But in the Age of the Internet, for-profit online education providers such as Udacity and Coursera have tweaked that model by collaborating with companies to develop programs tailored to their specific needs. AT&T was one of the first companies to work with the new generation of online education providers to develop a credentialing program designed to fill a specific staffing gap. https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/05/11/taking-competency-based-credentials-seriously-in-the-workforce.aspx