This report explores the experiences of ten CAEL member community colleges in their efforts to develop quality non-degree credentials that can be completed in in one year or less, lead to good-paying jobs in high-demand industries, and are stackable to a higher degree, allowing learners to unlock opportunities for even greater economic mobility.…

The good news? Texas is growing. In 2022, Texas joined California to be only the second U.S. state with a population of over 30 million people. The bad news? Texas is growing. More specifically, the Texas labor market is growing. One strategy to improve career readiness is the creation of Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH).…

The current historic COVID-19 Pandemic moment has thrown into sharp relief the need for flexible and rigorous higher education that meets upskilling and reskilling needs of global workforces. Discussions of micro-credentialing predate the Pandemic but have received increased focus as potentially assisting in addressing perceived skills gaps.…

The Building and Sustaining the Child Care and Early Education Workforce (BASE) project aims to increase knowledge and understanding in child care and early education (CCEE) by documenting factors that drive workforce turnover and by building evidence on current initiatives to recruit, advance, and retain a stable and qualified CCEE workforce. As…

The aim of this analysis of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey is to compare labour market outcomes between individuals who have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications only, VET and Higher Education (HE) qualifications and HE qualifications only, but who work in the same occupations. In…

Transnational organizations like the OECD and the EU have, for many years, focussed on adult career guidance (ACG) as a policy for solving problems, especially those related to the labour market and labour market transitions. In this article, we take a closer look into the development of ACG policies in Finland and Denmark. Drawing on multiple…

'Employers know that they can hire worldwide now … so, there is limitless supply of people … who can do the job … . they're all qualified, most of them are actually over-qualified … . I'm a wage slave basically, I don't think we have very much social status … . we are replaceable workers … I mean, the employer holds all the cards really. We are…

Micro-credentials vis a vis competency-based certifications of skill domains have existed for decades across vocational-technical education and the professions. What appears to be changing is the "priority" ascribed to different micro-credentials along a credentials continuum that has focused on formal degrees and certificates. This…

This article discusses concerns raised by the Office for Students (OfS) and other policy actors regarding perceived grade inflation in undergraduate degree classifications in England. I employ a desert-based justice philosophical framework to argue that the criticisms made by the OfS can be understood in light of the position that degree…

Weak labor markets typically lead young workers to invest in skills. High unemployment during COVID diverged from prior downturns: enrollment at community colleges dropped by 9.5 percent between 2019 and 2020, with the drop larger among men. COVID disruptions generated supply-side impacts on courses of study requiring significant capital and…

Given changes in the 21st century workplace and expectations of employers, the notion that a bachelor's degree is the sole pathway to sustainable employment and a middle-class life in the United States has become obsolete. Many (e.g., Fleming, 2016) have argued that employers are now seeking employees with technical skills, digital literacy, and…

This paper argues that micro-credentials are gig credentials for the gig economy. Micro-credentials are short competency-based industry-aligned units of learning, while the gig economy comprises contingent work by individual 'suppliers'. Both can be facilitated by (often the same) digital platforms, and both are underpinned by social relations of…

The United States is experiencing dramatic shifts in the skills required of incumbent workers and new hires. While the recent low unemployment rate was generally good news, it also exacerbated a persistent skill shortage in the region's labor force that has been consistently reported by many employers. A McKinsey Global Survey indicates that…

Interdisciplinary programmes have proliferated across post-secondary education in recent decades. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the manner in which interdisciplinary programmes promote themselves to external constituents. To study this process, we conduct a content analysis of the online self-descriptions of 203…

A major focus of sociological research is on the role of the credential as a 'currency of opportunity', mediating the relationship between education and occupational destinations. However, the labour market has largely remained a 'black box' in sociological and education policy studies. This article draws on 'big data' from over 21,000,000 job…