IEEE and Academia Are Creating Microcredential Programs

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing has created a paradox: Industries are booming but they face a severe shortage of skilled workers. There is a growing demand for data center technicians, manufacturing facility workers, and similar positions. There are not enough candidates with the required skills to fill in-demand positions.

While these technical roles are essential, they don’t always require a four-year degree, which has paved the way for skills-based microcredentials. By partnering with higher education institutions and training providers, industry leaders help design targeted skills programs that quickly transform learners into work-ready technical professionals.

The new skills validation standard

Since microcredentials are relatively new, consistency is key. Through its accreditation program, IEEE serves as a bridge between academia and industry. Developed and managed by IEEE Educational Activities, the program offers standardized degrees in collaboration with training organizations and universities seeking to provide competency-based qualifications outside of formal degree programs. IEEE, as the world’s largest technical professional organization, has more than 30 years of experience and provides industry-relevant credentials and expertise in global standardization.

The IEEE sets the benchmark for competency-based microcredentials by establishing a framework that includes assessment methods, qualifications for instructors and evaluators, and competency level criteria.

For example, a recent collaboration with the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, developed microcredentials for USC’s semiconductor cleanroom program. USC leads the CA Dreams microelectronics innovation hub.

“The IEEE framework allows us to rapidly prototype training programs and adapt them on the fly, in a way that creating new university courses – let alone degree programs – will not allow us. —Adam Stieg

IEEE worked with USC to create standardized skills assessments and associated microcredentials so that industry hiring managers can recognize newly developed skills. Microcredentials help people with or without a four-year degree join the semiconductor industry as cleanroom technicians or engineers with cleanroom experience.

IEEE also partnered with the California NanoSystems Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles to create competency-based microcredentials for its cleanroom protocol and safety program.

Best practices for designing microcredentials

Based on IEEE’s work on microcredential design with USC, UCLA, and other leading academic institutions, three best practices have emerged.

1. Align with industry needs before design.

Collaborate with industry before beginning the design process. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Workforce needs vary depending on industry sector, company size and geography. Higher education institutions and training providers are building relationships with businesses and industry groups to create effective microcredentialing programs and assessment methods.

2. Build for flexibility.

Traditional academic cycles can be slow, but technology evolves quickly. A flexible competency-based microcredentials framework allows programs to create or pivot as new advancements occur.

“Implementing a for-credit course is not easy. And in a rapidly changing environment, you need to pivot quickly,” says Adam Stieg, research scientist and associate director at UCLA’s CNSI. “IEEE competency-based microcredentials provide a flexible way to keep our program in step with an evolving technology landscape.”

Stieg’s team worked with the IEEE to create a framework to create micro-certificates for its cleanroom protocol and security program, ensuring it keeps pace with industry evolution.

“The IEEE framework allows us to rapidly prototype training programs and adapt them on the fly,” he says, “in a way that creating new college courses – let alone degree programs – won’t allow us.” »

3. Implement a continuous feedback loop.

Many technical roles that companies are looking to fill in emerging areas like AI, cybersecurity, and semiconductors are still under development or evolving rapidly. The rapidly changing landscape requires continuous communication and feedback between higher education, training providers and industry.

“We struggle to create feedback loops through the education system to industry and back,” says Matt Francis, president and CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits, in Fayetteville, Ark. Francis, who served as director of IEEE Region 5, is an IEEE volunteer supporting workforce development for the semiconductor industry.

Creating consistent feedback loops is critical to generating consensus on the skills needed for microcredentialing programs, experts say, and it allows providers to update assessments as new security tools and protocols enter the workplace.

“If we start to think about the possibility of using training frameworks within companies that are essentially based on some sort of standard and align with a micro-credential, we can start to build consensus,” says Francis.

To start

Through its accreditation program, IEEE helps higher education and industry work together to close the technical skills gap in the workforce. Contact their team to learn how IEEE competency-based microcredentials can help fill your workforce pipeline.