The state is underwriting thousands of spots on micro-credential programmes with a view to bolstering expertise in areas including sustainability, construction, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence. Simon Harris, the Further and Higher Education Minister, is slated to unveil funding approaching €10 million this Tuesday, offering course fee cuts of 50-80 per cent on many such short courses for the current year. Effectively, a typical course that would ordinarily be priced around €1,100 will now range between €220 and €550, serving approximately 14,000 students.
Micro-credentials, made up of concise, manageable learning blocks, allow learners to fit education around their personal and professional lives. These programmes, which run between 6 to 12 weeks, can be either fully or partially pursued online. Detailed information on the subsidised courses is available at the Higher Education Authority’s official website, hea.ie.
Mr Harris highlighted the significance of traditional degree programmes, but emphasised that they not always be the best fit for equipping people with targeted, current skills. He upheld micro-credentials as a flexible and accessible method of preparing individuals for success in their selected fields. With these subsidies, he noted, individuals will be able to obtain micro-credentials at decreased prices, facilitating flexible learning and chances to enhance skills for both individual learners and businesses. He further pointed out that some of the courses offer a “stackability”, encouraging learners to revisit and further build upon their acquired skills for additional qualifications.
According to Harris, these funded courses address matters like emerging technologies, construction, sustainability, and energy, and align with national strategies such as housing supply augmentation and climate action. The newly developed platform, MicroCreds.ie, intends to host all of the courses and is a combined effort by seven universities. The endeavour, financially backed by the HEA, is spearheaded by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and has collaborated with several universities across Ireland.
The IUA, last year, stated that this platform would ease the process of lifelong learning and make it more accessible for individuals and businesses.
Following a skills assessment for Ireland conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last year, it has been cautioned that a significant number of adults are under the threat of lagging behind. This is primarily due to a lack of adequate skills suitable for their present jobs, as well as their inadequate readiness for imminent alterations in the workforce. Keeping abreast of the latest in the realm of education by following The Irish Times on Facebook and Twitter (X) is strongly recommended.