| | JUNE - 20238IN MY OPINION DIGITAL MICRO-CREDENTIALS SERVE THE WORKFORCE AND ADULT LEARNERSBy Janelle Elias, Vice President of Strategy and Advancement, Rio Salado CollegeThe COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a displacement of the workforce and digital transformation underway in public higher education. Vanguard estimates that an additional 1.6M workers retired during the pandemic, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there were approximately 10.5M unfilled jobs in the United States in 2022. Burning Glass calculates that about 41 percent of unfilled jobs require college degrees, yet 60 percent of the working adult population does not have college degrees, according to Strada Education Network. This level of market disruption coupled with digital transformation is widening skills gaps in many organizations.Employers, urgently trying to fill vacant positions and ensure the staffing levels needed to run the business, are responding in two major ways: 1.) dropping college degree requirements from job postings, and 2.) providing tuition assistance as a benefit to attract and retain a competitive workforce. Employers are focusing these efforts on the minimal skills needed to do the job and then investing in upskilling and reskilling their employees, increasingly through micro-credentials.Adult learners are characterized to be self-directed, yet they need career-relevant and applicable education. They are less likely to engage in a curriculum that does not show a clear path to their career goals. For this reason, it is important to contextualize the learning in the workplace and/or career. When done well, a student can complete work-based learning or project-based learning and apply it to both job and degree requirements. Adult learners also require flexibility in accessing opportunities to upskill and reskill. Adult learners balance the demands of work, family, and school priorities and many attend school part-time. The flexibility offered by non-traditional education - such Janelle Elias
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