Category: Workforce

The working world spins faster and faster, and the skills and needs of industries evolve constantly. On average, an American worker will change careers three to seven times and have up to twelve jobs over their working life.

New learning solutions such as stackable credentials have emerged to keep up with the changes.

The U.S. Department of Labor defines “stackable credentials” as a “sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual’s qualifications and help that individual move along a career pathway to further education and different responsibilities, and potentially higher-paying jobs.” Learners progress along a structured pathway in key industries or disciplines to earn certificates, which they can stack vertically or horizontally like building blocks to the future and their career aspirations.

Vertical stacking occurs when an individual earns a certificate that leads to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Horizontal stacking takes place when an individual earns two short-term credit or noncredit certificates within a specified time frame (typically between several months and a year of coursework and training to complete).

Stackable credentials offer many advantages to today’s learners. Learners may:

• Affordably explore new career or industry opportunities while earning a valuable credential.
• Fill in knowledge gaps by staying current with the latest technologies and trends.
• Benefit from an intentional curriculum with direct relevance to the workplace.

The promise of stackable credentials also has wider sociological impacts. According to a 2023 study by RAND, low-income certificate-earners were more likely to stack credentials than were middle- or high-income certificate-earners, which means the availability of stackable credentials or certificate programs improves access to education.

In addition, low-income certificate-earners who stacked vertically were more likely to advance to a middle-income wage than non-stacking low-income certificate-earners. Stackable credentials can contribute to the goal of upward mobility, especially for learners who find the traditional route to postsecondary education out of reach.

Employers can leverage stackable credentials during individualized employee conversations about their career goals. Survey data from the 2023 State of the Workforce Engagement Trends by Workforce Science Associates points to the need for employees to “see a clear path to realize their career goals.” Aligning workplace competencies with certificate programs may be a positive and achievable way for employers to develop and promote from within.

The value of training for employees and employers is unassailable with Indeed identifying a cascade of benefits, including increased productivity and performance, improved knowledge of policies and goals, enhanced customer valuation, better workplace environment and boosted morale.

Successful examples of stackable credentials range across industries and are particularly prevalent in healthcare, manufacturing, business and management and engineering technology.

UW-Green Bay embraces stackable credentials by creating certificate programs encompassing undergraduate credit, graduate credit and noncredit, in categories such as business, education, government, nonprofit, health and human services, leadership, workforce, science and engineering, specialist interest, sustainability, talent and recruitment.

The university understands that education must be adaptable, offering agile learning solutions that meet industry and employees ready for the many career turns they may face.

Sources:
U.S. Department of Labor https://www.dol.gov/

“Do Low-Income Students Benefit from Stacking Credentials?” RAND, April 13, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA2484-2.html

“2023 State of the Workforce Engagement Trends,” SHRM, offered by Workforce Science Associates (WSA), https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/white-papers/wsa-2023-state-of-the-workforce-engagement-trends

Using Design Thinking for Just About Anything

The idea of “design thinking” isn’t a new one, but the process can be used in a much larger scheme of situations than most people give it credit for. People in marketing, research, training and development, and other similar positions might be more familiar with the term, but why stop there? What if we stopped looking for solutions and started designing them in general? Here is a simple way of looking at the “Design Thinking Process” that can be applied to just about any situation:

Step One: Discover – One of the keys of design thinking is to put the end-user first. Whether that is your team of HR professionals or your children, look for information you can use to better understand the situation. Some ways to do this include conducting interviews, checking out the competition, and gathering data for analysis.

Step Two: Define – This is where you determine what the pieces of the solution might look like. Once all of that information from step one is gathered, now you can get creative and determine how to approach the situation. This step could include creating problem statements or experience maps, writing out examples of what the final solution could and should include.

Step Three: Ideate – Now that we know what we want, let’s take the next step and look for ways to achieve it. This step is when specific ways to solve the problem or address the situation are decided. Think about brainstorming sessions, creating blueprints, or even storyboards.

Step Four: Prototype – This is where we get our hands dirty. Most people want to jump to a possible solution right away, but without steps one through three, we’re letting intuition and guesswork control the process. Having a well-crafted way for people to practice or simulate the final solution is what makes this step critical, before they ever see it. Examples include mockups, test webpages and interactive presentations.

Step Five: Test – Here is the trick to step five: You should be asking for feedback throughout the whole process from your stakeholders. Include them in the process from the beginning, so that by this point you are validating what others have said before, not identifying critical elements this late in the process. Testing your design can look a lot like step one with interviews and observations, data analytics and metrics.

Whether you are designing a new performance review process or trying to decide where to go on vacation next, design thinking can be a useful tool for people to keep in mind. Following the process can increase confidence in your work and among those most impacted by the results. So, stop searching for solutions and start designing them!

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UW-Green Bay’s Continuing Education and Community Engagement Division is continuously looking for ways to stay on the cutting edge of professional development for its clients. Be sure to check out the CECE website below, and reach out if you have ideas for new content you want to see! https://www.uwgb.edu/continuing-education/

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Writing/Research Credit: Christopher Ledvina, UW-Green Bay Business Development Specialist
User Experience Learning at https://uxhints.com/.