Community college leaders can confidently boast that it’s “their turn and their time” to lead higher education in boosting student workforce outcomes, thanks to potent new microcredentials that steer learners to high-demand fields, says Lisa Larson, CEO of the nonprofit Education Design Lab.
About 100 colleges work with the Lab’s Community College Growth Engine to build short-term microcredential programs that correspond to the latest labor market demands. Among some of the most relevant programs are in information technology, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.
Learners can pursue a micropathway, which offers a flexible roadmap to stack different microcredentials into a comprehensive certificate. For example, CUNY LaGuardia Community College offers certificates in data analytics and cybersecurity that can be earned by completing two or more microcredentials.
Each digital badge that learners earn after completing a microcredential serves as a verified, industry-endorsed record of newly acquired skills.
“Community colleges play a critical role in reframing how learners approach workforce preparation and help employers understand students’ talent journey,” Larson says. “New pathways can be enhanced to drive economic returns.”
While microcredentials were initially used to strengthen CTE-based opportunities, four-year liberal arts colleges are beginning to develop microcredentials to better communicate the importance of durable soft skills, such as critical thinking, collaboration and communication.
“I think, as we see how AI continues to play a part in our world of work, that these skills will become absolutely dominant in conversations on employability,” Larson adds. “The time is nearing very quickly for us to capitalize on what a humanities major or minor means, and how it can be recognized in ways that are meaningful for the learner and the employer.”
Secondly, President Donald Trump’s budget expanded Pell Grants to short-term, non-degree programs. “Governors want to take as much complexity out of higher education to get to better workforce outcomes faster,” Larson says.
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