A Philippine Microcredentials Ecosystem: Towards Lifelong Learning and Socio-Economic Mobility

Abstract

Microcredentials are a small set of skills that are acquired by a learner through study, work and personal experiences, and the acquisition of which is validated by a competent authority. Due to their brevity, they can be used to accelerate socio-economic mobility. To further accelerate the development and deployment of microcredentials, a supporting ecosystem can be built. This study seeks to design such an ecosystem. It identifies and integrates the various components that already exist and points out additional items that may be added to enhance the system. This study finds that the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF), the Philippine Skills Framework (PSF), the Philippine Credit Transfer System (PCTS), the HEIs’ lists of CHED-approved degree programs, the TESDA Catalogue of Competencies, and the list of priority occupations under TESDA’s Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) program can constitute the core of the ecosystem. To strengthen this core, the following needs to be done for each component: The PQF should be focused on 1) being a trust-provider to microcredentials, 2) linking its Philippine Qualifications Register (PhQuaR) to the databases of CHED, TESDA, PRC, CAAP, and MARINA, and 3) turning its Philippine Qualifications Register (PhQuaR) into an online learning platform with digital credentialing career guidance systems. The government agencies that committed to the development of the PSF should continue to develop skills frameworks to eventually cover all sectors of the Philippine economy. Developers should make full use of the PCTS to create microcredential-based education and training pathways at the interface of Technical-Vocational Education (TVE) and Higher Education (HE). The said core of the ecosystem must be supported by global skills taxonomies, which are now available, and a digital credentialing system, which has yet to be built. If the ecosystem can churn out microcredentials to match the pace of economic and technological development and the ever-changing need for suitable manpower, then workers may find that they can always skill, upskill, and re-skill themselves throughout their working lives. The ecosystem then becomes an engine for lifelong learning and employment.

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