Micro-credentials courses need funding to help future-proof jobs

In all, 142,950 people have used the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) pathway to upskill or reskill since the €300m HCI programme started

Dr Kieran McNally, senior executive officer at the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

Greater funding for micro-credentials is needed for Ireland’s workforce to keep pace with evolving new technologies, says Dr Kieran McNally, senior executive officer at the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

Employers and workers are equally keen to avail of skills training. Some 142,950 learners have used the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) pathway to upskill or reskill since the €300m HCI programme started, according to the HEA.

To date, 1,711 new industry-led courses have been created and delivered across the programme’s 24 projects in high-skills needs areas including AI, engineering, manufacturing, sustainability and other sectors.

More than 5,000 learners have availed of new government-subsidised micro-credentials to gain flexible upskilling on the 837 subsidised courses, underpinned by the €12.3m MicroCreds project led by the Irish Universities Association (IUA), working with UCD, UCC, UL, TCD, DCU, University of Galway and Maynooth University.

In this Q&A interview, Dr Kieran McNally outlines the critical role the HC pathway can play in helping Ireland’s workforce to upskill or reskill.

How can micro-credentials programmes help to enhance people's future employability?

The Human Capital Initiative (HCI) has been improving short course provision to future-proof people’s skill set and enhance their employability. HCI Micro-credentials are short, flexible and accredited courses, designed to fit into busy schedules of people in the workforce with over 90% of courses on offer facilitating online or blended (hybrid) learning.

The courses, available on hea.ie, are designed in collaboration with enterprise. They are tailored to suit the needs of both enterprise and learners, and are helping learners to future-proof and navigate a rapidly evolving society, economy and labour market. Micro-credentials are generally four to 12 weeks but there are shorter and longer options available, and are quality assured in that they are accredited, ranging from 1-30 credits (ECTS). Many courses have a subsidy of up to 80%.

Are employers seeing the benefits of workers upskilling and reskilling?

We surveyed our enterprise partners in 2023, and over 90% of enterprises involved in HCI projects indicated their belief that HCI projects were effective in facilitating progression pathways for workforce upskilling. Given that many of the courses are co-designed and co-delivered by enterprise partners to reflect their needs and to future-proof graduates with skills for emerging technologies this was good to see.

Many of our learners are already in employment – the courses are flexible enough to allow this — so benefits accrue to business from day one. To date, 142,000 learners have benefited in some way from HCI projects that are very much a skills-focused collaboration between Higher Education Institutions and their Enterprise partners.

Since the first year of the HCI programme in 2020, HCI programmes have been producing enterprise-ready graduates for employers in areas identified as high skills needs. Our graduate conversion programme has since seen over 10,000 learners enrolled on courses that are in areas of high skills needs. Over 5,000 learners have also benefited from business-ready micro-credential courses, and across our HCI Pillar 3 and HCI Pillar 2 programmes another 17,000 additional places have been created in other high skills areas. More have benefited in other ways. A midterm report on the HCI Programme found that the HCI programme had exceeded its targets and we expect our numbers of upskilled learners to rise further.

Why is it important for Ireland to invest further in the high skill needs areas such as AI, engineering, manufacturing, sustainability and others?

It is imperative that Ireland continues to invest in high-skills needs areas to ensure society, economy and business are equipped for the future. This will ensure that emerging labour market skills needs of strategic importance are anticipated and developed. Both industry and individuals are navigating a rapidly changing world of work and will require accessible courses, in specific focused areas, designed in collaboration with enterprise, to cope with future innovations, digitalisation and the green transition. 

How big is the gap between the skills of the Irish workforce and where the nation needs to be?

When we look at the Irish workforce, particularly at the level of an individual business, we will often see skills gaps between an employee’s skills, and the skills a company requires for a specific role. This is evident, even when by European and global standards, Ireland has a highly skilled workforce in numerous sectors.

Constant and rapid technological innovation, competition, changing standards, retirements, and growth in the economy are some of the reasons for the emergence of skills gaps. Insufficient training can also cause gaps.

One of our aims in the HCI program is to provide employers and employees with ways to close any identified skills gaps, through upskilling and reskilling programmes such as our Micro-credential Learner Fee Subsidy. To date, we have funded 837 courses and over 14,000 places in fields as diverse as construction, medical technology, the environment, and additive manufacturing. These include courses such as diverse as leadership, project management, and blockchain financial technologies, to offshore wind and ocean energy conservation. It’s also important to note that skills gaps can be caused by employees leaving a company, but continuous training has been shown to improve worker retention rates.

To minimise skills gaps, we are also aiming to help the Higher Education system to be agile in its anticipation, understanding and response to emerging and future skills needs in society and the economy. In 2020, for example, before Chat-GTP emerged into public consciousness, we were already funding courses in Artificial Intelligence. Similarly, in 2020, we funded the RCSI lead project Enabling Future Pharma to create a BSc in Advanced Therapeutic Technology, in conjunction with pharma companies, to address critical skills gaps that might emerge after new production lines are built. And right now, for example, we are funding courses in Quantum computing, which many consider to be an emerging field of technology that will be as disruptive and as revolutionary as AI.

At a fundamental level the nation must continue to pursue excellence in literacy and numeracy to maintain a flexible and agile workforce. But continuous training is a significant part of the answer to maintaining an agile workforce. As such it is now widely recognised that lifelong learning will become the norm, and the state is seeking to have at least 60% of adults participating in training every year. The HCI programme has demonstrated how to make this possible.