While you might not have heard the term “skills gap” before, you almost certainly know what it means: A great employee (or potential employee) who lacks the critical knowledge or skills to qualify for a specific role in your agency. The solution is micro credentialing.
Micro credentials provide training and certification in specific skills that allow public sector staff members to learn quickly and efficiently. It’s an ideal way to fill knowledge gaps while also providing growth opportunities for your staff.
Benefits of micro credentialing your staff
Micro credentialing is a powerful training tool, and it comes with a number of benefits, including:
- Cost savings: Providing multiple staff members with continuing education can be cost prohibitive. With micro credentialing, staff get top-level training in the exact skills they need, when they need them, at an affordable price.
- Time savings: When an employee needs to learn a new skill, waiting for a class to start isn’t always an option. Many micro credentialing classes are available online immediately.
- Serves as building blocks: While micro credentials can be used to fill a small skills gap, they can also serve as part of a larger whole. “Stacking” these credentials can pull together the knowledge of a full class experience—and even result in a degree.
- Personalization: Although it provides opportunities to teach many staff members a needed skill set, micro credentialing also makes it easy for one employee to create a personal plan, whether they need one course to fill a small gap or multiple courses to prepare them for a new role.
Hold onto your staff
One of the best ways to prevent skill gaps in your agency is to hold onto the staff members you have. Micro credentialing can play a key role in keeping your employees engaged. In fact, according to a study by Waterloo, Ontario-based microlearning platform Axonify, 92% of staff members feel that training boosts their engagement at work.
If your agency offers micro credentialing opportunities, be sure staff are aware. Give everyone a pocket planner or a desk calendar on their anniversary of hire and ask them what they’re going to learn this year.
You can also offer them training giveaways like headphones with a microphone or blue light glasses to help them succeed with their courses.
Use micro credentialing as a hiring tool
Of course, it’s not just your current employees that are looking for educational opportunities. When you’re searching for new staff members, one of the best perks you can offer is the opportunity to learn. Consider that 76% of employees say companies that offer training opportunities are more appealing.
Make potential staff members aware of the opportunities your agency provides during the recruitment process. Help your message stick by handing out training giveaways like a notebook and pen.
Get to the head of the class
Sometimes great staff members just need an extra skill or two to help your agency succeed. With help from micro credentialing, you can make your staff and your department more skilled in record time.