While only about half of students actually finish their degrees, many enter the job market with more than three years of undergraduate studies behind them, and so it can be difficult to stand out, even after obtaining a Master’s. This is one of the reasons why employers are increasingly appreciating stacked credentials, that is, credentials that stack up on completion of a series of short training modules, eventually leading to a diploma or degree.
Want to your improve employability with micro-credentials easily shareable as digital credentials? With BCdiploma, discover all the secrets and advantages of stacked credentials, which give recruiters an immediate overview of your skills and competences.
The growing importance of stacked credentials in the job market
Stacked credentials: their definition
Stacked or stackable credentials are a set of smaller educational achievements that can be accumulated piecemeal, and demonstrate one’s individual accomplishments outside of the traditional awarding of a final bachelor’s or master’s degree.
So, while a complete degree course requires from 3 to 6 years of study, individual training courses and more concise course modules are an excellent way to accumulated new knowledge and skills, which can then stack up to present an appealing mosaic of a personal background and professional abilities.
Three ways to stack stackable credentials
There are three main ways of stacking credentials:
- Vertically: the credentials are acquired one after the after gradually, from the oldest and easiest to the most recent and most advanced, according to a diploma, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate program.
- Horizontally: the credentials represent training courses or course modules on specific individual subjects that are complete in themselves.
- In a hybrid way: vertical and horizontal credentials are mixed to demonstrate both the breadth and depth of learning and skills to boost the employability of graduates and to prepare them for specialized careers.
Who are stacked certifications for?
Stacked credentials are not only for students wishing to strengthen their knowledge on specific subjects and specialize, but also for workers already established in the labor market who want to update their knowledge or retrain.
The advantages of stacked credentials
Employability and adaptability
Stacked credentials boost the employability of their holders. Since students increasingly continue their studies after high school, a bachelor’s or master’s degree is no longer enough to stand out from the crowd in the labor market, and companies are a lot more interested in additional skills and soft-skills that can be added to CVs.
Similarly, faced with evolving relational and technical demands in many sectors, stacked credentials are a powerful lever allowing workers to train more quickly and efficiently.
A quicker, more focused acquisition of skills
Three or more years of study are a huge personal investment, and many students end up dropping out before they finish their course and get their diploma or degree certificate. Thanks to stacked credentials, it is possible to certificate every step in the process of learning, and therefore have proof of the gradual acquisition of knowledge and skills over a shorter time period.
Diverse skills and versatile profiles
Stacked credentials can be used to build unique, specialized profiles perfectly adapted to the changing demands of today’s job market. The acquisition of a range of specific soft- and hard-skills is essential for building a lasting career, and so the mastery of certain technical tools and software must be able to be acquired without necessarily having to complete or repeat a university course lasting several years.
Boost your skill set with BCdiploma digital credentials!
E-portfolios: show off your stacked credentials
With BCdiploma, graduates can present an e-portfolio of all their stacked credentials, providing tangible proof of their know-how. In recording their verifiable digital credentials on a secure blockchain, they benefit from being able to easily and immediately present a digital showcase of their skills to recruiters.
Easy sharing of your stacked credentials
With digital credentials, you can easily share your stacked credentials on social media and professional networks such as LinkedIn! By adding your stacked credentials portfolio to your digital CV or e-mail signature, you give recruiters easy access to a showcase of all of your skills.
Want to show off your stacked credentials in a secure and customizable digital credential? Book a demo online!
[title[Stacked credentials: their definition and advantages]] [description[Enhance employability with easily shareable micro-credentials. BCdiploma’s stacked credentials provide recruiters a quick view of your skills.]]