Micro-credentials vis a vis competency-based certifications of skill domains have existed for decades across vocational-technical education and the professions. What appears to be changing is the "priority" ascribed to different micro-credentials along a credentials continuum that has focused on formal degrees and certificates. This…

This paper reports on research conducted with staff employed in the Australian higher education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector has been significantly impacted, particularly those institutions heavily reliant on revenue from international student enrolments. Universities moved swiftly to introduce cost-savings measures such as,…

This descriptive case study's purpose is to describe family child care providers' unexplored experiences as early childhood entrepreneurs while simultaneously addressing their (in)equitable representation in early childhood curricular programming in higher education. Additionally, the objective is to prime program leadership, such as lead faculty,…

Scholars debate the criticism higher education has received for not adequately preparing students for careers that reflect employer and industry needs and low job placement rates (Holzner, 2017; Monis, 2018; Niu et al., 2019). The skills desired for today's qualified applicants continue to change, and employers are experiencing difficulty finding…

This study recognises how Industry 4.0 is influencing labour market demands of graduating students and how ongoing discord between employers and educators regarding their preparation is driving work-integrated learning across the sector. Stakeholder involvement in capability development requires expected performance standards to benchmark students…

This article explores how the UK Conservative Government's Department for Education is taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to restructure higher education in England towards labour-power production. There is nothing new in UK governments seeking to reshape higher education for labour-power development. But under cover of apparent concern for…

The rising prominence of micro-credentials started during the COVID-19 pandemic, where online resources offered competency-building opportunities for the work-from-home (WFH) human capital. During this pandemic, traditional universities faced total halt to face-to-face lectures, but ways paved for open and distance learning (ODL) universities to…

The literature on the diversification of the higher education workforce has tended to focus on broad brush changes to patterns of employment and working conditions. What has been less remarked is ways in which individuals are negotiating the structures and stretching the parameters within which they work, including experience outside higher…

This qualitative case study explores the Human Resource Development (HRD) interventions utilised in respect of local eco-skills with one marginalised group, the Roma, in the City of Liverpool, UK, and responds to HRD research calls into the cause of cycles of inequality. The case study illustrates the challenges experienced by precarious workers…

High-quality, stable child care and early education (CCEE) can have lasting, positive impacts on children. However, there are ongoing challenges in recruiting, supporting, and retaining a qualified, stable CCEE workforce that provides high-quality care. CCEE educators typically have low levels of compensation; limited opportunities for education,…

More than half of states have implemented tuition-free college policies aimed at reducing attendance costs and incentivizing enrollment. We review the academic literature on the design features and impacts of these tuition-free policies, and we analyze an initiative Virginia implemented in 2021 called Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3), which…

As the U.S Hispanic population has increasingly grown throughout the years, the growing population has indicated that there will be change in the makeup of the cultural fabric of the country. The Hispanic population growth has led to the increase in numbers of English Learner (EL) students in both private and public schools in the U.S. which has…

Senate Bill 22-192, titled Opportunities for Credential Attainment called on the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) to work collaboratively with other state agencies, institutions of higher education (IHEs), employers and other stakeholders to build 10 stackable credential pathways across five high-value, high-demand industries between…

Higher education faces increasing demands to take a more active and direct role in assuring employability for students. Micro-credentialing and badging is a growing movement, attractive for its flexibility and efficiency in connecting students with careers and jobs. This paper presents a case study of the development and pilot of an…

The nation's workforce demands look vastly different today than they did just a few years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic, economic challenges, and complex technological developments across all industries continue to change the way America works. Unfortunately, labor market demand has not coincided with similar shifts in America's education systems,…