New Tool Launched to Micro-Credential Design
Europe adult education shifts the traditional long-term degrees by smaller, more agile “learning bites” known as micro-credentials. The Erasmus+ project “Lab4Microvet” is proud to announce the launch of a toolkit designed to help educators master this new landscape: the MicroCreds Business Model Canvas (MBMC).
MicreCreds model has been developed in close collaboration of Ireland, Denmark, France, Spain, and Estonia vocational schools. The educational practitioners aimed to create a reliable “compass” that ensures training offers are not just educational, but truly impactful and sustainable for educators that are designing microcredential courses.
The tool is a specialized adaptation of the world-famous Business Model Canvas, tailored specifically for the vocational education and training sector. It challenges developers to stop asking “What could we teach?” and instead ask: “What specific problem does this course solve for the learner and the employer?”
For that, the model is built around 12 critical components, including the learner persona, value proposition, and curriculum alignment and quality, ensuring that micro-credential course developers have an whole view of entire process. Partner schools have tested the strategic planning tool and already shared their case studies results.
Ireland (Galway Technical Institute): Students in fields like dog grooming and hairdressing needed digital marketing skills but had conflicting schedules. Using the MBMC, GTI designed a hybrid “low-friction” course that allowed students to choose between in-person and online learning, adapting the education to the learner’s life rather than the other way around.
Spain (Escola del Treball de Lleida): The team used the model to turn official Certificates of Professionalism in Audit into stackable, high-level micro-credentials, ensuring they met the rigorous demands of the modern financial sector.
Denmark (Zealand Business College): ZBC utilized digitalization and Moodle Workplace to track how small units connect to larger qualifications, ensuring international recognition for essential skills like welding safety.
Estonia (Tartu Vocational College): VOCO piloted diferent approches to deliver micro-credential courses. Based on costs and revenue source analyses of the canvastheir aim was to ensure financial sustainability while remaining accessible to working adults.
The MicroCreds Model toolkit provides the step-by-step guides and printable worksheets needed to turn a great idea into a professional reality. The full toolkit is available for free at: https://microvet-project.eu/
The toolkit is a result of Erasmus+ project Lab4Microvet project, dedicated to the adoption of micro-qualifications in Vocational Education and Training. By fostering international cooperation, the project aims to create flexible learning pathways that enhance employability and personal development across Europe.