Micro-credentials
Quick, flexible learning options to accelerate your career
Micro-credentials are short, flexible, quality-assured courses that provide learners skills and competencies that are valued by industry and employers. They may be complementary to traditional credentials such as certificates, diplomas and degrees or stand alone. Currently, Medicine Hat College offers responsive programming in the areas of hospitality and tourism, technology, and agriculture. These credentials have been developed alongside industry to ensure that they both fill a gap and help students gain employment.
Current micro-credentials include:
- Rainwater Harvesting (Registration now open!)
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Advanced Pilot Training (Registration now open!)
- Permaculture Design
- Tourism & Hospitality Management Funding for the development of these programs was provided by the Government of Alberta.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Short, flexible and affordable: Micro-credentials are offered at various times throughout the year, they may be delivered online, in-class or in a blended approach. They are an affordable and fast way to enhance your skills and knowledge with timely and targeted training.
- Quality-assured and validated by industry: Micro-credentials represent competencies recognized as valuable by industry and employers. They are subject to a robust quality assurance, and institutional approval process.
- Shareable: When learners complete a micro-credential they will receive a digital badge that can be shared on your personal social media, displayed on resumes or included in your email signature. Badges include meta-data with your name, the issuing post-secondary institution and the micro-credential attained.
Micro-credentials focus on a specific set of competencies and skills versus traditional credentials which take a more comprehensive view on a subject. Micro-credentials can be complimentary to existing programs and help show a greater expertise in a particular subject area.
Digital badges are clickable icons that contain meta-data such as your name, the issuing post-secondary institution, and the micro-credential attained. MHC utilizes a systems called MyCreds which enables students to access and share their credentials on their social media accounts like LinkedIn, through email signatures and in online resumes.
Micro-credentials are created alongside industry, they are designed to fill a need or gap. This credential may increase an employer’s confidence in a prospective employees skills, in particular when they are directly related to the job being applied for.