Universities and Vocational Training are adapting their offerings to meet the needs of workers and companies for continuous skill updates. Meanwhile, competency certification is improving the prospects for millions of people.
Lifelong learning is a key element for the development of both companies and workers.
There was certainly a time when a person’s education and career were two separate periods. One would complete their degree or training and, with few exceptions, stop studying and begin a professional journey lasting about 40 years. But that era, and this is a fact, no longer exists.
“We must be aware that the training we receive has an expiration date. Technological revolutions bring with them the restructuring of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and professionals need to re-acquire skills and knowledge,” says José Manuel Mas, Vice-Rector of Academic Policy and Faculty at ESIC. “When I was young, they would say: if you study medicine, you will have to keep studying for your entire life. What used to be true for medicine is now true for most professions.”
This is not a passing trend or a priority being pushed by individual interests; companies, universities, and vocational training centers agree on the need to make education more flexible to address the challenge of continuous learning. This has resulted in the development of microlearning modules offered by universities and vocational training centers. This shift not only involves a profound transformation in the academic field but also emphasizes the importance of constant collaboration with the business sector to align education with market needs.
The Need for Continuous Learning
Lifelong learning, therefore, is crucial. “It’s hard to imagine that, during the 40 years left in your career, you won’t need to update yourself or stay current. On one hand, there are people who are unemployed and need training to re-enter the job market; on the other hand, those who are already employed but need to upskill,” explains Ángel Pazos, Rector of the University of Cantabria and President of CRUE Teaching. “There is also growing societal demand for continued learning. Although now 90-95% of our students are between 18 and 30 years old, the age range of 40, 50, and 60-year-olds is steadily increasing.”
Modular Training
However, balancing education with work is not easy. “At certain points in life, education is the primary activity, and broader training options are possible. But at other times, education must be combined with other responsibilities, whether professional, family, or personal,” recalls Clara Sanz, Secretary General of Vocational Training at the Ministry of Education. “So, if a system only offers training programs of 1,000 or 2,000 hours, many adults will not be able to pursue them, even if they need them.”
The solution, both for universities and vocational training, lies in breaking down training into smaller units, or microlearning: small training modules that allow people to acquire specific skills without needing to commit to longer academic programs.
Ultimately, this approach opens up educational possibilities, enabling individuals to take the content they need to improve personally or professionally, while only dedicating a limited number of hours (15, 30, 60, etc.). “These training modules are portable, accreditable, and accumulative. Someone might complete a professional certificate entirely or accumulate multiple micro-formations until they reach the full certificate,” explains Sanz.
Collaboration with Business: Essential
While the collaboration between businesses and vocational training has been ongoing (and recently reformed by the new law on dual training), the relationship between universities and businesses has not been as strong. Fortunately, this is changing and will be essential for the proper implementation of microcredentials. “When I entered university, these were two separate worlds that barely interacted. But since then, there has been a huge advance, and now all universities have channels for employer participation,” says Pazos.
Both Pazos, Mas, and Sanz agree that microcredentials will only succeed if the plans made by each university are aligned with the business sector: “If a training product does not address a specific need, the market will respond, and it will cease to exist. A solid and up-to-date education is the best tool for employability,” says Mas, for whom these opportunities for lifelong learning “democratize access to university; not only for young people finishing high school but for any professional who wants to update their training.”
A Sustainable Future for Microcredentials
The future of micro-formations will largely depend on ensuring their sustainability. The government has allocated 50 million euros to train 60,000 people over two years; these funds have already reached the autonomous communities: “Universities have already launched microcredentials this year, but it will be next year (2024-2025) when the plan is fully defined,” adds Pazos.
For Pazos, the success of these microtrainings depends not only on the catalog itself but on several key factors: first, increasing awareness efforts that universities are already making, with the goal of creating a national microcredentials register where people can consult real-time available trainings in specific areas; second, collaborating with businesses, which will logically promote these trainings among their employees; third, ensuring permanent funding; and, finally, valuing this new type of education within the academic community itself.
The Importance of Competency Accreditation
Alongside the development of permanent training programs, and as part of the reform of vocational training in Spain, it is important to highlight the competency accreditation initiative, aimed at those who, even without formal certification, have acquired competencies through professional experience. “We currently have one and a half million people who have accredited their competencies to be in the Vocational Training registry based on what they already know how to do, or who will complement it with other forms of education,” says Sanz.
Competency certification, according to Sanz, has a profound impact on individuals: “First, because it’s a source of motivation and empowerment for workers, but also because the lack of recognized competencies makes them vulnerable. In case of a crisis or job loss, they have no proof of their abilities.”
For companies, competency certification also brings benefits: “It generates loyalty and a sense of belonging among workers,” says Sanz. Furthermore, it helps organizations to address the training needs of their own employees and stay competitive. The accreditation of competencies is the first step for companies to know their talent map and plan the necessary training actions to improve job performance.
How to Accredit My Professional Competencies
With the reform of vocational training, accrediting professional competencies will no longer be a one-time event but a permanent process available across all regions. Any citizen without a professional certificate or vocational training title can now accredit their skills based on their work experience, often starting from the age of 16.
The accreditation process is straightforward: individuals need to approach their local education department, where they will be directed to the relevant center to undergo the accreditation process. After presenting their work history, an advisor and evaluator will verify their documentation and possibly visit the workplace to confirm the skills claimed. If the competencies are verified, they are added to the Vocational Training registry. From there, individuals can access further training to eventually obtain a professional certificate.
