Gig qualifications for the gig economy: micro-credentials and the ‘hungry mile’

Abstract

This paper argues that micro-credentials are gig credentials for the gig economy. Micro-credentials are short competency-based industry-aligned units of learning, while the gig economy comprises contingent work by individual ‘suppliers’. Both can be facilitated by (often the same) digital platforms, and both are underpinned by social relations of precariousness in the labour market and in society. They are mutually reinforcing and each has the potential to amplify the other. Rather than presenting new opportunities for social inclusion and access to education, they contribute to the privatisation of education by unbundling the curriculum and blurring the line between public and private provision in higher education. They accelerate the transfer of the costs of employment preparation, induction, and progression from governments and employers to individuals. Micro-credentials contribute to ‘disciplining’ higher education in two ways: first by building tighter links between higher education and workplace requirements (rather than whole occupations), and through ensuring universities are more ‘responsive’ to employer demands in a competitive market crowded with other types of providers. Instead of micro-credentials, progressive, democratic societies should seek to ensure that all members of society have access to a meaningful qualification that has value in the labour market and in society more broadly, and as a bridge to further education. This is a broader vision of education in which the purpose of education is to prepare individuals to live lives they have reason to value, and not just in the specifics required of particular jobs.

Gig Intentions in Management Students: Integrating JD-R in an Extended TPB Model

“…This conclusion draws the focus of policy makers and strategy makers of organizations, academic institutes and the government towards the measures to be undertaken in order to strengthen the gig economy and support gig job seekers. To be more responsive towards industry demands, especially during the post pandemic new normal it is important that educational institutes offer the micro-credentials required for a gig economy (Wheelahan & Moodie, 2021). Especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, the present workforce is bound to look for alternate career options for generating more income.…”

“…Developing a positive attitude towards gig jobs among students can be done by inviting corporates and successful gig professionals to share their stories with students. Studies in the past have focused on disciplining educational institutes in terms of supporting the gig economy by introducing gig oriented micro-credentials which can enhance employment outcomes (Wheelahan & Moodie, 2021). Micro-credentials are made of smaller components which include micro-certifications.…”

“…On the basis of how important the gig economy could be in the current context, it is imperative to understand the role of educational institutes in extending their support to the gig economy. Hence, several studies in recent times have focused on introducing micro-credentials in higher education systems to support the gig economy (Wheelahan & Moodie, 2021). The increasing prevalence of the gig economy has sweeping implications in every sector, particularly in the sector of business management education which plays a vital role in shaping the sense of self of students (Caza, 2020).…”

Unveiling the professional attributes of university teachers

“…We argue that the push for generic graduate attributes is indeed a reflection of the neoliberal push and vocationalisation of higher education to fulfil the needs of the workplace, finding expression more recently in micro-credentialing of gig qualifications for the gig economy (see Wheelahan and Moodie, 2021). Giroux (1992) cautions against the push towards vocationalising in higher education, and warns that educators should oppose this, as institutions of higher learning are not in service of the consumer-focused corporate world and should not be embedded in a neo-liberal market culture.…”

Micro-Credentials – Improvement or Fragmentation in Higher Education?

“…By respecting universities' educational policies, it can be stated that micro-credentials do not represent the newest trend of fragmentation in science and higher education, but rather even stronger market orientation (Marginson, 2006;Walsh, 2021;McGreal & Olcott, 2022). Micro-credentials are based on attributes of graduated students, employability and 21st century skills which leads to a logical conclusion; the purpose of learning is to prepare individuals for labour market, something which can be done in small pieces (Wheelahan & Moodie, 2021). Micro-credentials represent new educational concept that contributes to the "genericism" discourse in which individuals have to be ready for "permanent competence" in which, this kind of education, or even more precisely, training, is separated from fundamental scientific disciplines and fields as well as related professional identity (Bernstein, 2000).…”