The many people that have been engaged in creating Credentials Frameworks, both in the US and around the world ask themselves “what impact will this idea have in the future? Will it lead to the transformation of the credentialing ecosystem? Will it codify and sustain the existing ecosystem dynamics? Or will it have some less impactful, but important, outcome such as improving some of the processes and mechanisms necessary to increase the value of credentialing. Any of these are possible.
Those organizations and people that are engaged in these design and development efforts, of course, are hoping for the first option. Following are several thoughts to be considered since we can’t predict or control the future:
The credentialing marketplace appears to be in disruption. The professionals involved in education, credentialing, and workforce practices cannot avoid the vast amount of articles, organizations, concepts, and products that are proliferating in this space. None of us can keep up with all the material we are receiving from our well-meaning colleagues. Some examples; colleges are innovating and exploring multiple ways of differentiating themselves from others to attract students; the economic value of credentials is being questioned in some circles to a level that has not been seen before; economic pressures on traditional institutions are increasing because of government and student resources; the current education/training systems do not appear to be closing skills gaps that are being identified, even though that idea has been promoted for at least twenty years (remember Goals 2000); and new more market-driven forms of credentialing are moving into the mainstream of professional practice. Where these matters will all wind up is uncertain, so our focus should be what role can a Credentials Framework have in this disruptive environment?
A warning from those with military experience is “don’t fight the last war” since you will then be tempted to focus on the past practices rather than focusing on the unique context that lies ahead—and reimagining success in that context. This future context may look very different—some of the experts that I follow suggest that the near future will be characterized by severe labor shortages, quantitative and qualitative, at the very time of a rapid demographic shift that will have significant implications including upward pressure on incomes; the nature of work will continue the shift away from routine and predictable “jobs”, brand new forms of credentialing institutions will invent themselves; shifting responsibilities from the employer as the source of professional development to the professional themselves at all levels will accelerate; and we will stop talking about K-16 and talk about K-90 (new college business models?). The implications of these shifts, and others, will be the environment that we will all be thinking about as we re-imagine the credentialing ecosystem and the role that the Credentials Framework can have in a rational and productive credentialing future.
Sustainability of impact of the Credentialing Framework throughout a rapidly changing environment will require assurances that the model being developed can provide clear value now and to have a dynamic design that can respond and adjust to more predictable and less predictable influences and challenges that lie in the future.
