Gig Qualifications for the Gig Economy: Micro-Credentials and the 'Hungry Mile'

Autor/inn/en	Wheelahan, Leesa; Moodie, Gavin
Titel	Gig Qualifications for the Gig Economy: Micro-Credentials and the 'Hungry Mile'
Quelle	In: Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, 83 (2022) 6, S.1279-1295 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Wheelahan, Leesa) ORCID (Moodie, Gavin)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0018-1560
DOI	10.1007/s10734-021-00742-3
Schlagwörter	Employment Qualifications; Temporary Employment; Credentials; Labor Market; Economic Climate; Competency Based Education; Career Development; Human Capital; Inclusion; Access to Education; Privatization; Education Work Relationship; Role of Education; Higher Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Employment qualification; Vocational qualification; Vocational qualifications; Berufliche Qualifikation; Zeitarbeit; Studienbuch; Labour market; Arbeitsmarkt; Wirtschaftslage; Education; Competence; Competency; Competency-based education; Unterricht; Kompetenzorientierte Methode; Berufsentwicklung; Humankapital; Inklusion; Access; Bildung; Zugang; Bildungszugang; Privatisation; Privatisierung; Bildungsauftrag; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen
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. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01