A World of Transformation:

Moving from Degrees to Skills-

Based Alternative Credentials Education Division

Mercedes Mateo Diaz

JungKyu Rhys Lim TECHNICAL
Isabel Cardenas-Navia NOTE Nº
IDB-TN-02347
Karen Elzey

June 2022
A World of Transformation:
Moving from Degrees to Skills-Based Alternative
Credentials

Mercedes Mateo Diaz

JungKyu Rhys Lim
Isabel Cardenas-Navia
Karen Elzey

Inter-American Development Bank

Workcred

June 2022
Cataloging-in-Publication data provided by the
Inter-American Development Bank
Felipe Herrera Library
A world of transformation: moving from degrees to skills-based alternative credentials /
Mercedes Mateo Díaz, JungKyu Rhys Lim, Isabel Cardenas-Navia, Karen Elzey.
p. cm. — (IDB Technical Note ; 2347)
Includes bibliographic references.
1. Non-formal education-Latin America. 2. Non-formal education-Caribbean Area. 3.
Web-based instruction-Latin America. 4. Web-based instruction-Caribbean Area. 5.
Human capital-Latin America. 6. Human capital-Caribbean Area. 7. Labor market-
Latin America. 8. Labor market-Caribbean Area. I. Mateo Díaz, Mercedes. II. Lim,
JungKyu Rhys. III. Cardenas-Navia, Isabel. IV. Elzey, Karen. V. Inter-American
Development Bank. Education Division. VI. Workcred. VII. Series.
IDB-TN-2347

Keywords: Non-degree credentials, alternative credentials, MOOCs, coding bootcamp,

apprenticeships, online degrees, micro-credentials, certification, certificate, skills gaps,
skills need, 21st century skills, labor market, labor force, COVID-19, academic degrees,
higher education, university, human capital development, employment, training,
upskilling, badge, license, signaling, skills, public university, private university,
partnerships, online learning, hybrid learning

JEL Codes: I20, I23, I28, J01, J08

http://www.iadb.org

Copyright © 2022 Inter-American Development Bank. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC-IGO BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/
legalcode) and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed.

Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to
the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be
subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license.

Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American
Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.
 Mercedes Mateo Díaz, JungKyu Rhys Lim, Isabel Cardenas-Navia, Karen Elzey

1
 Abstract
Postsecondary education is undergoing a period of profound
change. One of the most significant changes is the emergence
of skills-based alternative credentials as both complements and
alternatives to traditional degrees. Several factors have combined
to favor these shorter, less expensive, and more versatile ways to
gain knowledge and skills for work. They are the rigidity and high
cost of traditional degrees; the fact that traditional institutions are
failing to equip many graduates with the skills they need; and the
need to rapidly upskill and reskill workers to meet the increasingly
complex demands of modern economies. This report summarizes
evidence suggesting a decrease in the value of degrees as a signaling
mechanism in the labor market. It also identifies the benefits of
non-degree alternative credentials and makes recommendations
on ways to increase their value and acceptance in the market. It
remains to be seen whether whether alternative credentials are
a short-term strategy to close the skills gaps and deal with the
transition to adaptive and qualified labor, or a permanent strategy
of human capital development.

3
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments.......................................................................................... 7
About the Authors......................................................................................... 8
Executive Summary..................................................................................... 10

Part 1:
Hello Disruption....................................................................................................17
1.1. The decreasing value of degrees as a signalling mechanism for employers......................... 32
1.2. A skills mismatch and shortage.............................................................................................................. 36
1.3. The impact of COVID-19 on higher education.................................................................................. 39
1.4. The opportunity for filling the skills gap.............................................................................................. 41

Part 2:
A New Market in Education and Training..................................................46
2.1. A round of introductions: What are alternative credentials?...................................................... 47
2.2. Types of alternative credentials.............................................................................................................50

Part 3:
Degrees and Alternative Credentials as Parts of the Solution..........59
3.1. Similarities between degrees and alternative credentials............................................................60
3.2. Differences between degrees and alternative credentials.......................................................... 62

Part 4:
Degrees and Alternative Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets..............................................................................................82
4.1. What occupations are not open to alternative credentials?....................................................... 84
4.2. What occupations are open to alternative credentials?.............................................................. 86
4.3. When can alternative credentials be particularly helpful?..........................................................90

Part 5:
Next Steps to Realize Alternative Credentials’ Full Potential...........93

References........................................................................................ 102
 List of Figures
Figure 1.1. Workers in occupations at high risk of automation......................................................... 20
Figure 1.3. 21st century skills........................................................................................................................... 22
Figure 1.3. 21st century skills can help navigate challenges............................................................... 23
Figure 1.4. Alternative credentials can help close skills gaps............................................................ 24
Figure 1.5. Different types of academic partnerships established by universities..................... 26
Figure 1.6. Unbundling traditional postsecondary education:
Companies that offer specialized services......................................................................... 27
Figure 1.7. Online, offline, hybrid, and hyflex learning models become the norm..................... 28
Figure 1.8. Diversified online course platforms: From MOOC to marketplace............................ 29
Figure 1.9. Global venture capital investment in EdTech?..................................................................30
Figure 1.10. Venture capital investment in EdTech in Latin America and the Caribbean.......30
Figure 1.11. Mismatch between university graduates’ degrees and first jobs.............................. 33
Figure 1.12. Mismatch between university graduates’ degrees and current jobs....................... 34
Figure 1.13. Features needed for alternatives to degrees...................................................................44
Figure 1.14. Global postsecondary, workforce, online degree, and micro-credential
market estimates (in US$)....................................................................................................... 45
Figure 2.1. Credential as umbrella term...................................................................................................... 47
Figure 2.2. Credentials by length and accreditation.............................................................................50
Figure 3.1. Credit hours and classes for degrees.................................................................................... 64
Figure 3.2. Credit hours and classes for alternative credentials....................................................... 65
Figure 3.3. Types of validation....................................................................................................................... 67
Figure 3.4. Mincerian returns: a comparison of incomplete higher education versus
completion (degrees) in Latin America and the Caribbean, mid-2010s................ 70
Figure 3.5. The expected financial value of college: Distribution of ROI
by major category, adjusting for completion outcomes................................................ 71
Figure 3.6. Chile: Proportion of students facing negative expected returns in,
by field and institution types.................................................................................................. 72
Figure 3.7. Percentage share of graduates having a highly innovative job
(product/service innovation)................................................................................................... 73
Figure 3.8. Earnings, by discipline, among workers with academic
and continuing-education certificates................................................................................. 74
Figure 3.9. In LAC, short-cycle program (SCP) graduates attain better
employment outcomes than high school graduates and college dropouts.......... 75
Figure 3.10. Net returns in Chile vary among programs and by field of study:
SCPs and college programs.................................................................................................... 76
Figure 3.11. Short-cycle programs (SCPs) have disparate effects on
LAC student outcomes, by field............................................................................................ 76
Figure 4.1. Alternative credentials can help signal high-demand skills
and identify talent........................................................................................................................90
Figure 4.2. Emerging and declining skills, 2015–17................................................................................. 91
Figure 4.3. In Latin American and the Caribbean, SCPs have higher
completion rates than college programs............................................................................ 92

5
 List of Tables
Table 2.1. Types of alternative credentials................................................................................................ 52
Table 2.2. Apprenticeships in Latin America and the Caribbean..................................................... 57
Table 3.1. Similarities between degrees and alternative credentials...............................................60
Table 3.2. Difference between degrees and alternative credentials............................................... 62
Table 3.3. Returns in Chile, by field of study and postsecondary institution types.................. 72
Table 3.4. Salary premium of professional certifications on entry-level positions................... 77
Table 3.5. Salary premium of professional certifications for mid-career
positions in network and cloud technologies..................................................................... 78
Table 3.6. Job postings for applicants with alternative credentials................................................80
Table 4.1. Entry-level education and median pay: The medical industry...................................... 84
Table 4.2. Legal industry entry-level education and median pay.................................................... 85
Table 4.3. ICT industry entry-level education and median pay........................................................ 86
Table 4.4. Engineering industry entry-level education and median pay...................................... 87
Table 4.5. Apprenticeships by the numbers............................................................................................. 88
Table 4.6. The socioeconomics of short-cycle programs (SCPs) and bachelor’s degree
programs in Latin American and the Caribbean:
A comparison (in percentages)............................................................................................... 92

6
 Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Juan Carlos Navarro, Sean Gallagher,
Roy A. Swift, Diana Hincapie, and Gregory Elacqua for their reviews.
We also thank Cecilia Rodriguez Alcala, Changha Lee, and Laura
Becerra for their constructive feedback. Many thanks to Liliana
Serrano for her communication and dissemination efforts, Juan
Sebastian Fonseca for design and graphics, and Juanita Caycedo,
Elena Lafuente, and João Cossi for their support in Spanish and
Portuguese translation.

7
 About the Authors
Mercedes Mateo Díaz
Chief of the Education Division,
Inter-American Development Bank

Mercedes is Chief of the Education Division at the Inter-American

Development Bank (IDB), where she leads a team of specialists and
professionals to support the transformation of the educational systems in
Latin America and the Caribbean. Convinced of the value of investing in
people to transform societies, she leads and contributes to the research,
design, and execution of innovative education projects. Moreover, she
coordinates IDB’s 21st-Century Skills initiative, a multidisciplinary group
developing effective solutions to help individuals of any age cope with an
increasingly digitized world, reinvent themselves throughout their work
lives, and coexist with different people and environments. Her work covers
various areas of international development and social policy, with a strong
emphasis on inequality. Mercedes joined IDB in 2004. Between 2002 and
2004, she was a postdoctoral research fellow and honorary researcher
at the Belgian Scientific Research Foundation (FNRS). In 2002, she was
awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship at the European University Institute.

JungKyu Rhys Lim

Social Science Consultant,
Inter-American Development Bank

Rhys is a behavioral scientist and educator. Rhys’s research investigates

how to help individuals, communities, and organizations better prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and recover from risks and crises (such as
climate change, automation, aging, migration, and public health risks).
At the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), he supports the bank-
wide initiative that strengthens education and training ecosystems
for 21st-century skills. Before joining IDB, Rhys taught undergraduate
communication classes at the University of Maryland. Rhys also helped
design maternal and reproductive health and gender-based violence
programs to help young girls and mothers after consecutive cyclones
in Mozambique. He developed effective science-based messages to
motivate community members to adopt disaster preparedness behaviors
for tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. Rhys has published more
than 35 refereed journal articles, conference papers, and government
reports. Rhys’s research has been funded by government agencies,
research institutions, companies, and nonprofits. He holds a Ph.D. in
Communication from the University of Maryland.

8
 About the Authors
Isabel Cardenas-Navia
Senior Director of Research,
Workcred

Isabel serves as Workcred’s senior director of research to advance its

research agenda and examine workforce-credentialing issues and needs.
Previously, Dr. Cardenas-Navia was the vice president of programs with
the Business–Higher Education Forum (BHEF). Through her career, she
has led and facilitated projects bringing together Fortune 500 employers
and higher-education institutions. She successfully applied for funding
from the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation. Prior to
BHEF, Dr. Cardenas-Navia was the president and founder of Alta Vision
Consulting, where she provided short-term, project-based consulting in
policy and workforce development in scientific and technical fields. She
has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and a certificate in Biomolecular
and Tissue Engineering from Duke University, and a B.S. in Mechanical
Engineering from Yale University.

Karen Elzey
Associate Executive Director,
Workcred

Karen serves as the associate executive director of Workcred, where she

advances projects that focus on the quality, effectiveness, and market value
of workforce credentials. Ms. Elzey has more than 20 years of experience
in workforce development. Previously, she was vice president of the
Business–Higher Education Forum (BHEF), vice president of the Institute
for a Competitive Workforce, part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and
founding director of Skills for America’s Future, an employer-led policy
initiative initially part of the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen
Institute. She has taught English as a second language in Poland. Ms.
Elzey earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio, and completed Georgetown University’s executive
leadership program at the McDonough School of Business.

9
 Executive
Summary
Traditional degrees take years and often thousands of dollars
to acquire—and they frequently fail to prepare students for the
workplace. They are costly for individuals, their families, companies,
and society, in terms of both direct outlays and opportunity costs.
Recognizing the high cost of a post-secondary degree, both
students and employers are looking for more responsive, shorter,
less expensive, non-degree alternative credentials (Non-Degree
Credentials Research Network, 2019).

Do such alternative credentials serve the needs of individuals,

employers, and society as a whole? This report examines the evidence
and makes recommendations on ways to increase their value and
acceptance in the market.

What are alternative credentials?

Academic degrees are credentials awarded by a college, university, or other postsecondary
educational institution upon completion of a prescribed course of study or in recognition
of a scholarly work deemed worthy of the degree (Klasik, 2012).

Alternative non-degree credentials constitute a wide array of credentials not recognized

as “standalone formal educational qualifications by relevant national education
authorities” (Kato, Galan-Muros, and Weko, 2020). They are awarded upon completion
of one or more academic courses or a program of training, or evaluation. The principal
types of alternative credentials are reviewed in box ES.1.

10
 Box ES.1 Main features of three broad types of
alternative credentials
Alternative or non-degree credentials can be broken down into three broad categories:

Certificates of course completion

include certificates issued by so-called massive open online courses (MOOCs) (1–10+
hours), micro-credentials (100 hours to a year), and certificates of completion of
continuing education programs (100 hours to 4 years). All are shorter in duration than
an academic degree, though some may give rise to academic credit and be “stackable”
with other courses. Costs vary widely from a few hundred dollars to $20,000.

Certificates of training completion

are issued to those who complete occupation-focused training such as a coding or
programming bootcamp (6 weeks to 3 years) or an apprenticeship (6 weeks to 6
years). The bootcamp costs vary from free to $85,000. They blend work experience
with instruction and generally involve no monetary cost to the apprentice.

Certification of skills after passing an assessment

indicate that individuals have adequate knowledge and can competently perform
certain tasks. Industry-recognized certifications are awarded by industry and
professional associations based on formal assessments, which can cost up to a few
$1,400 dollars. Some certifications are time limited—that is, they must be periodically
renewed.

What is driving the demand for

alternative credentials?
Alternative credentials have been driven by both demand for qualified labor and an
emerging supply of programs providing such credentials. Many companies—including
Apple, Google, IBM, Bank of America, and EY—no longer require degrees for new hires.
Some of them, such as Google, IBM, and Amazon, both hire people with such credentials
and offer professional certificates and education curricula, often in partnership with
higher education institutions (Swift et al., 2020; Uranis et al., 2022).

Workers lack the skills employers need. Despite spending more than ever on hiring
(Bersin, 2014), employers have been struggling to identify workers with the skills they
need (PwC, 2020). Many jobs require higher levels of skills than were required in the past
(Hwang and Kim, 2020), which current education and formal training systems are not
providing (World Economic Forum, 2017, 2020; IDB et al., 2022; King and Zaharchuk,
2016). Skills mismatches and shortages reveal the need to upskill and reskill workers
more quickly and develop better-qualified labor.

This need is particularly great given the rapid pace at which jobs and occupations now
change. A 2016 study projected that about 65% of children entering primary schools
would hold jobs that did not yet exist (World Economic Forum, 2016). Skills get outdated
more rapidly than ever (Pelster, Stempel, and van der Vyver, 2017; World Economic

11
 Forum, 2016). Companies estimate that 40% of their workers will need reskilling for six
months or less (World Economic Forum, 2020).

Traditional degree programs are costly and often fail to serve employers’ needs.
Traditional academic degrees are expensive to obtain. In the United States, for example,
student loan borrowers collectively owe more than $1.5 trillion (an average of $34,000
per borrower), making student loans the second-largest type of consumer debt (Mitchell,
2019). In Latin America, annual tuition ranges from US$1,243 for universities and US$2,694
for four-year professional institutes in Peru to US$5,423 for five-year universities in Chile
(Espinoza and Urzúa, 2016). Some countries in Latin America and Europe offer free
tuition to students. In these cases, it is taxpayers who finance tuition (Ferreyra et al.,
2017). Formal education and training systems are also rigid, with many failing to teach
their students the skills they need to succeed in the workplace.

New types of education programs have emerged. In response to both demand and
supply, the education and labor markets have experienced a paradigm shift, progressively
accepting unconventional, practical, diversified, unbundled education and training
programs offered by the private sector. Degrees can be viewed as bundles of sequenced
curricula, with clearly defined credit hours, classes, and courses. Micro-credentials and
alternative credential courses provide unbundled, focused, targeted courses as alternatives
to or substitutes for degrees (HolonIQ, 2021). More and more providers have been
unbundling education, developing modular models, and, by doing so, making education
more affordable, accessible, and convenient (Christensen et al., 2011; Horn, 2014)

Similarities between degrees and

alternative credentials
Both degree and alternative credentials do the following:

Increase human capital. Schooling and training provide marketable skills and abilities
relevant to job performance (Becker, 1964; Schultz, 1962).

Communicate specific technical abilities and productivity. Job candidates and employers
use education credentials to communicate and signal specific technical abilities and
productivity (Bills, 2003; Non-Degree Credentials Research Network, 2019).

Screen and filter job candidates. Education and training serve as screening and
filtering devices, conveying information to employers or labor purchasers (Arrow,
1973; Bills, 2003).

Provide signals to employers and branding for job seekers. Some experts argue that
degrees and credentials matter much more than the skills and knowledge people acquire
from classes. Education credentials send signals to potential employees about the
applicant’s skills and capabilities (Spence, 1973). The effect of education on earnings is
not linear, as degrees and some Non-Degree credentials provide a much large boost to
earnings than a single year of schooling (the “sheepskin effect”) (Belman & Heywood,
1991; Busso et al., 2020).

Communicate cultural, social, and interpersonal characteristics. Individuals learn skills,

norms, and protocols in schools, but they also self-select education levels and options.

12
 Differences between degrees and
alternative credentials
These two major classes of credentials, degrees and alternative credentials, differ in
program length, the breadth of skills taught, the manner of validation, providers, cost,
recognition and market value, networking opportunities, employers’ perceptions, and level
of industry involvement.

In many fields, alternative credentials can provide quicker, less expensive, more accessible,
more versatile solutions than academic degrees, providing an attractive alternative path
to good employment. In some cases, the variance within the category is greater than that
between categories.

Program length. Undergraduate university degrees require at least two years to six years;
some alternative credentials can be obtained in a matter of hours. Alternative credentials
are typically much more focused than university degrees.

Ways of validation. Attendance, assignments, examinations, grades, and credit hours all
count toward a university degree; for alternative credentials, examinations predominate
in the validation of certification of skills, whereas attendance and assignments prevail for
certificates of course or training completion.

Providers. The providers of academic credentials are higher education institutions,

accredited and unaccredited, whereas professional and industrial organizations play a
much larger role in alternative credentials.

Costs. Alternative credentials can cost a fraction of traditional bachelor’s degrees.

Traditional bachelor’s degrees can cost more than $40,000 to $150,000 in the U.S., and up
to about US$ 5,500 in Latin America, although those earning degrees can take advantage
of a wider range of financial assistance (e.g., financial aid, grants, loans, tax credits,
work-study). Conversely, alternative credentials are much less expensive. Specifically,
certificates for completing courses cost $0 to $5,000. Certificates for occupation-focused
training cost from zero to $50 per month to $13,500. Certifications costs $100 to $1,400,
depending on the assessment.

Market value and recognition. The economic value of an academic degree varies widely
with the major subject; similarly, the value of alternative credentials varies substantially
across occupations, subjects, types, industries, states, and regions. Some alternative
credentials, such as coding bootcamps certificates, can have similar earning potentials
compared to bachelor’s degrees. Among alternative credentials, employers ask for
professional certifications much more often than academic certificates.

Social capital and networking opportunities. Degree programs offer extracurricular

activities, opportunities to forge friendships and connections, and access to social networks,
including alumni; alternative credentials offer fewer social networking possibilities.

Employers’ perception and premium. Although academic degrees serve as a long-

established proxy for employers, employers often place heavy emphasis on specialized
certificates and certifications when hiring. Most academic credentials have no explicit
tie to a specific field, profession, or industry, whereas many alternative credentials are
closely tied.

13
 Some large companies offer their own credentials, either directly or in conjunction with
academic institutions (Gallagher, 2016). AT&T sponsors Georgia Tech’s online master’s
program in computer science, for example; Google offers professional certificates (Google,
2022), Amazon Web Service offers certifications (AWS, 2022), and IBM offers badges
(IBM, 2022). Some professional certifications—for auto repair (ASE certifications), IT help
desk (CompTIA), and welding (American Welding Society [AWS] and American Society
of Mechanical Engineers [ASME) certifications), for example—are already recognized in
the market (Markow et al., 2017).

What occupations are open to

alternative credentials?
Information and communication technology. People with the needed skills who lack
degrees can earn high salaries in new and emerging jobs in information and communication
technology (ICT). Computer programmers, developers, security analysts, and computer
support specialists do not need to hold academic degrees; ICT professionals can hold various
types of alternative credentials, including course certificates, coding bootcamp certificates,
and certifications. Notably, these occupations offer competitive pay to alternative, non-
degree credential holders, compared to other occupations requiring degrees.

Engineering. Many occupations in engineering still require bachelor’s or master’s degrees.

Technicians and drafters often hold two-year degrees, certificates, or certifications; some
gain their credential through apprenticeship.

Construction, installation, repair, and transportation. Many jobs in construction,

installation, repair, and transportation require apprenticeships. They include carpenters,
construction laborers, electrical power-line installers and repairers, electricians, truck
drivers, plumbers, and sheet metal workers (Torpey, 2019).

Conversely, lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, and other professionals must still obtain
academic degrees.

14
 When can alternative credentials
be particularly helpful?
Alternative credentials reflect the need for skills that are in high demand but short supply,
which is valuable information for employers and job seekers alike (Markow et al., 2017).
In other words, they attest to the existence of a talent shortage. By earning a alternative
credential, job seekers can gain major payoff.

In particular, alternative credentials conferred after relevant learning and training programs
can boost the prospects of low-income workers and indigenous/marginalized populations
(Ferreyra et al., 2021).

Next steps: What needs to be done to realize

the full potential of alternative credentials?
New generations will not necessarily need higher education degrees to succeed in the
labor market. In many fields, alternative credentials can provide quicker, less expensive,
more accessible, more versatile solutions than academic degrees, providing an attractive
alternative path to good employment (Ferreyra et al., 2021).

Alternative credentials can be stacked into various types of other credentials, including
academic degrees, to help meet the demand for skills, especially in low-income, vulnerable
populations (Bailey & Belfield, 2017). That “stackability” can encourage people to engage
in lifelong learning.

Alternative credentials can also provide a shortcut to employment (Workcred, 2020).

With so many students dropping out of school for lack of time or resources, alternative
credentials can provide an attractive, short, and accessible alternative to gain skills
(Ferreyra et al., 2021). To enable such students to realize their full potential, greater efforts
are needed to promote alternative learning through stackable, alternative credentials.

Alternative credentials can also impart soft skills, which are critical for successful work and
life. At present, however, only few alternative credentials focus specifically on soft skills.

Despite the benefits they offer to job-seekers, employers, and the economy, alternative
credentials are not yet fulfilling their full potential. Increasing their acceptance will require
continuous improvement in several areas, notably those discussed below.

Efforts should be made to collect data and raise awareness about the existence and
benefits of alternative credentials among employers and prospective students. In the
United States, higher education institutions are required to report data on completion rates,
employment, and the wages of students who earn degrees; no equivalent policy exist for
alternative credentials. Providing information about costs, funding options, salaries, and
career options could help increase the attractiveness of alternative credentials.

15
 Alternative credentials have stigma that they are the lesser choice compared to bachelor’s
programs (Ferreyra et al., 2021; Fazio et al., 2016). Public and private sector will need to work
to remove the stigma and increase alternative credentials desirability by communicating
potentials that alternative credentials can provide and success stories.

The quality of alternative credentials must be continuously improved. Alternative credentials

have an uneven quality. Evidence indicates that industry-wide standardized criteria can be
a key factor for the strong market value of professional certifications (Markow, 2017). No
regulations presently govern the delivery, duration, assessment, validation, or content of
alternative credentials. Quality assurance processes that provide oversight, supervision,
and regulation of programs and institutions (Taylor & Soares, 2020) and industry-wide
standardized criteria (Markow, 2017) may be needed.

To better align programs with employers’ needs, they should include more experiential
learning. Methods of assessment could be expanded to include, for example, performance-
based assessment, work portfolios, and other means of demonstrating competence.

Blockchain could be used to create verifiable, portable, interoperable, user-controlled

digital alternative credentials. Blockchain technology can store a person’s entire learning
journey, including content, outcomes, achievements, and academic certificates, while
reducing credential fraud risks (Chen et al., 2018; Smolenski, 2021). This information can be
transformed into digital currency and stored in a blockchain network (Chen et al., 2018).

The government must play a role. But the private sector, which is by far the largest
employer, must alter its perceptions, hiring habits, and career development programs to
increase opportunities for workers without college degrees (Lohr, 2020).

This is a wake-up call for traditional formal education and training systems to adapt to a
world in transformation. Based on our experience of the 21st-Century Skills Coalition at
the Inter-American Development Bank, our call for action implores the public and private
sectors to learn from and collaborate with each other.

Only by strengthening the training and employment ecosystems with public-private

partnerships can we bridge the massive skills gaps. Only if the Latin American and
Caribbean region bridges the talent gap will its countries be able to prosper, innovate, and
compete globally.

16
 Part 1:

Hello,
Disruption
1.1. The decreasing value of degrees as a signalling
mechanism for employers...............................................................................32

1.2. A skills mismatch and shortage....................................................................36

1.3. The impact of COVID-19 on Higher education........................................39
1.4. The opportunity for filling the skills gap.................................................... 41

17
 Part 1:
Hello, Disruption
For several generations, academic degrees have been a currency graduates use in
exchange for good jobs in the labor market. But this connection between formal
credentials and jobs is being disrupted.

Despite the continuing value and wage premiums being awarded to degree holders, the
benefits of college and university degrees are being questioned by students, employees,
and employers (Belkin, 2020). About 40% of recent college graduates in the United States
hold jobs that require no college degree (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2021).

Furthermore, more than 60% of college students in the United States graduate with
student loan debt, and, student loan borrowers collectively owe over $1.5 trillion (on
average, $34,000 per person) (Mitchell, 2019). Studies have found that 6% to 25% of
university and college programs leave students financially worse off than if they never
attended the program (Copper, 2021a, 2021b; Gillen, 2021; Itzkowitz, 2021; Marcus, 2021).
This low return on investment is common among those majoring in art, music, philosophy,
religion, and psychology (Copper, 2021a, 2021b; Marcus, 2021).

Over the past two decades in Latin America, the higher education system has expanded,
with enrollment doubling, from 23% in 2000 to 54% in 2020 (World Bank, 2022). The
region now has the third-largest student populations, following North America (86%)
and Europe and Central Asia (70%). In Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela, enrollment
rose more than 30% over the past 15 years. Approximately 28 million students in Latin
America are studying at 10,000 universities and college and taking part in 60,000
academic programs.

Despite these higher numbers, however, Latin America employers and businesses have not
become more productive, nor have they found ways to employ the region’s graduates, and
achievement that would contribute to closing the so-called skills gaps. Completion of a course
of tertiary study, culminating in a degree, has become more fraught, with a 46% graduation
rate. Students between ages 25 and 29 years either dropped out of or delayed their studies
(Ferreyra et al., 2017). Only Mexico and Peru showed completion rates similar to those in the
United States. The study-completion numbers are even worse for low-income and indigenous
or other marginalized population groups. Their access to tertiary-level educations is under
10%, compared with 70% for the wealthiest students. Also, disadvantaged ethnic groups
are 15% less likely to attend college and university (Ferreyra et al., 2017). Reasons for these
disparities in part rest in weak quality-assurance mechanisms for higher education and the
education’s misalignment with labor market needs.

The number of college student enrollments fell during the pandemic (National Student
Clearinghouse, 2021a), as did the number of high school graduates going straight to
university (National Student Clearinghouse, 2021b). These declines were caused, in part,
by perceptions about the value of degree-granting programs in the midst of a pandemic.
Some students turned to online education providers. Enrollment in short-term credential-
providing classes rose to 8 million learners (a 70% rise); approximately 30,000 students
graduated from coding bootcamps in 2019 (Belkin, 2020).

18 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 The current skills shortage, or mismatch, makes it more difficult for employers to find
applicants (LaPrade et al., n.d.; ManpowerGroup, 2018). This challenge (not enough
workers with the right mix of skills) is not new, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated
the trend. There may also be a disconnect between what kind of employees companies
need in the 21st century and what job skills the tertiary education system is imparting
(World Economic Forum, 2017, 2020). In addition, a shift in the relative importance of
skills is placing a premium on “soft skills” (Deming, 2017; Heckman & Kautz, 2012; Edin
et al., 2017). Perseverance, sociability, and curiosity are some of the attributes seen in
the most gifted job seekers, predicting success in life (Weidmann and Deming, 2020).
People with high social skills work more efficiently by coordinating or trading tasks with
others. Can these soft skills be imparted by credentialing organizations that are not part
of tertiary-level academic study? We discuss this and other education matters below.

19 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Automation in the workplace is another complication in the skills-market mismatch.
Employees must continually update their knowledge as automation displaces those
workers assigned to routine and repetitive tasks (World Economic Forum, 2020). Indeed,
since the late 20th century, the number of jobs requiring routine cognitive tasks (like
bookkeeping and filing) and routine manual tasks (assembly-line work) has plunged,
while jobs requiring 21st-century skills like identifying and solving problems and complex
communication (e.g., interpreting critical information) have expanded (Autor et al., 2003).
This trend will intensify with automation. Although the estimated number of those working
in occupations at high risk of automation varies, some data indicate rates above 50% in
Latin American and the Caribbean (Bosch et al., 2018; McKinsey, 2017; Plastino et al., 2018;
World Bank, 2016) (see Figure 1.1). The result is that people will change jobs and career
tracks multiple times throughout their lives, while working with robots every day (Mateo
Diaz et al., 2019).

Figure 1.1.
Percentage of workers in occupations with a high risk of automation

Guatemala
75%
El Salvador
75%
Ecuador
69%
Costa Rica
68%
Bolivia
67%
Panama
65%
Nicaragua
65%
Argentina
65%
Paraguay
64%
Uruguay
63%
Dominican Republic
62%
United States
47%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Source: Bosch et al., 2018

20 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Since machines are not yet adept at simulating human behaviors and completing non-
routine, low-predictability tasks, automation may spur the existing demand for workers
with soft skills. Between 1980 and 2012 the share of all jobs in the U.S. economy calling
for social skills–intensive occupations grew by 11.8%. Additionally, wages for occupations
requiring strong math and social skills grew four times as much as wages for high math
and low social skills (5.9% vs. 26%) over the same period (Deming, 2017). In Sweden,
ROI for non-cognitive skills almost doubled, while the returns on cognitive skills among
Swedish workers remained almost flat between 1992 and 2013 (Edin et al., 2017). Some
sources estimated that by 2025, 97 million new jobs may emerge, while 85 million jobs
may be displaced due to a new division of labor between humans and machines (World
Economic Forum, 2020).

How are stakeholders in the education and labor markets trying to solve this? First, they
are focusing on training for skills, not specialized tasks. The transferability of skills is
key. Companies want trained workers to generate new connections between previously
been disconnected ideas, manage unpredictable situations, use and understand human
emotions to solve problems and conflicts, and generate new ideas. We are also beginning
to understand that the capacity of a musician to solve a problem when she composes a
symphony resembles the ability of an engineer to address a construction challenge (Van
Broekhovena et al., 2020). Both challenges require being open to new ideas, employing
divergent thinking, and maintaining a sense of flexibility; these attitudes, dispositions,
skills, and knowledge are all transferable from one job to another.

21 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 These transversal, 21st-century skills are essential to human development; they are
necessary to navigate healthy, productive, and happy lives; are not specific to job, task,
profession, or occupation; and apply in multiple contexts because they are transferable
from one field to another (Mateo Diaz et al., 2019). Specifically, 21st-century skills are:

The set of foundational or transversal skills that include digital skills (such as
computational thinking); advanced cognitive skills (such as critical thinking or
problem-solving); skills related to executive function (such as self-regulation and
metacognition, which have a dynamic relationship with cognitive skills), and socio-
emotional skills, also called “soft skills” (such as self-esteem, perseverance, or
empathy).

Basic skills, such as literacy or math, are fundamental for the individual, but they are
not a differentiating factor in the training requirements between the past and the
present century. They are essential in both periods and therefore, not included as
21st-century skills (Mateo Diaz et al., 2019, p. 23) (see Figure 1.2).

In particular, digital skills have become necessary for work and life and for them to learn
other skills and gain more knowledge (Carretero Gómez, 2021; Chung & Yoo, 2021). Digital
skills also are in high demand in the labor market; they can help individuals navigate
high-demand occupations and countries and to leapfrog ahead of rivals (Azuara Herrera
et al., 2019; Mateo Díaz et al., 2020; Kalache, 2021).

Figure 1.2.
21st century skills

Essential Necessary Aplicable in Not specific

to human to navigate healthy, multiple contexts to a job, task,
development productive, and because they are largely professional field,
happy lives transferable from one discipline, or
field of life to another occupation

Cognitive Executive Socio-emotional

Skills function skills skills
Basic Working memory
Literacy Mental flexibility
Numeracy Self-control

Specific technical Metacognition Motivation

Self-esteem
Perseverance
Digital Self-regulation Adaptability
Commitent
Empathy
Tolerance
Advanced ...
Critical thinking
...
Source: Mateo Diaz et al. (2019)

22 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 More important, these 21st-century skills can help people navigate new and significant
challenges, such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), climate change, migration,
aging, and the pandemic (Mateo Diaz et al., 2019) (see Figure 1.3). Countries are facing
uncertain labor markets and trends. Thus, they cannot focus exclusively on developing
specific knowledge and skills; individuals cannot continue to miss opportunities to develop
skills continuously throughout their lives (Auger, 2019; Mateo Diaz et al., 2019). Transversal
skills help individuals self-regulate, persevere, adapt, and empathize; to show more
resilience and self-confidence; and to have higher expectations for their future (Mateo
Diaz et al., 2019). Growing evidence has indicated the relationship between socioemotional
development and academic and professional performance (Duckworth & Seligman,
2005; Duckworth et al., 2007; Durlak et al., 2011; Heckman & Kautz, 2013; OECD, 2015 ;
Wolvin & Lim, 2022). These skills are also related to individual and collective well-being
regarding health, violence, and criminal behaviors (Brookings, 2015; Case & Deaton, 2017;
Chernyshenko et al., 2018; Herrera et al., 2015; Kankaras, 2017; OECD, 2015 ; Wolvin & Lim,
2022). In sum, these 21st-century skills provide the foundation for individuals at any age
to have productive and healthy lives, reinvent themselves continuously, learn to learn, and
thrive within diverse communities (Mateo Diaz et al., 2019). The market is responding by
focusing on these skills.

Figure 1.3.
21st centruy skills can help navigate challenges

THE FOURTH
INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION CL I M AT E DI VE R SI T Y
A GING CHA N G E
(4IR)
MIGRATION
ARTIFICIAL Adaptability Commitement DISABILITY
INTELLIGENCE Entreprenuership Effectiveness Conflict resolution
AUTOMATION Flexibility Respect Cooperation
Lifelong learning Responsability Empathy
Communication Perseverance Openess
Creativity Resilience Tolerence
Critical thinking Self-regulation
Digital
Ethics
Problem solving
Teamwork
Time management

Source: Mateo Diaz et al. (2019)

23 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Second, the doors are opening to new ways of learning, flexible learning trajectories, and
alternatives to degrees (i.e., alternative credentials). You can learn on the job. We knew
that, but this is now not just an option, but an imperative. Companies want to know what
you can do, not just what you know. Degrees have been traditionally used to signal a set
of knowledge and skills, but they are more like a black box when signaling competencies.

Both job-seekers and employers have struggled to identify, assess, showcase, and
communicate skills—including soft, transversal, 21st-century skills. Job seekers do not have
a means to identify their current skills in order to close the skills gaps. Given that degrees
have limited capability to showcase soft skills and alternative credentials focus on technical
skills (Markow et al., 2017), potential employees do not have ways to identify, develop,
signal, and communicate their 21st-century skills. Employers are struggling to identify
candidates with 21st-century skills, assessing their skills, and training and upskilling their
employees (Adobe, 2019; Levy & Cannon, 2016; LinkedIn, 2019). Alternative credentials
can help close these gaps (see Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4.
Alternative credentials can help close skills gaps

Employers are Job seekers are

struggling with struggling with
Assessing Identifying and learning
candidates’
skills
Alternative status of skills and
closing skills gaps
credentials can
Training and
upskilling close skills gaps Developing their
skills and closing
employees skills gaps

Identifying Signaling and

candidates communicating skills,
with skills incl. 21st-century skills

Therefore, we are seeing greater demand for applicants who hold degrees and specific
alternative non-degree credentials, applicants who, once hired, can be trained to perform
a job in a short period. In fact, half the associate or bachelor’s degree holders reported that
they completed some kind of alternative credentials, while only one in five adults with high
school education or less have completed a non-degree credential (Hanson, 2021).

Additionally, some postsecondary educational institutions provide short and practical

training programs geared to the labor markets (Ferreyra et al., 2021). These alternative
credentials are responding to a reality in which technical skills become obsolete quickly.
This also accounts for the growing supply of education and training providers—not affiliated
with higher-education institutions—that can respond quickly to shifting market needs at
the pace of technological change. Changing the curriculum for a four- or five-year degree
is a gigantic task (Mateo Diaz et al., 2022). But it’s a simple matter to create or adapt the
content of a month-long program to the needs of the industry.

24 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 The third is education unbundling, another notable trend brought by the private sector.
More and more education providers are developing unbundling and modular models
according to Christensen logic and disruptive innovation (Christensen et al., 2011; Horn,
2014). Disruptive innovation is:

the process by which a sector that has previously served only a limited few because
their products and services were complicated, expensive, and inaccessible, is
transformed into one whose products and services are simple, affordable, and
convenient and serves many no matter their wealth or expertise.

The new innovation does so by redefining quality in a simple and often disparaged
application at first and then gradually improves such that it takes more and more
market share over time as it becomes able to tackle more complicated problems.
(Christensen et al., 2011, p. 2)

In other words, we are going to reimagine the production chain in education. For example,
until now, K–12 education has been practically one block, and the educational paths quite
fixed. Many countries want to adapt their formal education to this new reality, but they
struggle with curricular reforms that may take several years to complete (Mateo Diaz et al.,
2022). In a world of continual transformation, these reforms will be outdated by the time
they’re implemented.

Private initiatives are focusing on specific processes in the production chain in higher
education: digitization of content, adaptation and personalization of learning, and
certification and accreditation of competencies, among others (e.g., CB Insights, 2020).
As the processes are ultimately interdependent, spillovers and changes will occur in
other areas. Once content for new and pertinent skills is developed, new skills certificates
and certifications will follow. As a result, postsecondary institutions have partnered with
international student programs, bootcamps, and online platforms to offer more training
and, as a consequence, more alternative credentials (Holon IQ, 2021). New partnerships
bring more cross-border competition and collaboration.

25 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Figure 1.5.
Different types of academic partnerships established by universities

InternationalStudent
International StudentPathaway
Pathaway Partnerships
Partnerships Online Program Partnerships +54.2%

238 367

+76.7%
+76.7%
53 53

35 35
2929 2929 29 29 30 30 201
2121 25 25
2121 21 21
1616 17 17

+22.9%
2010
2010 2011
2011 2012
2012 2013
20132014
20142015
20152016
20162017
20172018
20182019 2020
2019 2021F
2020 2021F
161 164
238

Bootcamp
BootcampPartnerships
Partnerships 181 181
201

+71.3% +22.9%
+71.3% 123
161 164
140
140
98

123

+28.9% 98

66 69
+81.7% 6569 +28.9%
+81.7% 69

66 69
65
+24.6%
+24.6% 31 36
25 29
35
35
36
25 31
29
8
2 6 8 6
2 2 6 6
0 2
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021F 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021F
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021F
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021F
US Universities International Universities Q4 2021F

US Universities International Universities Q4 2021F

Source: Holon IQ (2021).

26 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 It was not previously possible to award college degrees for completed subunits—either
you graduated and earned a degree, or you dropped out, with no credentials to show for
your effort. Yet now some postsecondary schools in the United States and elsewhere may
begin granting a credential to students who have completed part of a degree program.

Additionally, although degrees signal that individuals have completed a series of courses
and passed the assessments in general, they do not actually convey what work skills a
graduate possesses. These issues are becoming more salient because of the mounting
skills gaps between education providers and labor markets. This is not consistent with the
current needs of employers.

Fourth, these trends have implications for the diversification of supply—as seen with
the progressive digitalization of education services (online and hybrid learning, online
certificates and certification, and continuing education). Traditional postsecondary studies
generally feature admissions offices, brick-and-mortar libraries, on-site research, campus
life, undergraduate and graduate school, networking and job placement services, and
continuing education services, among others. But other organizations specializing in these
separate services have unbundled them (e.g., CB Insights, 2020) (see Figure 1.6).

Figure 1.6.
Unbundling traditional postsecondary education: Companies that offer specialized services.

Class for

Campus Life Undergraduate Schools

Language &
International Scientific
Programs & Medical Libraries
Research

Higher Education
Institutions
Online
Certifications
Admissions

Tech &
Engineering
Continuing
Education

Graduate Networking
Schools & Job Placement

Source: Adapted from CB Insights (2020).

27 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 In these organizations, it has become the norm to provide learning and training content in
synchronous and asynchronous forms, as well as online, hybrid, and “hyflex” forms in the
education market (Holon IQ, 2021) (see Figure 1.7).

Figure 1.7.
Online, offline, hybrid, and hyflex learning models become the norm

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12

Student A

Student B

Student C

On Campus Online Online

(Synchronous) (Synchronous) (Asynchronous)

Source: Holon IQ (2021).

28 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Online learning can funnel new students to new markets, while post-pandemic education
may adopt hybrid learning as its dominant form. Online course platforms have been
diversified by the various content and platform providers (Holon IQ, 2021) (see Figure 1.8).
Figure 1.8.
Diversified online course platforms: From MOOC to marketplace

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
´SINGLE BRAND SHOPFRONT´

MARKER MARKETPLACE DIY MOOC

Mostly individuals and smaller Back-of-house technology In this model, MOOCs control
Authors/experts build their
businesses use platforms to systems and LMS´s provide content, sourced from partners
own content and distributes
build and sell content, the enviroment for academic (universities, corporates etc.),
through the marketplace,
Generally, a subscription fee institutions or organizations who generally receive revenue
which typically has a
for the course creator. to design, build and deliver share. MOOCs have expanded
significant marketing bidget
Payment systems are iether their own online courses. content partnerships from short
and recruitment enfine. Very
direct to creator or collected Content strategy is in-house courses to degree programs
long tail of content and
by the platform for the and distribution is direct to and now sell both deirect to
authors receive a revenue
creator, post commission. learner. learner and to business.
share.
D 2C D2C + B2B D2C + B2B
D2C

INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR/SMB ´MULTI BRAND CATALOGUE´

UNIVERSITY/COMPANY

Source: Holon IQ (2021).

Digitalization also implies an increase in the education technology (EdTech) market.

EdTech, or using technology in education, narrows the digital divide, diversifies tools for
learning, provides personalized learning, and hones traditional and transversal skills alike
(Mateo Diaz & Lee, 2020). Recent investments in EdTech are breaking global records,
including in Latin America and the Caribbean (see Figures 1.9 and 1.10) (Holon IQ, 2021).
Yet the sector still needs investment, particularly when compared with other sectors.
Education and training are the fastest-growing industries, taking in more than US$ 6 trillion
dollars globally. But digital investment is less than 3%, well below other sectors, including
health (Holon IQ, 2020). In higher-education settings, IT spending is 4.3% of all institutional
expenses (Lang et al., 2018). The underdeveloped EdTech market has much room for
growth so it can address the magnitude of the challenges facing the workforce.

29 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Figure 1.9.
$16.1B
Global venture capital investment in EdTech
1%
$14.9B
14% 2%
5%
15%
15%

21%
$8.2B
1%
3% 1% 15%
7% 2%
6%
$4.4B 20% 9%
$4.2B
3% $3.2B 2% 26% 63%
9% 7% 32%
3% 7%
$0.7B $1.5B $1.9B 9%
$1.2B 1% 36% 30% 63%
2% 34% 56%
5% 6%
9%
2% 54% 48% 52%
49% 55% 50% 14%
61%
28% 32%

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021F

LAC Rest of World India Europe US China

Figure 1.10.
Venture capital investment in EdTech in Latin America and the Caribbean

$299M

$127M

$75M $83M
$73M

$56M
$35M $46M $44M
$26M

$12M

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021F

Pre-K K12 Higher Education Workforce

Source: Mateo Diaz et al. (2019)

30 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Finally, consumer behavior will undergo major changes. Both supply and demand will
become more sophisticated. Students will expect an array of learning options: online,
offline, hybrid, and hyflex formats, as well as synchronous and asynchronous formats
(Holon IQ, 2021). Students will be more demanding and expect concrete evidence of
their investment by way of jobs and income. As consumers of training, teachers have also
changed, becoming more open in their demand for training in, for example, digital skills.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of how the world is moving from degrees to
skills-based systems that offer alternative credentials. In the following sections in this
introduction, we discuss the declining value of degrees, the skills shortage, the impact of
the pandemic on higher education, and ways to fill the skills gaps. In Part 2, we describe the
alternative credentials now in the market. In Part 3, we review similarities (and differences)
between degrees and alternative credentials. In Part 4, we examine the occupations in
search of applicants with credentials. Finally, in Part 5, we discuss implications. Taken as a
whole, this report provides insights into how education and labor markets are responding
to fill the gaps in skills mismatch and shortage, and decreasing values of degrees as a
signaling mechanism to employers and job seekers.

31 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 1.1. The decreasing value of degrees as a
signaling mechanism for employers
Many students are not getting the returns on investments (ROI) they expected for their
degrees (Belkin, 2020). In the United States alone, borrowers collectively owe over $1.5
trillion (on average, $34,000 per person); this makes student loans the second-largest
consumer debt after mortgages (Mitchell, 2019). More than 2 million student loan borrowers
have defaulted (Mitchell, 2019). Between 2016 and 2018, some 300,000 to 460,000
students defaulted on their loans every year in the United States (U.S. Department of
Education, n.d.), and 5.3 million defaulters owe $116 billion (Federal Student Aid, 2021).
In Latin America, annual tuitions vary from US$ 433 for vocational and technical training
and US$ 1,243 for university in Peru, to US$ 2,694 annual tuition for four-year professional
institutes, US$ 5,423 for five-year universities in Chile (Espinoza & Urzúa, 2016). Some
countries in Latin America and Europe offer free tuition. “Free tuition” is not, however,
mean the degree is free to the taxpayers who finance such tuition and bear the costs
(Ferreyra et al., 2017).

Six percent of public university and college graduates are not earning back even half of
what they owe (Gillen, 2021; Marcus, 2021). Sixteen percent of private and public college
and university programs showed no financial return on the investment (ROI) for U.S. tuition
(Itzkowitz, 2021). Based on their incomes and tuition, half the graduates would recoup
their costs within five years; a quarter would take 20 years or more, and more than half
of them will never make enough to pay off their tuition (Itzkowitz, 2021). In Chile, 7% of
higher-education students had negative ROI (Ferreyra et al., 2017). One factor that makes
a difference is the major. While STEM and health fields in the United States show relatively
quick returns, more than a quarter of U.S. humanities majors were worse off financially
than if they never attended college, both in the United States (Copper, 2021a, 2021b) and
Latin America (Espinoza & Urzua, 2016; Ferreyra et al., 2017). But 40% of recent college
graduates in the United States hold jobs that do not require a college degree (Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, 2021).

Historically, employers require conventional academic degrees when hiring and promoting
employees, believing such employees have better skills and aptitudes (Gallagher, 2016).
For example, when asked in 2018, half the human resource leaders said they believed
that possession of an academic degree reliably represent skills and knowledge (Gallagher,
2018). According to an OECD study conducted between 2011 and 2018 across 39 countries,
tertiary-educated adults show greater proficiencies than adults with no high school
education (OECD, 2019). In the United States, more than half of full-time, entry-level hires
in 2019 were recent college graduates (National Association of Colleges and Employers,
2019). Today, high school graduates are two times more likely to be unemployed than
college graduates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019).

Yet, employers are losing confidence in college degrees as evidence of ability to perform
on the job. ROI on a tertiary-level education has fallen in Latin America patially because
mismatches become evident between college graduate employees and needed job skills
(Messina & Silva, 2017). Latin American employers have had more trouble finding talent
compared with other regions. Three forces are at work:

32 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 First, a skills mismatch exists between what industry needs from its employees and what the
tertiary institutions feed into the market. Businesses doubt that colleges prepare students
for the type of work they need in general (King & Zaharchuk, 2016; Shidu & Calderon,
2014)—MBAs are an exception (Graduate Management Admission Council [GMAC], 2021).
Students and graduates alike agree they are not equipped with the skills they need for
new jobs. For example, six out of ten adults lack basic information and communication
technology (ICT) skills or have no computer experience (OECD, 2012, 2015). Students also
find it difficult to speedily acquire new in-demand skills. Most American workers say they
need continuous training to keep up with workplace changes and that they do not have the
skills they need to get ahead (Pew, 2016). In Spain, except for medicine, most university
graduates reported that they have been employed for jobs that mismatch what they
studied vertically (i.e., graduates are overqualified for the occupation) and horizontally
(i.e., graduates’ occupations are unrelated to what they studied) after graduation (Salas-
Velasco, 2021) (see Figures 1.11 and 1.12).

Figure 1.11.
Mismatch between university graduates’ degrees and first jobs

NO MISMATCH HORIZONTAL MISMATCH

Adequate match (e.g., graduate in medicine Graduates employed in unrelated occupations
working as a medical doctor) (e.g., B.A. in Sociology working as director of production)

LOREM IPSUM
MEDICINE
UNIVERSITY
STUDIES LOREM IPSUM
HISTORY AND
LOREM IPSUM PHILOSOPHY
NURSING
STUDIES

LOREM IPSUM
POLITICAL
SCIENCE AND
SOCIOLOGY
VETERINARY

THE APPROPRIATE
LEVEL OF STUDIES FIRST JOB
FOR THE JOB

VERTICAL MISMATCH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL MISMATCH

Graduates employed in the overqualified Graduates employed in the overqualified, unrelated
occupation (e.g., B.A. in Economics no relacionadas occupation (e.g., B.A. in Biology
working as an accounting clerk) working as a kitchen helper)

LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM

SPORTS LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
TOURISM FINE HISTORY AND BUSINESS TOURISM
STUDIES ARTS SCIENCE PHILOSOPHY STUDIES STUDIES
NO UNIVERSITY
STUDIES ARE LOREM IPSUM
MANAGEMENT LOREM IPSUM
TEACHER LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
POLITICAL LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
NECESSARY STUDIES
BUSINESS FINE LABOR
ECONOMICS
STUDIES SCIENCE AND
SOCIOLOGY
ARTS RELATIONS

LOREM IPSUM
LABOR LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
RELATIONS TECHNICAL
ENGINEERING BIOLOGY JOURNALISM PSYCHOLOGY
ENGINEERING

LOREM IPSUM
LOREM IPSUM
CHEMISTRY BUSINESS
STUDIES

OWN AREA OF STUDIES (OR A RELATED AREA) A DIFFERENT AREA (OR NO PARTICULAR AREA)
THE APPROPRIATE STUDY AREA
FOR WORK

Source: Salas-Velasco (2021)

33 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Figure 1.12.
Mismatch between university graduates’ degrees and current jobs

NO MISMATCH HORIZONTAL MISMATCH

Adequate match (e.g., graduate in medicine Graduates employed in unrelated occupations
working as a medical doctor) (e.g., B.A. in Sociology working as director of production)

LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM

HISTORY AND JOURNALISM LANGUAGES AND
PHILOSOPHY LITERATURE

LOREM IPSUM
POLITICAL LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
SCIENCE AND CHEMISTRY PHARMACY
SOCIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY LOREM IPSUM
MEDICINE
STUDIES LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
PHYSICS BIOLOGY MATHEMATICS

LOREM IPSUM
SPORTS LOREM IPSUM
TOURISM
SCIENCE STUDIES

THE APPROPRIATE
LEVEL OF STUDIES CURRENT JOB
FOR THE JOB
VERTICAL MISMATCH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL MISMATCH
Graduates employed in the overqualified Graduates employed in the overqualified, unrelated
occupation (e.g., B.A. in Economics no relacionadas occupation (e.g., B.A. in Biology
working as an accounting clerk) working as a kitchen helper)

LOREM IPSUM
SPORTS LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
TOURISM HISTORY AND BUSINESS TOURISM
SCIENCE STUDIES PHILOSOPHY STUDIES STUDIES
NO UNIVERSITY
STUDIES ARE LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
POLITICAL LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM
NECESSARY FINE BUSINESS FINE LABOR
ARTS STUDIES SCIENCE AND
SOCIOLOGY
ARTS RELATIONS

LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM

LOREM IPSUM
BUSINESS BIOLOGY JOURNALISM
STUDIES

OWN AREA OF STUDIES (OR A RELATED AREA) A DIFFERENT AREA (OR NO PARTICULAR AREA)

THE APPROPRIATE STUDY AREA

FOR WORK

Source: Salas-Velasco (2021)

Second, employers find that degrees provide insufficient detail about a job applicant’s
job readiness. Some employers found that degree holders were neither ready for work
(Weathers, 2014; Wolf, 2018) nor equipped with skills or otherwise prepared for the job
(Cappelli, 2012). For example, a 2016 survey found that 20% of employers said applicants
with bachelor’s degrees did not have the necessary experience; a third of employers could
not fill roles because they lacked qualified applicants (Crozier et al., 2018).

Third, there’s a growing disconnect between what education offers and what jobs
require. Students invest time, money, and effort in degrees that may not lead to a good
job. For some individuals, a degree may not provide the knowledge and skills one requires
for the jobs and occupations they are seeking. On the one hand, they may end up with
abilities they might not otherwise have obtained (exposure to literature and psychology,
writing and research skills, and so on). But on the other hand, one core function of higher
education is to confer degrees that secure jobs (Gallagher, 2016).

34 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 U.S. colleges and universities confer over 4 million degrees per year, and most of the
revenue and government support for higher education focuses on students earning
credentials (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). Yet, companies are beginning to realize
the degrees might not be necessary for all their new hires. For example, IBM estimated
that 30% of its jobs (so-called new-collar jobs) do not require applicants with bachelor’s
degrees (Rometty, 2016; Rometty & Bush, 2018). Likewise, Apple, Google, IBM, Bank of
America, and EY stopped requiring degrees for new hires. The U.S. federal government
no longer has degree requirements for applicants as long as they have the appropriate
skills (White House, 2020). They have introduced new career paths connected to non-
degree credentials or alternatives to traditional college degrees, such as online learning,
certificates, certifications, intensive programs, apprenticeships, vocational and technical
education, associate’s degrees, and early college programs (Find Something New, 2020).

With these powerful signals from the market, industries and individuals are becoming more
skeptical about the value of degrees. Tertiary academic institutions will therefore need to
rethink what they offer given the amounts of time and money students have recently
been spending (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021). College and university
degrees have driven the huge gross margins of education. In a 2016 Pew Research survey
of U.S. adults, only 16% of the respondents (including 13% of those with at least a four-year
college degree), believed a bachelor’s degree prepares students “very well” for a good-
paying job (with 51% saying “somewhat well”) (Pew Research Center, 2016). Additionally,
12% responded that a two-year associate’s degree prepares students “very well” (with
46% saying “somewhat well”). Conversely, a quarter of Americans (26%) say certification
programs in a professional, technical, or vocational field prepare students “very well” (52%
saying “somewhat well”) (Pew Research Center, 2016).

Galloway argued that the admissions department represented the greatest value in a
university degree—not the education and not the professors. In other words, in recruiting
students, admissions departments at very selective institutions are identifying a pool of
exceptionally prepared future job holders with the most thorough and arduous entrance
processes, including tests, references, background checks, and even social media vetting
(Walsh, 2020).

35 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 1.2. A skills mismatch and shortage
Every year, employers around the world spend more than $120 billion on hiring. Despite
such investment, the lack of critical skills has been a serious and mounting concern for
most CEOs (PwC, 2020). Global estimates point to alarming shortages of skills in the
labor market.

Fifty-five percent of the world’s business leaders believe their country’s education system
provides the right programs to ensure lifelong learning and skills development (King &
Zaharchuk, 2016). Analysts say that, by 2030, the world may see a shortfall of more than
85 million workers with the needed skills, with $8.5 trillion unrealized revenue opportunities
(Korn Ferry, 2018). These deficits arise not only from the speed with which the market
is transforming and adapting to technological change, but also to the difficulties formal
education and training systems face as they see and respond to these new needs.

In a 2018 report on talent shortages and their impact, 45% of organizations said they
cannot find employees with the skills they require (ManpowerGroup, 2018). For large
employers, the percentage rises to 67% (ManpowerGroup, 2018). Almost a third of
employers cite lack of applicants as the main reason they cannot fill roles; 20% say
applicants do not have the necessary experience (ManpowerGroup, 2018). More than a
third are relaxing their education and experience requirements in order to fill positions
(Crozier et al., 2018). Consistent with those numbers, other studies show that only 41%
of organizations have the people skills and resources required to execute their business
strategy (LaPrade et al., n.d.).

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the skills gap and the education-workforce mismatch
have also been critical issues. Leaders of academic institutions shared that preparing
students for relevant job skills for future employment is a key challenge (Inter-American
Development Bank et al., 2022). Thirty percent of these regional leaders cite changing
workforce needs as a key challenge for institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean;
26% cited student employability. These employers have struggled to find talent, more so
than other regions. Degree holders find it difficult to get jobs in their field of study.

36 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Jobs and occupations are changing quickly, and so are the pertinent skills. On average,
U.S workers spend 4.2 years in a position (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020), change
their careers and occupations more often than before. In addition, some estimates suggest
that 65% of students entering primary school today will have jobs that have never before
existed (World Economic Forum, 2016). According to Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) estimates, 14% of jobs in OECD economies are highly
automatable, and another 32% could undergo substantial changes (OECD, 2019). By 2025,
97 million new jobs may emerge, while 85 million jobs may be displaced by a division of
labor between humans and machines (World Economic Forum, 2020). Since 2010, 13 million
new jobs have been created in the United States, 60% of them requiring digital skills (Muro
et al., 2017). Across industries, 35% of the skills needed for jobs will become outmoded
(World Economic Forum, 2016). This means that, over their life cycles, individuals will need
to change careers and occupations more often and interact daily with robots—machine
colleagues that will be an integral to the production and value-generation processes.

Skills are changing in two dimensions: how we work together, and what we do. A LinkedIn
analysis (Pate, 2020) finds that the top five most in-demand soft skills are creativity,
persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. These skills are
necessary for collaboration, and they also tend to be consistent across analyses. With
automation, 92% of hiring managers believe that candidates with soft skills become more
valuable hires (LinkedIn, 2019). Specifically, the skills sought most frequently in job postings
include communication, creative problem-solving, leadership, collaboration, and strategic
thinking (Adobe, 2019; Levy & Cannon, 2016; Lippman et al., 2015; Perkins Collaborative
Resource Network, 2020). On the other hand, the most-valued technical, or hard, skills
include blockchain, cloud computing, analytical reasoning, artificial intelligence, UX design,
business analysis, affiliate marketing, and sales. These skills continue to evolve rapidly.

Skills get outdated more quickly than ever before. Exacerbating the issue, the rate at
which professional skills become obsolete is speeding up. For example, software engineers
need to redevelop their skills every 12 to 18 months (Pelster et al., 2017); 35% of job skills will
change across industries (World Economic Forum, 2016). One in four people are already
dealing with a mismatch between the skills they have and the skills they need for their job
(World Economic Forum, 2017). Today, the half-life of a learned skill is estimated at five
years; it is at 2.5 years for technical skills (Thomas & Brown, 2011). In other words, the value
of skills previously fell by half (or became irrelevant) in two to five years. Conversely, the
training time required to close a capability gap increased from 3 days in 2014 to 36 days in
2018. In just four years, the time needed to close a skills gap soared (LaPrade et al., n.d.).
Some new skills take more time to acquire because they are highly technical, yet these
skills are also changing rapidly (LaPrade et al., n.d.).

Such rapid perishability of skills implies heightened demands for upskilling and reskilling.
Emerging jobs require higher-level skills (Hwang & Kim, 2020). Companies estimated that
40% of their workers will need reskilling for six months or less, and 94% of business leaders
expected their employees to pick up new skills on the job—a sharp increase from 65% in
2018 (World Economic Forum, 2020). Nearly two-thirds of new jobs required either high-
or medium-level digital skills (Muro et al., 2017). Specifically, the number of computer and
mathematical occupations has risen nearly 80%, particularly in applied occupations (e.g.,
computer network support specialists, database architects).

37 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 With the labor market changing so dynamically, skills can be the ticket (or at least a
part of it) to new jobs, especially for people without degrees. For example, researchers
in the United States find a big overlap between the skills required in low-wage jobs and
many higher-paying occupations, creating a sizable landscape of opportunity (Blair et
al., 2020; Opportunity@Work, 2020). New professional clusters are emerging. Some of
these clusters, including Data and AI, and cloud computing, require expertise in digital
technologies, whereas other professions emphasize business and industry skills (World
Economic Forum, 2020). Additionally, from 2010 to 2017, 13 million new jobs were created
in the United States, 60% of them requiring medium- to high-level digital skills (Muro et al.,
2017). These are full-time jobs with the potential to pay workers a living wage, so they can
move into the middle class. Such jobs also represent a lifeline to working-age adults and
struggling families, especially for the two-thirds of Americans who do not have a college
degree (Muro et al., 2017).

Still, CEOs see enormous challenges in addressing their organizations’ skills gaps and
building programs to retrain, reskill, and upskill workers. Reskilling and upskilling employees
produce beneficial outcomes (PwC, 2020). Given the cost of severance payments and
hiring, reskilling is the most attractive option, despite the cost. For their part, employees
are also willing to reskill and upskill, spending two days per month training to upgrade
their digital skills (PwC, 2018). Yet, only 18% of global organizations said they made notable
progress in establishing an upskilling program (PwC, 2020). As many as 60% of executives
struggle to keep workforce skills current and relevant (King & Zaharchuk, 2016).

38 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 1.3. The impact of COVID-19
Despite these trends, tertiary academic institutions have not fully adapted their models
to a new reality. Rather, they have taught students just as they have in the past. Seventy
percent of the educators surveyed said they did not think their curricula emphasized
creative problem solving, because of lack of time, training, and access to new hardware
and software (Adobe, 2019).

How are we preparing students for these new jobs?

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 suppressed school attendance worldwide. In the United
States, community college enrollment decreased by 9.5%. Although graduate student
enrollment rose 4.6%, undergraduate enrollment fell by nearly 5% (National Student
Clearinghouse, 2021a). The number of high school graduates going straight to college
fell 6.8% during the pandemic among mostly low-income and indigenous/minority high
school students (National Student Clearinghouse, 2021b).

With the pandemic came the nearly mandated rise in remote learning. Meanwhile, renewed
skepticism about the value of academic degrees emerged. Since March 2020, the global
shutdowns of schools across the board have brought nearly inestimable harm to younger
children (UNESCO, 2020; Vicentini, 2020). For college students, however, academic
instruction moved from lecture halls to video conferences, teaching was conducted in
much the same way but in a digital venue (Nelson, 2020). Only a few teachers were
trained, however, for remote instruction, and many students struggled with connectivity
and equipment, especially in Latin America (Vicentini, 2020). University course offerings
under sometimes dire social and economic conditions become less attractive given the
expense of tuition (e.g., more than $50,000 in the United States) for Zoom or Google
Hangouts (Goldberg, 2020). More than three-quarters of those students surveyed said
they felt they were not receiving a quality learning experience (OneClass, 2020).

39 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Approximately 27 million tertiary-level students in Latin America were out of school
during the pandemic; many of them may not return (World Bank, 2021). In Peru, the
dropout rate grew from 12% to 18.2% (TV Perú, 2020). In Brazil, 48 out of 69 federal
universities suspended classes altogether without offering any learning alternatives; 14
schools offered remote learning (Becerra et al., 2020). Schools declared they lacked “a
pedagogical structure that aligns to a new post-pandemic reality, where the student is
not quite [as] close to universities as they used to be” (Inter-American Development
Bank et al., 2022, p. 14). The “college experience” has been hollowed out, while degree-
certified learning has shrunk too (Walsh, 2020). Some predicted that a handful of elite
universities might emerge to monopolize online higher education by collaborating with
the big tech companies to expand enrollment and affordability. Conversely, some brick-
and-mortar universities may close their doors (Walsh, 2020).

Not all news was bad. The pandemic has created opportunities. Universities were forced
to go online (Vicentini, 2020). Maintaining education online could prove beneficial after
the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Latin American universities had not invested in ICT
for pedagogical purposes, applying technologies primarily to administration (OECD,
2015; Perez Sanagustin et al., 2016). If well-implemented, online coursework could expand
access and affordability while improving quality by using flipped or adaptive learning;
to meet students’ needs, teachers could develop asynchronous classes online and on-
campus (Taparia, 2020). Distant learning could become a new normal (Goldberg, 2020).
Those college students who can afford rented houses, so-called collab houses, worked in
pods with friends during the pandemic and attended classes remotely.

Most institutions will reopen and attempt to operate as before. But the pandemic points
to the need for institutional reform. Institutions and staff must transform how education
is delivered, revise their pedagogical approach, learn how to navigate an unpredictable
future, and be student-centered (Nelson, 2020).

The institutions that renew themselves will survive (Nelson, 2020). Some universities
have launched online degree programs that offer the same degrees at a fraction of the
traditional cost. For example, Georgia Tech, one of the top engineering schools in the
world, started an online master’s program in computer science. Costing around $6,600
for the full degree, 10,000 students have enrolled. The University of Illinois has launched
an online M.B.A. for $22,000. The Coursera online bachelor’s degree program for the
University of North Texas can cost $330 per credit, totaling up to $14,850 for the full
college program. Finally, Coursera’s online master’s programs costs around $22,000 for
the entire program.

40 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 1.4. The opportunity for filling the skills gap
Given the rigidity and duration required by academic-degree programs and the speed of
reform, it may take longer to close the demand-supply gaps, especially for certain skills, via
traditional education and training systems. And, it may not be feasible for these traditional
systems to undertake (Grob-Zakhary & Hjarrand, 2017), although some traditional
educational institutions address skills shortages better than others (Arias Ortiz et al.,
2020). In a surprisingly pragmatic move, the private sector is progressively transitioning
to the unbundling of services. With modules, one can easily customize services. Company
and individual alike can take what they need instead having to take on the entire package
or bundle, generating efficiencies not only in terms of time for design and adaptation, but
also in terms of financial investments to bridge the gaps.

Major employers with leading global brands now provide professional alternative
credentials and education curricula, often in partnership with degree-granting institutions
(Swift et al., 2020; Uranis et al., 2022) in an approach that disrupts the traditional
higher-education market (Leaser et al., 2020). Tech companies are creating alternative
credentials to fill the skills gaps they’re encountering; in some cases, credentials take
the place of degrees. For example, in 2018, Google launched an IT-support professional
certificate program on Coursera, which takes 8 to 12 months. Additionally, Google
plans to launch new certificate programs for aspiring students. They take only six
months to complete, at a fraction of typical college costs, for high-paying and high-
growth occupations. As of February 2022, Google has been offering certificates in IT
support, data analytics, project management, UX design, and android development
(Google, 2022), treating these certificates as equivalent to four-year degrees. Google-
certificate graduates gain access to an exclusive job platform where they can apply
to jobs from over 150 companies, such as Deloitte, Infosys, Snap, Target, and Verizon
(Bariso, 2020; Google, 2022). IBM has issued more than 1.5 million badges to more than
400,000 learners across 195 countries (Daniels, 2018; Fain, 2019). People with badges
at IBM can find existing roles by using their skills’ metadata, while the company can
identify employees who possess skills of the future (Fain, 2019). Meanwhile, community
colleges and universities integrate professional certificates from tech companies, such
as Google and IBM, into their academic programs and degree curricula (Leaser et al.,
2020). Higher-education institutions have examined how they can integrate high-quality
industry certifications into their bachelor’s degree programs to help their students earn
credentials with labor market value (Swift et al., 2020).

41 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Education technology and the booming EdTech market create new opportunities for less
resource-intensive teaching (e.g., learning with fewer teachers or less time in a physical
classroom), training, and alternative credentials (cheaper, briefer, more to the point), such
as bootcamps and online learning. Spending on education technology exceeded $13.2
billion in the United States alone in 2015. The education technology market is expected
to double around the world and reach $341 billion by 2025 (Holon IQ, 2019). A study that
reviewed 126 education technology interventions (J-PAL, 2019) showed some examples of
how using technology could make a big difference. In fact, education software permitting
users to develop specific skills at their own pace showed promise in improving learning
outcomes, particularly in math. The study also showed that a combination of online and
in-person instruction works as well as traditional in-person-only classes, indicating that
blended learning can be cost-effective. Additionally, COVID-19 expedited the evolution of
technology in education. Teachers, students, and schools are now forced to use technology,
overcoming decades of reluctance, resistance, and inertia. In future semesters, schools will
provide better remote-learning experiences.

Tech companies, too, are entering education markets. To scale and innovate workplace
learning, Amazon hired open education pioneer Candace Thille for its Global Learning
Development Team (Lederman, 2018). TikTok plans to invest in education, commissioning
experts and institutions to produce “micro learning” content for its platform (Iqbal,
2020). The platform earned user interest with an educational video using the hashtag
#LearnOnTikTok and gaining more than 7 billion views.

They also build alternative education and training programs. Amazon Web Services (AWS)
works with universities to launch cloud-computing programs worldwide. Students will learn
through the curriculum mapped for skills required by AWS, such as cloud architecture, data
analytics, and cybersecurity (AWS, 2020). IBM created the Pathways in Technology Early
College High Schools (P-TECH) initiatives to close skills gaps while opening career paths
to new-collar workers who do not have bachelor’s degrees. P-TECH schools span grades
9–14 for 6 years. P-TECH schools enable students to earn both a high school degree and
a two-year associate’s degree in a STEM field at no cost. Students participate in a range
of work experiences, including mentorship, paid internships, and worksite visits. Upon
graduation, students have academic and professional skills required to either continue
their education in a four-year institution or move into entry-level careers in IT, healthcare,
and manufacturing (IBM, 2020).

42 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 How do employers know whether applicants have the right skills? Many companies and
governments are eliminating degree requirements and hiring instead according to skills.
But how do employers know that applicants have the right skills? What are they using
to ascertain a candidate possesses the knowledge traditionally signified by a degree?
Candidates with the requisite technical and soft skills were less common (Adobe, 2019;
Levy & Cannon, 2016). There was a concomitant difficulty among employers to find
qualified candidates with both soft and hard skills. Employers shared their concerns about
the lack of candidates with soft skills in the market (Adobe, 2019). Nearly 90% of hiring
managers feel that their bad hires typically have poor soft skills (LinkedIn, 2019). Since
employers found that university degrees are not enough to signify possession of the
required skills, they are demanding that job candidates prove their skills through tests and
other measures. IBM stated that about 20% of its new hires each year do not have a four-
year degree (Fain, 2019).

In this dynamic environment, alternative credentials have become more important

than ever. More affordable and versatile credentials are becoming more valuable than
traditional degrees (Non-Degree Credentials Research Network [NCRN], 2019). Instead of
and/or in addition to degrees, learners turned to short-term credential classes during the
pandemic, with a 70% increase in alternative credential enrollment to 8 million learners
(Belkin, 2020). Alternative credentials can provide short-term pathways to employment
(Workcred, 2020). Earning a bachelor’s degree can take three to four years and cost more
than $40,000 to $150,000 (College Board, 2021). Thus, college degrees are “out of reach
for many Americans, and you should not need a college degree to have economic security.
We need new, accessible job-training solutions—from enhanced vocational programs to
online education—to help America recover and rebuild,” said Kent Walker (2020), SVP of
Global Affairs at Google. In response, a variety of alternative credentials have emerged, such
as micro-credentials, coding bootcamps, MOOC-based certificates, industry-recognized
certificates, and digital badges. These alternatives to degrees need to be agile, adaptive,
open for learning other skills, and less resource-intensive, among other things (Figure 1.13).
Experts say that assessment in universities and colleges and their credentials need to be
authentic, accessible, appropriately automated, continuous, and secure, using technology
to address problems and opportunities (JISC, 2020).

43 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Figure 1.13.
Features needed for alternatives to degrees

Agile Including self-assessment

Adaptive Collecting experiences and training
Open for new skills (learnability) Including those skills that help gain other sk
e.g., understanding the logic of programming is more important than
learning a specific programming language (e.g., Python)

Adaptive Creating credential history

Less resource-intensive Flexible with changes in career trajectories

Including self-assessment
Collecting experiences and training
arnability) Including those skills that help gain other skills
s more important than
., Python)

Creating credential history

e Flexible with changes in career trajectories

Governments are slowly moving forward with alternative, non-degree credentials. For
example, the Government of Ontario has released Budget 2020, which includes a $59 million
investment into a province-wide micro-credential strategy (Academica Group, 2020). The
New York State Department of Labor is also partnering with Coursera, the leading online
training provider, to provide access to nearly 4,000 programs across high-growth industries
that can hone worker skills in data science, business, and technology (New York State, 2020).

Uses and awareness of alternative credentials are increasing in the education and labor
markets. Most hiring managers in the United States recognize the importance of alternative
credentials, such as micro-credentials and digital badges, for hiring and promotions
(Gallagher, 2018). Hiring managers have already begun recruiting individuals with verified
certificates (MOOC certificates), such as digital badges (14%) and micro-credentials (10%),
although many of these recruits also had degrees (Gallagher, 2018). Thirty percent of hiring
managers have encountered individuals with these certificates in the recruitment process
(Gallagher, 2018). Applicants who completed the MOOC data science program may earn
$2,790 to $7,820 more (Hadavand et al., 2018). Also, 72% of educational institution leaders
believe that introducing credentials to recognize capabilities learned within a curriculum
can have an impact (King & Zaharchuk, 2016). In the following chapter, we will look into the
micro-credential market in detail.

However, the micro-credential market is still much smaller than the higher-education market,
possibly showing a potential to grow. Globally, learners collectively spend $2.2 trillion on formal
postsecondary education, including TVET, higher education, and professional certifications.
Conversely, students collectively spend around $36 billion on online degrees and only $10
billion on micro-credentials (HolonIQ, 2021). Specifically, the online courses market is $3.8
billion, the professional certifications market is $2.9 billion, the micro-credential market is
$2.3 billion, and the bootcamps market is $0.9 billion (see Figures 1.14 and 1.15).

44 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Figure 1.14.
Global postsecondary, workforce, online degree, and micro-credential market estimates (in US$)

Individuals (often Goverments and $2.2T Global Post Seconday Market.

backed by goverment Companies (and Offline + Online Vocational, Higher
loans), spent %2.2T more recently
in 2019 on formal individuals) spent Pre-COVID (2019) Education ad Professional Certifications.
post secondary $396B in 2019 Individuals spent
education (TVET+ on corporate $40B on fully
HE + professional trainig and “Online Degrees”
certifications) upskilling (1.8% of $2.2T) $396B Global Workforce Market.
Corporate Training and Up-Skilling.
$2.2T $396B $36B $10B

$36B Global Online Degree Market.

Total spend on fully/mostly degrees. Part
of the $2.2T post-secondary market.

$10B Global Alternative and Micro

Credential Market. Total spend on
alternative and micro-credentials. Splt
across the %2.2T post-secondary and
%396B workforce training markets.

Post Secondary Workforce Online Degrees Alternative *

Micro Credentials

Source: HolonIQ, 2021

Figure 1.15.
Global micro-credential market estimates (US$)

$9.9B Micro and Alternative Credential Expenditure

2019 Global Micro and Alternative Credential Market Estimate in USD

Bootcamps (Offline + Online)

$ 0.9B
B2B abd HE growing very fast
Online Non-Degree ´Certificates´and Post
Secondary Micro-Credentials.
$ 2.3B
University & Non-University designed &
delivered ´certificates´ & micro-credentials

Professional Certifications
$ 2.9B
Accounts, Cyber, Engineers, Finance, Lawyers,
Nurses, Physicians, Software Developers,
Tech/Project Management.
$ 3.8B+
Online Courses & Badges MOOCs, Marketplaces, Coding and Creator
Courses, Skills Assessments and Test Prep
for Professional Certifications.

Source: HolonIQ, 2021

Various alternative credentials coexist in the market. These alternative credentials can fill
the skills gap and address the skills-market mismatch, complementing or even replacing
degrees in some cases. In Part 02, we will introduce them in detail.

45 Part 1
Hello, Disruption
 Part 02:

A New
Market in
Education
and Training
2.1. A round of introductions: What are alternative credentials?............47
2.2. Types of alternative credentials................................................................... 50

46
 Part 2:
A New Market in Education
and Training
2.1. A round of introductions:
What are alternative credentials?
The United States alone has at least 967,734 unique credentials (Credential Engine, 2021).
There are an estimated 549,712 alternative credentials that range from digital badges to
fully accredited certificate programs (Credential Engine, 2021). Even MOOC-based micro-
credentials have many options, yet little consistency (Pickard, 2018). There are different
types of alternative credentials. The concept of alternative credentials is not fully developed.
We have not yet reached a consensus on how we label and define them.

To date, no comprehensive survey of the alternative credentials exists (NCRN, 2019).

Anecdotal evidence points to mounting numbers of alternative credential programs and
related occupations between the 1980s and 1990s (Albert, 2017; Gallagher, 2016). Still,
governments do not track alternative credential attainments, nor do they require certification
entities to register with any agency.

Figure 2.1.
Credential as umbrella term

“CREDENTIAL”

CERTIFICATE
BADGE
DEGREE
CERTIFICATION
LICENSE

Source: Workcred, 2020.

Part 2
47 A New Market in
Education and Training
 We explore the definitions of alternative credentials used in the markets. Before looking at
specific credentials, we will review key terminology.

Credentials are a qualification, achievement, and evidence of authority used to signify

that individuals are suitable for a line of work (Bartlett et al., 2005) “Credential” is
an umbrella term that encompasses certificates, certifications, badges, licenses, and
degrees (Workcred, 2020, p. 4) (see Figure 2.1).

Certification is an act of certifying or the state of being certified after passing the
certification exam. In the alternative credential market, a certification is “a credential(s)
awarded by certification bodies—typically nonprofit organizations, professional
associations, industry/trade organizations, or businesses—based on an individual
demonstrating, through an examination process, that she or he has acquired the
knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a specific occupation or job”
(Workcred, 2020, p. 4). Certifications may be labeled as industry or professional,
depending on the certification body. Some certification(s) serve as recognition
of learning issued specifically by a profession or industry, allowing policymakers
and stakeholders to discern academic certificates for completing programs and
certifications issued by professions and industries.

Certificates are a document serving as evidence that an individual has completed

an educational course issued by an institution or authorized vendor (Hunsinger &
Smith, 2009). Certificates attest to academic, professional, or industrial attainments
(Kato et al., 2020). But they are “credentials awarded by an education institution or
other organization based on completion of all requirements for a program of study,
including coursework and tests” (Workcred, 2020, p. 4).

Part 2
48 A New Market in
Education and Training
 Licenses are “credentials that permit the holder to practice in a specified field”
(Leventoff, 2018, p. 2). Governments award a license based on predetermined criteria,
such as degree attainment, certifications, certificates, assessment, apprenticeship, or
work experience (Leventoff, 2018). Each state requires people hoping to join specific
professions and vocations to obtain an occupational license from a state licensing board.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) states that “when implemented
properly, occupational licensing can help protect the health and safety of consumers
by requiring practitioners to undergo a designated amount of training and education
in their field.” (National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL], 2017a, 2017b). The
number of jobs requiring a license increased from 5% to 25% over the past 60 years
(NCSL, 2019).

Accreditation is a review of the quality of educational institutions and programs

(Council for Higher Education Accreditation [CHEA], 2020) by prominent institutional
accrediting organizations. In the United States, the accreditors are private and
nongovernmental organizations specifically created to review education institutions
and programs’ quality (CHEA, 2020). In Latin America, the accreditors for education
institutions include autonomous national agencies, created legislatively and supported
by public funds (e.g., Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay), government or
Ministries of Education (e.g., Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico), and
university consortiums (e.g., Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Panama; they use self-study,
external evaluation, and student learning evaluation (Anderson & Lemaitre, 2010).

Accreditation can also be applied to certification bodies. In the United States,

organizations are accredited against standards which outline best practices for the
governance of a certification body, as well as the development and maintenance of a
certification assessment. Similar to higher education, certification body accreditors are
private, nongovernmental organizations.

The term “credentials” encompasses academic and alternative credentials. This paper focuses
on alternative or non-degreecredentials.

Academic degrees are diplomas, usually awarded by a college, university, or other

postsecondary educational institution in recognition of the recipient having either
satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or conducted a scholarly endeavor
deemed worthy of the degree (Klasik, 2012). Primary-degree levels include associate’s,
bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and specific professional degrees (such as M.D. [doctor
of medicine] and J.D. [Juris doctor of law]) (Credential Engine, 2021).

Alternative credentials. Alternative or non-degree credentials are credentials not

recognized as “standalone formal educational qualifications by relevant national
education authorities” (Kato et al., 2020). These alternative, alternative credentials can
include certificates of completion of course completion, certificates of completion of
occupation-focused training, and certifications of skills based on an exam.

Alternative or non-degree credentials come in various categories. Researchers use various

definitions and categories of certification (Brown & Kurzweil, 2017; NCRN, 2019; Kato et al.,
2020). In the next section, we will examine several certifying mechanisms.

Part 2
49 A New Market in
Education and Training
 2.2. Types of alternative credentials
Many credentials are awarded outside formal education and training systems (see Figure
2.2). We attempt to classify the different credential alternatives to traditional degrees
that we can find in the market today by focusing on their purpose: knowledge acquired
on a subject after course completion (certificate of course completion, focused on
content); skills developed after training completion (certificate of training completion,
a mix of content and practice and very connected to specific occupations); and results
of a third-party validated test or an exam (certifications, no content or practice is
provided, just the test).

Figure 2.2.
Credentials by length and accreditation

Short Badges
targeted Certificates of
completion/
exec. ed.
Professional
certificates
Credential length/depth

“Unbundling“ “Nanodegrees”
curriculum “Micromasters”
MOOC-based
Certificate Zone of growing certificates
programs convergence

Associate
degrees Noninstitutional
providers

Master´s
Bachelor´s degrees
degrees

Doctoral
degrees

Long
broad
Traditional, Orientation Noninstitutional
accredited to market providers
institutions

Source: Adapted from Gallagher, 2018.

Part 2
50 A New Market in
Education and Training
 We review the types of alternative or non-degree credentials below. While they can
overlap, these credentials generally include course and training certificates in addition to
assessment-based certifications (see Table 1).

Certificate of course completion

Massive open online courses (MOOC)-based certificates

Micro-credentials
Academic and continuing education certificates

Certificate of training completion

Coding Bootcamp completion certificates

Longer coding bootcamps
Apprenticeships

Certification

Industry-recognized certifications

Part 2
51 A New Market in
Education and Training
 Table 2.1.
Types of alternative credentials

Certificate of Course Completion Certificate of Training Completion Certification

Massive open Micro-credentials Academic and Coding Bootcamp Apprenticeships Industry-
online courses continuing completion recognized
(MOOC)-based education certificates certifications
certificates certificates

Short, mostly More than a For-credit Full-time or part- Blended work Awarded by
asynchronous, single course but (academic time intensive experience with as an industry
online courses are less than a fullcertificate) coding training a structured or professional
degree or non-credit programs program of association
No formal (continuing coursework
evaluation; Modularity and education Mostly online after Often, time-
Sometimes, stackability in few certificate) COVID Certificates of limited,
assessment cases completion with renewable
included Run by various Income Share performance
institutions, Agreement & evaluations Based on
often the higher Deferred Tuition in performance on
education’s some cases an assessment
continuing (e.g., oral,
education written, or
performance-
based test)
LinkedIn Learning Udacity TVET certificate General Assembly IBM Amazon Web
nanodegrees Services (AWS),
edX Short-cycle Le Wagon Lockheed Martin Google
edX higher education
Coursera MicroBachelors program Thinkful U.S. Department Computing
of Labor Technology
OpenClassrooms edX MicroMasters University and Holberton registered Industry
College Course apprenticeship Association
SkillShare Coursera Certificates programs (CompTIA)
MasterTrack
PlauralSight eCornell Automotive
Coursera Service
Specialization Excellence
(ASE)
American
Welding Society
(AWS)
1-10+ hours 100 hours to 1 100 hours to 4 6 to 28 weeks 6 weeks to 6 The time to earn
year years years a certification
is based on the
prerequisites
Longer bootcamps: required to sit
9 to 24 months for the exam,
which can
vary from no
prerequisites
to a graduate
degree.
Free to $300 $30 – $12,000 $7,000 – $5,000 to $15,000 N/A Free to $1,400
$20,000
Longer bootcamps:
$30,000 to
$85,000
(Income Share
Agreement &
Deferred Tuition
available)

Part 2
52 A New Market in
Education and Training
 Additionally, these credentials may take different forms depending on seven
dimensions:

1. Types of skills that are measured or assessed (traditional vs. new skills).
2. Duration/time investment required (short vs long).
3. Type of provider (formal providers vs new providers).
4. The market value of the accreditation (high recognition/trust vs low
recognition).
5. Level of involvement with the industry (highly connected/relevant vs
low connected).
6. Social capital value (high networking vs low network).
7. Connectivity (stackability of alternative credentials—can credentials be
combined? Are they linked to other learning experiences? How
connected are credentials with each other? Is a credential a building
block that can be used to acquire new credentials?).

On a side note, individuals may obtain a digital badge after earning a certificate or a
certification. In this case, digital badges signify possession of other credentials, showcasing
an individual’s alternative credential, rather than a separate credential (NCRN, 2019).
Digital badges may also be pictograms or logos flagging specific skills and knowledge,
backed by links to the electronic evidence of how and why, and exactly, the badge was
earned (SURFnet, 2016; Carey, 2015).

Part 2
53 Part 2
A New Market in
Education and Training
 Certificates of course completion

Certificates of course completion attest to an individual’s completion of course

requirements. This type of certificate includes academic and continuing-education
certificates, micro-credentials, and massive open online courses (MOOC)-based
certificates. Course certificates can cover all traditional and new skills, such as business,
technology, science, and art. They usually take one to nine months to earn. Providers
include universities, companies, and public organizations. Still, the market value of a
certificate is not clear. The level of industry involvement can vary, as some are developed
in partnership with industry organizations. Most certificates offer few networking
opportunities, particularly if earned online, and may result in minimal social capital for
their holders (e.g., online bulletin board). Some of these course certificates can be stacked
and counted toward college credit, but most of them do not have stackability. The price
can vary from free to $20,000.

Massive open online courses (MOOC)-based certificates. MOOC-based certificates offer

evidence of specialized skills gained through completing a collection of courses. Many
MOOC-based certificates are micro-credentials. Conceptually, they are not markedly
different from classic non-credit certificates offered by universities, except for the
following:

1. MOOC providers award them in affiliation with, rather than by, the
university;

2. MOOC-based certificates are shorter and less expensive than a

traditional certificate;

3. Many MOOC-based certificates are designed in partnership with

industry-leading firms and include work-related capstone projects
(Gallagher, 2016).

Micro-credentials. Micro-credentials are online educational certificates covering more

than a single course but less than a full degree (Pickard, 2018; Shah, 2018). Each MOOC
platform uses unique labels for the micro-credentials it offers (Credential Engine, 2021).
Micro-credentials can be a part of a trend toward modularity and stackability in tertiary
education—the idea being that each little piece of education can be consumed on its
own or can be aggregated with other parts into something larger. Each course consists
of units, and each unit has lessons. Courses can stack up to Specializations or Xseries
and stack up to partial degrees, such as edX’s MicroMasters or Udacity’s Nanodegree
programs, or to full degrees. However, only some micro-credentials are structured as
building blocks toward degrees (Pickard, 2018). Micro-credentials are structured to be
completed in less than a year, usually around six months, and cost only a few hundred
to a few thousand dollars. Most cover work-related subjects, such as business and
computer science. Udacity has a trademark for Nanodegree, and edX has a trademark
for MicroMasters, perhaps in order to define their quality by market reputation, rather
than traditional regulation or accreditors (Young, 2016).

Part 2
54 A New Market in
Education and Training
 Academic and continuing education certificates. Academic and continuing education
certificates are recognition of meeting the learning objectives and satisfactory completion
of a alternative program of study, often through a university’s continuing education or
extension services (Carnevale et al., 2012; Credential Engine, 2021). A certificate may be
for-credit (academic certificate) or non-credit (continuing-education certificate). These
certificates from institutions are earned through seat time in a classroom, mainly at public
two-year schools, or through private for-profit alternative-granting business, vocational,
technical, and trade schools. Some tertiary institutions also offer practical, labor market–
oriented short-cycle programs (SCPs) (Ferreyra et al., 2021). While individuals can
complete most certificates with one year of full-time academic effort, certificates are
classified by the time allotted to program completion: a two-year degree, typically for
students enrolled full-time. Short-term certificates can be completed in less than a year,
medium-term certificates take up to two years, and long-term certificates take between
two and four years.

Part 2
55 A New Market in
Education and Training
 Certificates of training completion

Certificates of training completion indicate that individuals have completed occupation-

focused training. Such certificates for occupation-focused training include apprenticeships,
coding bootcamp completion certificates, and longer coding bootcamps. Training certificates
focus on professional skills, such as cloud computing. The duration can vary depending on the
type of training. Some apprenticeships are relatively short, such as six weeks to 12 months, but
other apprenticeships can last four to six years (Torpey, 2019). Bootcamps take 14 weeks on
average. However, longer types of bootcamps, such as Holberton, can take up to nine months
to two years. Apprenticeships are typically offered by companies or labor-management
organizations, while bootcamp providers are new.

The value of training certificates seems high. One report found that coding bootcamps
offered “competitive employment results to computer science degrees from top universities
– at around 10% of the cost” (Rhee, 2021). For example, 83% of bootcamp alumni report being
employed in a programming job, and graduates report an average starting salary of $67,000.
Companies directly recruit the workforce through apprenticeships. Since the companies and
industry professionals design the courses, they are highly connected to the industries. Yet,
they have only moderate social capital value, as they offer networking opportunities with
cohorts or others, but not many. Training certificates are usually standalone credentials, but
can sometimes count toward degrees. The average cost of a coding bootcamp can vary
from $5,000 to $15,000. For longer coding bootcamp programs, the cost can be as high as
$30,000 to $85,000. Conversely, apprentices are paid hourly. But coding bootcamp students
can pay off their tuition once they get their high-paying jobs. They can also avoid paying
tuition upfront through deferred tuition and income-share agreement options.

Coding bootcamp completion certificates (with income-share agreement [ISA] and

deferred tuition). Coding bootcamps are “intensive, accelerated learning programs that
teach beginners digital skills,” such as full-stack web development, data science, and digital
marketing (Course Report, 2020). On average, bootcamps cost around $13,500, and graduates
report an average starting salary of $67,000. Bootcamps run from 6 to 28 weeks, with the
average at around 14 weeks. Coding bootcamps aim to improve job opportunities for coders
by reducing the length and cost of training compared to universities, tweaking curricula in
response to technological changes and employer demand, and meeting employer needs for
skilled coders (Stewart, 2020). Coding bootcamps provide instruction in-person, online, or
both. While most are located in one country, several offer courses in multiple nations. Coding
bootcamps issue certificates of course completion; they often provide ISAs and deferred
tuition, where students pay a fixed monthly amount once they graduate and find a job.

Longer coding bootcamp completion certificates (with ISAs and deferred tuition)
(Holberton School, 42). While most bootcamps are 12 to 14 weeks long, some programs
provide much longer training of 24 to 36 months, through intensive course curricula designed
with industry professionals. Graduates of these longer bootcamps earn a higher average post-
completion salary. The average wage for those completing an eight-week bootcamp was
$58,248, the average salary for bootcamps of 16+ weeks was $71,103 (Course Report, 2020).
Some bootcamps (e.g., 42) have free tuitions. Like other bootcamps with ISAs and deferred
tuition, students can pay back tuition cost with 17% of their salary over two to three years
once they get a job. While some programs offer direct instruction from professionals, others
do not have teachers or instructors; students teach and support each other. These programs

Part 2
56 A New Market in
Education and Training
 also help them improve their portfolio, online presence, interview skills, and negotiation skills
for employment.

Apprenticeship certificates. Apprenticeships are formal study programs that blend work
experience with a structured coursework. Apprenticeships offer “hands-on training, technical
instruction, and a paycheck all at the same time” (Torpey, 2019). In countries with well-
developed apprenticeship systems like the United States and Germany, apprenticeships are
typically regulated by the state (e.g., U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship)
and must meet national standards (NCRN, 2019; Workcred, 2020).

In the United States, apprenticeship certificates are “credentials earned through work-
based learning and postsecondary earn-and-learn models,” applicable to industry trades
and professions (Leventoff, 2018, p. 2; Workcred, 2020). These apprenticeship programs
provide certificates of completion when participants complete the requirements. Registered
apprenticeship programs have five elements: a paid job, work-based learning, classroom
instruction, mentoring, and a nationally recognized credential.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, some countries, such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Mexico, and Peru, have actively implemented or redesigned the national apprenticeship
programs (Fazio et al., 2016). Most of them have both on-the-job and off-the-job training.
Still, most countries lack assessments and resulting certificates of skills, which are widely
recognized by employers (see Table 2.2).

Table 2.2.
Apprenticeships in Latin America and the Caribbean

Country A job (contract/ Structured training On-the-job + off- Assessment and

agreement between (defined training plan) the-job training industry-recognized
employer and certificates of
apprentice) acquired skills
Brazil O O O X
Chile O O X X
Colombia O X O X
Costa Rica X X O X
Mexico X O O O
Peru Sometimes O O O

Source: Fazio et al. (2016)

IBM offers a 12- to 18-month apprenticeship for software engineers, cybersecurity

professionals, and designers (Fain, 2019). These apprenticeships include 200 to 300 hours
of learning, instruction, and on-the-job experience. By 2019, more than 400 people had
participated in these apprenticeships; 96% of them were hired into full-time positions. IBM also
created a partnership with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) to create the CTA
Apprenticeship Coalition to share apprenticeship experiences with other companies. Upon
completion, apprentices receive a certificate of apprenticeship from the U.S. Department of
Labor, in addition to IBM digital badges or credentials.

Part 2
57 A New Market in
Education and Training
 Certification of skills after passing an assessment

Certification, a type of industry-recognized credential, is separate from education and

training. Certification indicates that individuals have adequate knowledge and can
competently perform tasks based on an assessment. Professional organizations or
companies grant individuals certifications after they pass an assessment, which may be
oral, written, or performance based. Certifications are time-limited, renewable credentials
awarded by an authoritative body, such as an industry or professional association. They
are based on performance on a test, irrespective of where they occur, for designated
knowledge, skills, and abilities in a particular occupation (Carnevale et al., 2012).
Certifications mostly focus on digital or professional skills related to an occupation,
although they can be applied to other skills. Examinations usually take a few hours, but
preparation for the exam depends on the prerequisites required. Some certifications have
no prerequisites, while others may require a bachelor’s or graduate degree. Companies,
such as Google, Amazon, or IBM, or industry associations like the Computing Technology
Industry Association (CompTIA) or American Welding Society, offer certifications. These
certifications have high market value, as they can be used for recruitment or promotion.
Forty-five percent of entry-level postings for relevant occupations mention Automotive
Service Excellence (ASE) or American Welding Society certifications. The level of
involvement with the industry is high, because companies and industry professionals
are rigorously engaged in developing and validating the competencies assessed in the
certifications.

Another example is the Project Management Institute’s Project Management

Professional (PMP) certificate, which is held by more than one million people. To help
people prepare for the certification exam, PMI provides a list of authorized training
providers through which individuals can enroll in exam preparation courses. The
organizations that provide the exam preparation materials and courses and those
that develop and design the certifications are usually not the same. In addition, there
are test administrating organizations. Two major certification test administrators are
Prometric and Pearson VUE. There is low social capital value, as they do not offer
many networking opportunities. Certifications are offered at multiple career points,
and individuals can progress from one certification to the next. Certification exams
costs can vary from free to $1,400. In addition, the cost exam preparation materials can
range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Part 2
58 A New Market in
Education and Training
 Part 3:
Degrees and
Alternative
Credentials as
Parts of the
Solution
3.1. Similarities between degrees and alternative credentials................. 60
3.2. Differences between degrees and alternative credentials.................62

59
 Part 3:
Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
In this section, we will examine degrees and alternatives as a part of the solution. First,
we will review similarities and differences between degrees and skill-based alternative
credentials. Then, we will look into what occupations are more open to alternative
alternative credentials.

3.1. Similarities between degrees and alternative

credentials
Both academic degrees and alternative credentials perform the same functions (Bills,
2003; NCRN, 2019). First, both provide individuals an opportunity to nurture marketable
skills and abilities and increase human capital. Both help job candidates and employers
communicate specific job-related skills and productivity. Employers use these alternative
credentials to screen and filter potential employees. Lastly, both can be used as a mental
shortcut and may be valued much more than the actual skills and abilities (see Table 3.1).
Each of these features is explored below.

Table 3.1.
Similarities between degrees and alternative credentials
What do degrees and alternative credentials do?
Increase human capital
Communicate specific technical abilities and productivity
Serve to screen and filter potential employees
Communicate cultural, social, and interpersonal dispositions
Provide signals to employers (beyond actual skills and learning)

Increase human capital

We learn knowledge and skills in classes. Schooling and training provide marketable skills
and abilities relevant to job performance. Learners and students invest their time and money
into their education that should provide future returns. Skills acquired in schools, especially
early human development stages, seem general and transferable across employers, while
specific skills are developed in the workplace (Becker, 1964; Schultz, 1962).

Part 3
60 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Communicate specific technical abilities and productivity

Job candidates and employers use education credentials to communicate and signal
specific technical abilities and productivity (Bills, 2003; NCRN, 2019). Degrees and
alternative credentials are used to signal candidates’ particular technical skills, knowledge,
and productivity.

Serve to screen and filter potential employees

Employers use education credentials to screen and filter job candidates (Bills, 2003).
Education and training serve as a screening device to sort through individuals of differing
abilities, conveying information to labor purchasers (Arrow, 1973). By way of illustration,
a study on how hiring managers use credentials shows that certificates can be used to
differentiate job candidates and improve the hiring process (Bartlett et al., 2005). The
majority of employers in the manufacturing industry also report that alternative credentials
were useful when selecting job candidates, while large organizations prefer workers with
credentials (Workcred, 2018).

Communicate cultural, social, and interpersonal dispositions

Individuals learn skills, norms, and protocols in schools, but they also self-select education
levels and options. Degrees and alternative credentials can communicate individuals’
cultural, social, and interpersonal characteristics. Such characteristics could include soft
skills from training, as well as cultural, social, and interpersonal characteristics of individuals
who choose to earn education credentials. The cultural resources available to workers
with educational attainment can be either enabling or constraining. More highly schooled
people may have social and interpersonal tendencies that employers value (Bills, 2003;
Walsh, 2020).

Provide signals to employers (beyond actual skills and learning)

Some people argue that degrees matter more than the skills and understanding people
obtain from schools. Degrees can work as a proxy for employers and an excuse if hiring
does not work out (Goldberg, 2020). In Spence’s job market signaling model, potential
employees send signals about their skills and capabilities through education credentials
(Spence, 1973). Education’s effect on earnings is not linear, and degrees provide a
considerable boost to one’s earnings—more than a single year of schooling. (People called
it the “sheepskin effect,” as degrees were printed on sheepskin in the early days) (Belman
& Heywood, 1991). A study on postsecondary education in Colombia found that returns to
college reputation are as high as the returns to skills (Busso et al., 2020). Some alternative
credentials, such as licenses, may communicate non-felony status, which can be valuable
for disadvantaged candidates in the labor market (Blair & Chung, 2018).

Part 3
61 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 3.2. Differences between degrees and alternative
credentials
Alternative credentials can offer individuals much shorter, more affordable and to-
the-point, versatile solutions than academic degrees. In this section, we dissect the
differences between degrees and alternative credentials. Specifically, we will investigate
the differences by duration to complete, types of skills, expiration, ways of validation,
delivery mode and platforms, providers, costs, market value and recognition, social
capital value and networking opportunities, employers’ perception and premium, the
number of credentials that individuals can pursue, and the level of involvement with the
industry (see Table 3.2).

Table 3.2.
Difference between degrees and alternative credentials
Traditional university Alternative credentials
degrees
Duration to At least 2 to 6 years for Varies from hours to years
complete bachelor’s degrees
Coding bootcamps take 14 weeks on average.

Udacity nanodegrees, Crehana MicroDegrees, edX

MicroBachelors, and edX MicroMasters can take four to nine
months.

The time to earn a certification is based on the prerequisites

required to sit for the exam, which can vary from no
prerequisites to a graduate degree
Types of skills Major and multiple electives; For-credit (academic certificate) or non-credit (continuing
education certificate)

Run by various institutions, often the higher education’s

continuing education
Expiration No expiration Certifications (e.g., by professional association or industry
brand) often have an expiration date and usually require renewal
or recertification after a specific period of time. Certificates for
completing course content or occupation-focused training do
not expire.
Ways of Attendance, assignments, Certificates for course completion and training use attendance,
validation – examinations, GPA, and credit assignments, and examinations.
course, training, hours
and exam
credentials
Delivery mode Mainly face-to-face (pre- Face-to-face, online, hybrid,
and platforms COVID), moving to online and
hybrid
Providers Accredited and unaccredited Various organizations (e.g., online platform companies,
tertiary institutions universities, private education institutions, businesses and
companies, industry and professional organizations, museums,
nonprofits, local governments, and non-governmental
organizations)
Costs More than $40,000 to $150,000 Certificates for completing courses cost $0 to $5,000.
for traditional bachelor’s
degrees. Certificates for occupation-focused training cost from zero to
$50 per month to $85,000—with an option to learn first and pay
In Latin America, traditional the tuition back after graduation.
bachelor’s degrees can cost up
to about US$ 5,500. $100” to “free.

About $6,600 to $22,000 for

online bachelor’s and Master’s
degrees.

Student aid (e.g., financial aid,

grants, loans, tax credits, work-
study) is available.

Part 3
62 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Market value The median income earnings The value of alternative credentials varies substantially across
and recognition of full-time working bachelor’s occupations, industries, states, and regions.
degree holders with no
additional degrees were Certificates of course completion, with credits, such as sub-
$24,900 higher than high baccalaureate certificates from community colleges, also
school graduates’ income. The increase individuals’ earnings, on average 20%, and increased
ROI of a bachelor’s degree was employability.
estimated to be $306,000,
and $129,000 with the risk of Coding bootcamps certificates can have similar earning
dropping out. potentials compared to Computer Science Bachelor’s degree
holders.
Bachelor’s degree holder-led
families have more than 100% Certifications show as much as an 18% salary premium for entry
higher median income than levels and 50% for mid-career levels in industries that value
families led by no-degree certification.
holders.

However, the premium

dramatically decreased. Also,
degrees’ values depend on
the major. Some degrees are
worth millions of dollars lifetime
earnings, while other degrees
have negative ROI and can harm
students financially.
Social capital Degrees offer extracurricular Given its focused content area and limited time, alternative
value and opportunities, friendships, credentials may offer fewer social networking possibilities
networking and access to social networks,
opportunities including alumni

Employers’ Degrees have served as an Employers report that they expect, consider, and prefer
perception and established proxy for employers candidates with certificates and certifications when hiring
premium
The numbers of Small Large
credentials that
individuals can
pursue
Level of Low High
involvement
with the
industry

Part 3
63 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Duration to complete

Degrees take at least three years to complete (see Figure 3.1). Bachelor’s degrees take
three to six years. Master’s degrees take an additional one to two years. Doctoral degrees
take an additional three to six years. Students may need more time to complete their
degrees. For instance, only 28% of students at two-year public institutions received a
degree or certificate within 150% of the expected time for completion (National Center for
Education Statistics, 2016).

Figure 3.1.
Credit hours and classes for degrees
Degrees could be considered as “Bundles” of carefully selected, sequenced, and
integrated curriculum.
Associate's Degree Bachelor's Degree. Aprox 4000-5000 hours Master's Degree
60 - 65 credit hours or 20 classes. 120 - 130 credit hours or 40 classes. (125 eight-hour per year) 30 to 60 credit hour

1 Class

Source: HolonIQ, 2021.

Conversely, alternative credentials can be completed in hours, days, weeks, and months
(see Figure 3.2). Certificates are flexible and frequently self-pacing. Udacity nanodegrees,
Crehana MicroDegrees, edX MicroBachelors, and edX MicroMasters can take four to nine
months to complete. Occupation-focused training certificates also help individuals prepare
for the job market more quickly than degrees. For instance, some apprenticeships are
relatively short, such as six weeks to twelve months, but other apprenticeships can last
four to six years (Torpey, 2019). Coding bootcamps take fourteen weeks on average, while
the longer coding bootcamps can take up to two years. And the Google Career Certificate
for IT support professionals can take up to eight months.

Part 3
64 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Figure 3.2.
Credit hours and classes for alternative credentials
“Alternative” credentials are evolving pathways, substitutes, and alternatives for
learners.
Associates Degree Bachelors Degree. Approx 4000-5000 hours Masters Degree

Courses you complete at Average Udemy

Courses for credit Course - 3 hours.
WGU Academy transfer to
WGU degree programs.

Courses for credit

Google Certificates
Equivalent to a
4-Tear Degree

Online Coding School

40-hours every week
for 6-months Micromasters

+ Coursera Specialization
Whilst earning academic credit Most - Take 4-6 months
from Coventry University. to complete
on AWS Academy member
institution

Source: HolonIQ, 2021.

Types of skills

Degree programs require students to master basic content and foundational concepts—
the hows and whys. Many undergraduate students take more than a hundred credit hours
before graduating. Students cover a lot of content across different disciplines within the
field in addition to taking elective courses to meet graduation requirements.

The degree curriculum for an academic major provides a general foundation beyond
the skills required for occupations. Computer Science degree programs cover a deep
understanding of systems, general foundations (the hows and whys), beyond the coding
languages and tools to build websites or mobile apps. Degree programs, in particular
a bachelor’s degree, have defined and fixed curricula, which need to be approved by
accrediting entities.

By way of contrast, alternative credentials tend to focus on targeted, often applied,

content. They may be provided by colleges and universities, corporations, museums, and
other organizations. Most important, students choose what knowledge and skills they want
to acquire without being required to take general electives. Some occupation-focused
training programs highlight applied learning. Most coding bootcamps focus on coding
language and tools for developers and may or may not delve into the hows and whys seen
in traditional computer science degrees (Eggleston et al., 2016; Williams, 2020).

Part 3
65 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 A gap that degrees and alternative credentials do not fill is credentials in soft skills.
Professional certifications mostly focus on hard rather than soft skills (Markow et al., 2017).
One possible reason for this could be that education systems, regardless of degrees and
alternative credentials, may not place a particular focus on soft skills. Another reason could
be that it is difficult to find a clear, objective way to evaluate soft skills. Yet employers
struggle to find job candidates with adequate soft skills (Adobe, 2019; Levy & Cannon, 2016)
and then to accurately assess these skills (LinkedIn, 2019), which become more important
with the rise of automation (Deming, 2017; LinkedIn, 2019). Certificates or certifications
focusing soft skills are rare. Among the top 200 most-demanded certifications in job
postings, only ACT’s WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certification (NCRC) focuses on
soft skills (2020b). Moreover, the NCRC credentials had less than 2% of market adoption
of the most common certifications (Markow et al., 2017) perhaps because “there is no
common agreement on how to define or measure them or because such skills are best
assessed within the context of a particular occupation rather than in isolation” (Markow et
al., 2017, p. 3).

Expiration

Degrees do not expire. Similarly, alternative credentials for completing the content and
occupation-focused training (e.g., certificates) do not expire. Many certifications do expire,
and individuals need to renew them regularly as evidence that their skills are current.
Amazon Web Services and CompTIA certifications require renewal every three years,
while Google Cloud certifications are valid for two years. Holders of these certifications
must recertify to maintain their certification status.

Part 3
66 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Ways of validation: Courses, training, and assessment

Accredited schools provide strong credentials for academic degrees, and these programs
are regulated. Students need to complete a certain number of credit hours while remaining
in good standing (i.e., grade point average [GPA]). Schools validate the progress with
a combination of attendance, assignments (formative and/or summative), examinations,
and credit hours.

Certificates of course completion also use the combination of attendance, assignments,

projects, and examinations to validate students’ progress. In some edX MicroMasters
programs, students need to pass the course delivered on edX through attendance, quizzes,
and assignments, and the proctored exam.

Certificates for completing occupation-focused training programs validate the students’

progress through attendance, assignments, and exams or job performance. Coding
bootcamps or other certificate programs from degree-granting institutions use attendance,
assignments, and exams to validate students’ progress. Conversely, apprenticeship
programs evaluate the participants’ performance. At Lockheed Martin, participants are
assessed by their daily performance, and the hiring managers provide weekly feedback
(Lockheed Martin, n.d.).

Finally, certifications use an external, standardized, and third-party-administered and

proctored examination or assessment. Students need to go to testing centers or take
exams online in a monitored environment (see Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3.
Types of validation
Levels of verification Typical examples

Recognition of no verification
attendance
Academic
Certificates

Completion of Assignment middle

Assignments or projects

An examination Examination

Professional
Higher
Certifications
An external, standardised
examination administered Examination
by 3rd party

Source: Kato et al., 2020.

Part 3
67 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Delivery mode and platforms

Most degree programs traditionally offer face-to-face instruction. But the pandemic has
shifted universities to online and hybrid platforms. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 90%
of tertiary institutions rate digital and online learning as “very important” to their future,
yet only 63% of institutions claim they are digitally mature (Inter-American Development
Bank et al., 2022). Digital adoption and transformation remain the top priority and key
challenge, particularly in teacher training and development, and technology solution access
(Inter-American Development Bank et al., 2022). On the other hand, alternative credential
programs have always been more flexible than degree programs. Many of the courses and
exams, such as PearsonVUE and PSI, are offered through online and hybrid platforms, such
as edX and Coursera, and testing centers.

Providers

Degrees are provided by accredited academic institutions, whereas alternative credentials

programs are offered at a range of organizations, including online platform companies,
public and private academic institutions, businesses and companies, industry and
professional organizations, museums, nonprofits, local governments, and non-governmental
organizations (Maxwell, 2017). Coursera’s most popular courses in 2019 included Machine
Learning (Stanford University), The Science of Well-Being (Yale University), AI for
Everyone (deeplearning.ai), and What is Data Science? (IBM) (Coursera, 2019). EdX’s most
popular courses include CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science (Harvard), Introduction
to Python (Microsoft), TOEFL Test Preparation (ETS), and Introduction to Linux (Linux
Foundation) (Shah, 2019). Moreover, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Boston
Consulting Group (BCG), Google, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), American Museum
of History, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s SDGAcademy, World
Bank Group, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also provide edX and Coursera
learning opportunities.

Part 3
68 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Costs

The cost of earning a bachelor’s degree ranges from $40,000 to $150,000. On average,
U.S. private four-year colleges cost around $38,070 per year, whereas U.S. public four-year
colleges cost $10,740 per year for in-state students and $27,560 a year for out-of-state
students (College Board, 2021). Conversely, U.S. public two-year colleges can cost around
$3,730 per year. For degrees, students can receive financial aid such as grants, loans, tax
credits, or work-study programs (College Board, 2021).

In Latin America, annual tuition ranges from US$1,243 for universities and US$2,694 for
four-year professional institutes in Peru to US$5,423 for five-year universities in Chile
(Espinoza and Urzúa, 2016). Some countries in Latin America and Europe offer free tuition
to students. In these cases, it is taxpayers who finance tuition (Ferreyra et al., 2017). Formal
education and training systems are also rigid, with many failing to teach their students the
skills they need to succeed in the workplace.

An increasing number of schools have started to offer online bachelor’s and master’s
degrees at much lower prices, costing $6,600 to $22,000. The Coursera bachelor’s degree
program at the University of North Texas costs $330 per credit, totaling up to $14,850.
Georgia Tech’s online master’s in computer science costs around $6,600 for the full degree.
The University of Illinois has an online M.B.A. for under $22,000. Coursera’s online master’s
programs cost around $22,000.

Certificates for course completion can be much less expensive than the traditional and
online degrees, costing $0 to $5,000. Many MOOCs offer certificates for free. Some
stackable programs are also much less expensive. EdX MicroBachelors programs cost
around $166 per credit, totaling up to $500 to $1,500. Conversely, the EdX MicroMasters
costs $962 on average. Coursera’s MasterTrack certificates cost around $2,596.

Certificates for completing occupation-focused training are also much less expensive than
the traditional and online degrees, costing $49 per month to $13,500. Some even offer an
option to learn first and pay the tuition back after graduation. Google Career Certificates
for IT Support Professionals cost $49 per month. Costs of coding bootcamps can ranges
from below $5,000 to over $15,000. Through deferred tuition and ISAs, some coding
bootcamps also offer the opportunity to pay back once students graduate and get high-
income jobs. Conversely, apprenticeships provide individuals an hourly rate.

Certifications cost around free to $1,400, depending on the skills and occupation.
Specifically, most industry-recognized certifications in the IT industry cost around $123
to 349 (CompTIA), $150 to 300 (Amazon Web Service), and $120 (Google). Conversely,
the Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) costs around $700 to $1,400, depending on when an
individual registers for the exam.

Part 3
69 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Market value and recognition
Degrees may seem to generate better labor market and income outcomes, yet premiums
have been declining. The college income premium is “the extra income earned by a family
whose head of household has a college degree over the income earned by an otherwise similar
family whose head of household does not have a college degree” (Emmons et al., 2019, p.
297). The median income earnings of full-time working bachelor’s degree holders with no
additional degrees were $24,900 higher than high school graduates’ incomes (College Board,
2019). However, a recent study found that it is misleading to read the numbers at face value
that bachelor’s degree holder-led families have more than 100% higher median income than
families led by no-degree holders (Emmons et al., 2019). A close examination found that “the
wealth-building advantage of higher education has declined among recent graduates of all
demographic groups. Among all racial and ethnic groups born in the 1980s, only the wealth
premium for white four-year college graduates remains statistically significant” (p. 299). The
wealth premium is significantly lower even for white four-year graduates than in previous
generations.

Recently released university and program-level data from the U.S. Department of Education
showed a more accurate picture (Copper, 2021a, 2021b; Gillen, 2021; Itzkowitz, 2021; Marcus,
2021). If students graduate on time, their bachelor’s degrees have a median net ROI of $306,000,
and with the risk of dropping out (with no ROI), the ROI dropped to $129,000 (Copper, 2021a,
2021b). About 65% of bachelor’s degree programs left most their graduates earning enough to
recover the education costs within 10 years or less, whereas 10% of the programs showed their
graduates earn less than typical high school graduates (Itzkowitz, 2021).

In Latin America, higher education graduates can expect to earn on average 104% higher
salaries than high school graduates, if other characteristics remain constant (Ferreyra et al.,
2017). College dropouts enjoy a relatively large earning premium of 35% over high school
graduates, which does not incentivize students to complete their degrees (see Figure 3.4)
(Ferreyra et al., 2017). Still, such Mincerian returns even compared with primary education have
declined (Messina & Silva, 2017).

Figure 3.4.
Mincerian returns: a comparison of incomplete higher education versus completion
(degrees) in Latin America and the Caribbean, mid-2010s
2.0

1.8

1.6
Mincerian return

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
ARG VEN URU PER BOL ECU MEX GUA REP PAN NIC SAL CHI HON BRA PAR COS COL
RB

Additional wage premium from completion Enrollment (no degree)

Source: Ferreyra et al., 2017.

Part 3
70 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 The value of the degrees depends on the major. Some degrees are worth millions of
dollars (Copper, 2021a, 2021b). In the United States, four in five engineering programs
have ROI above $500,000 (Copper, 2021a, 2021b), while health, nursing, engineering, and
construction management graduates could recoup their educational investment in five
years or less (Itzkowitz, 2021). Conversely, 28% to 37% of university programs, mostly
in philosophy, religious studies, arts, music, and psychology (Copper, 2021a, 2021b) or
drama, dance, and zoology (Itzkowitz, 2021) have no net financial value; they might in fact
financially harm students with negative ROI. Additionally, while elite schools dominated
the highest ROI programs, some elite school degrees also have negative ROI (Copper,
2021a, 2021b) (see Figure 3.5).

Figure 3.5.
The expected financial value of college: Distribution of ROI by major category,
adjusting for completion outcomes
Negative ROI $0 to $250.000 $250.000 to $500.000 $500.000 to $1 million Above $1 million

All Programs

Engineering

Transportation, Construction, and Architecture

Mathematics and Statistics

Economics

Business, finance, and Management

Computer and Information Sciences

Physical Sciences

Health and Nursing

Agriculture and Natural Resources

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Communications and Journalism

Political Science and Other Social Science

Public Administration

English, Liberal Arts, and Humanities

Education

Life Sciences and Biology

Miscellaneous

Phychology

Philosophy and Religious Studies

Visual Arts and Music

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Source: Copper (2021a, 2021b).

Part 3
71 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 In Latin America, ROIs on these postsecondary degrees also varied by the fields of study.
Chile’s engineering and technology university students have the highest ROIs, followed
by law, business, and science; humanities have the lowest returns, followed by education,
social science, and arts (Espinoza & Urzua, 2016). Additionally, 10% of students in Chile
had negative expected returns, regardless of field and type of educational institution (see
Table 3.3 and Figure 3.6 below) (Espinoza & Urzua, 2016).

Table 3.3
Returns in Chile, by field of study and postsecondary institution types

Technical training
Professional institutes Universities
centers Overall
(four-year degrees) (five-year degrees)
(two-year degrees)
Agriculture 35.3 42.5 62.7 52.5
Arts 66.1 31.0 49.0 41.2
Business management 57.1 54.6 126.8 78.2
Education -2.4 9.5 12.7 9.6
Engineering and
technology 109.6 99.8 163.5 125.8
Health 40.5 40.9 101.5 73.3
Humanities -5.2 12.1 2.3 4.1
Law 61.3 38.6 128.5 115.1
Science 97.2 15.5 115.3 113.6
Social sciences 34.5 18.7 47.0 36.6
Total 66.2 58.9 97.5 78.4

Source: Espinoza & Urzua, 2016.

Figure 3.6.
Chile: Proportion of students facing negative expected returns in, by field and
institution types
Engineering and
technology

Health

Humanities

Education

Law

Social sciences

Science

Arts

Agriculture

Business and
administration

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

Proportion of students facing negative returns

Universities Technical institutes Proessional institutes

Source: Espinoza & Urzua, 2016.

Part 3
72 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Still, the caveat is that this ROI pattern may change. According to OECD’s international
analysis of tertiary graduates’ job attributes, Avvisati et al. (2013) found that arts graduates,
along with engineering and computing graduates, are most likely to hold a highly innovative
job where they contribute to product innovation (see Figure 3.7).

Figure 3.7.
Percentage share of graduates having a highly innovative job
Engineering and technology 38
Arts 37
Agriculture 33
Architecture 31
Social sciences 29
Total 29
Education 29
Sciences and maths 28

Business 28

Others 26

Humanities 24

Health 23

Law 21

0 10 20 30 40 50

Source: Avvisati et al. (2013).

Part 3
73 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Conversely, the value of alternative credentials varies across occupations, industries,
states, and regions. Overall, higher-wage occupations employ many workers with
alternative credentials or licenses (Bol & Weeden, 2015; Weeden, 1999, 2002). Individuals
with alternative credentials tend to earn higher median salaries than their peers without
credentials (Cronen et al., 2017; Ewert & Kominiski, 2014). When scrutinizing the details,
however, some alternative credentials have little or no value in certain disciplines or labor
markets, while others can be valuable and give an edge to candidates in, for instance, the
IT industry (Adelman, 2000; Rob, 2014; Markow et al., 2017). In most cases, certificates of
program completion are not as valuable as certifications, for example, in terms of return on
investment (although the literature does not offer direct comparisons on this last point).

First, certificates for completing courses increase individuals’ earnings, on average 20%,
and boost employability (Carnevale et al., 2012; Dadgar & Trimble, 2015). But these returns
vary by fields of study and issuers (Deming et al., 2016; Jacobson, 2011; Jepsen et al.,
2014; Xu & Trimble, 2016). For example, workers with academic certificates in engineering
technologies or drafting have median earnings between $75,001 and $150,000, which
were higher than academic certificates in other fields (Carnevale et al., 2020). Still, in other
fields, earning premiums from these certificates are lower than associate’s degrees (Bahr
et al., 2015) (see Figure 3.8).

Figure 3.8.
Earnings, by discipline, among workers with academic and continuing-education
certificates

Engineering technologies or drafting

Mechanic or repair technologies
Manufacturing or production
Law enforcement, security, or firefighting
Construction trades
Other
Computer science or information technology
Business management, administration, or marketing

Audio, broadcasting, multimedia, or graphic technologies

Accounting, finance, insurance, or real state
Transporetation
Healthcare

Culinary arts
Administrative support

Education
Cosmetology

$0 $40.000 $80.000 $120.000 $160.000

$20.000 $60.000 $100.000 $140.000

Source: Carnevale et al. (2020)

Part 3
74 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 More recent data also showed that, in the United States, the value of certificates for
completing a course in a public or private institution widely vary (Itzkowitz, 2021). In the
United States, about half the certificate programs (48%) enabled their graduates to recoup
costs within five years, although this figure represents only 35% of all certificate holders
(Itzkowitz, 2021). Certificate programs that prepare students to enter a specific profession,
such as transportation, industrial equipment maintenance technologies, nursing, criminal
justice, or health, showed the quickest ROI. Conversely, programs with broader applications,
such as English language and literature, or professions that often underreport their income,
such as grooming or therapeutic services, showed no to low ROI (Itzkowitz, 2021).

In Latin America and the Caribbean, SCP graduates experienced better labor market
outcomes (in terms of employment rate, wage premium) than college dropouts and high
school graduates. Those with bachelor’s degree holders did better overall (Ferreyra et al.,
2021) (see Figure 3.9).

Figure 3.9.
In LAC, short-cycle program (SCP) graduates attain better employment outcomes than
high school graduates and college dropouts

a. Unemployment rate
a. Unemployment rate b. Formal unemployment
b. Formal unemployment c. Wage premium
c. Wage premium

6 6 100100 140140

120120
5 5 80 80
100100
4 4
60 60
80 80

Percent
Percent
Percent

Percent
Percent

Percent

3 3
40 40 60 60

2 2
40 40
20 20
1 1 20 20

0 0 0 0 0 0

HS HS Incomp.
Incomp. Comp.
Comp. Incomp.
Incomp. Comp.
Comp. HS HS Incomp.
Incomp. Comp.
Comp. Incomp.
Incomp. Comp.
Comp. Incomp.
Incomp. Comp.
Comp. Incomp.
Incomp. Comp.
Comp.
SCPSCP SCPSCP Bachelor´s
Bachelor´sBachelor´s
Bachelor´s SCPSCP SCPSCP Bachelor´s
Bachelor´sBachelor´s
Bachelor´s SCPSCP SCPSCP Bachelor´s
Bachelor´sBachelor´s
Bachelor´s

Source: Ferreyra et al. (2021),

Part 3
75 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Still, net returns in Latin America and the Caribbean for short-cycle programs varied by
program (e.g., engineering or healthcare vs. humanities) (Ferreyra et al., 2021) (see Figures
3.10 and 3.11). For most employers, the relative value of educational credentials has held
steady (29%) or risen (48%) over the past five years (Gallagher, 2018).

Figures 3.10.
Net returns in Chile vary among programs and by field of study: SCPs and college
programs

Program net returns in Chile, by field

200

150
Percent

100

50

-50

and alt
h
Law and tur
e ces enc
es Art
s ion nit
ies
ng He ess tion cul ien cat
eri olog
y
i n r i S c Sci Ed
u um
a
i n e
h n s
Bu nistra Ag cia
l H
g c So
En Te mi
Ad

25th pctl. Bachelor Mean Bachelor 75th pctl. Bachelor 25th pctl. SCP Mean SCP 75th pctl. SCP

Source: Ferreyra et al. (2021),

Figures 3.11.
Short-cycle programs (SCPs) have disparate effects on LAC student outcomes, by field
Program value-added contribution to wages in Colombia, by field

0.006

0.004

0.002

-450 0 450 900

Value-added contribution to wages (PPP dollars 2019)

Agronomy and veterinary Economics and business Arts Engineering and

architecture
Health Math and natural sciences Social sciences

Source: Ferreyra et al. (2021) and its background paper.

Part 3
76 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Certifications seem to have the highest value. Controlling for individual characteristics (e.g.,
high school test scores), individuals with professional certifications had higher earnings
than those with none (Albert, 2017). Also, individuals with professional certifications and
licenses earned more in the manufacturing field (Renski, 2018), with the highest returns
going to those without a bachelor’s degree (Baird et al., 2019). Certifications and licenses
showed large, meaningful returns, especially for women and sub-baccalaureate labor
markets (Baird et al., 2021).

In some fields that value professional certifications, the top 50 certifications accounted for
two-thirds of job postings and had salary premiums as high as 18% (Markow et al., 2017).
Some professional certifications eased a worker’s entry into industries like auto repair
(ASE certifications), IT help desk (CompTIA), and welding (American Welding Society
[AWS] certifications). Also, other certifications help experienced workers advance their
careers by validating their knowledge and skills, including project management, network,
and cloud technologies, and IT security with 10% to 45% of salary premiums (Markow et al.,
2017) (see Tables 3.4 and 3.5).

Table 3.4.
Salary premium of professional certifications on entry-level positions

% of Entry level % of Entry

Equivalent
Postings % of Postings % of Postings level Postings
Certifiation Years of
esquesting Entry Level Sub-BA Resquesting
Experience
Certification Certification
Automobile Service
Excellence (ASE) 29% 45% 100% 21% ($9,587) 7
CompTIA A+ 19% 62% 75% 5% ($2,030) 1
American Welding
Society (AWS) 13% 45% 97% 9% ($3,077) 1,5

Source: Markow et al., 2017.

Part 3
77 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Table 3.5.
Salary premium of professional certifications for mid-career positions in network and
cloud technologies

Beginner Intermediate Advanced Expert

Cisco Certified
Design
Professional
(CCDP)

Cisco Certified
Cisco Certified Network
Network Associate professional
(CCNA) (CCNP)
Cisco Certified
Certified
CompTIA A+ Design Associate
Coding
(CCDA) Cisco Certified
Associate (CCA)
Certifiation Cisco Certified
Linux +
Internetwork
Name Entry Microsoft Expert (CCIE)
Network + Certified
Networking Systems Red Hat Certified
Technician Microsoft Certified Engineer Architect (RHCA)
(CCENT) Systems Administrator (MCSE)
(MCSA)
Certified Novell
Red Hat Certified Engineer (CNE)
Systems Administrator
(RHCSA) Red Hat
Certified
Engineer
(RHCE)
Certified Linux
Engineer (CLE)
Additional Salary
Premium over N/A 12% ($5,350) 22% ($10,027) 57% ($26,375)
Beginner level
Certifications

Source: Markow et al., 2017.

Part 3
78 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Coding bootcamp certificates and computer science bachelor’s degree holders have similar
earning potential. The average starting salary for those with certificates from a coding
bootcamp is $70,698 (Eggleston, 2017), while those with computer science degrees earn
between US$ 50,000 and US$ 140,000 (PayScale, 2020).

Registered apprenticeships secure substantial returns in the United States, but not in the
United Kingdom. Apprenticeship participants had an average annual wage premium of
$5,839 nine years after completion in the United States (Reed et al., 2012). In contrast, in
the United Kingdom, apprenticeships failed to upgrade skills, in part because the programs
did not target traditionally marginalized groups (Fuller & Unwin, 2017), including women
(Fuller et al., 2005). Still, studies, including a longitudinal one (Ross et al., 2018), found
that early-career participation in apprenticeships is linked to future job quality, including
income, working hours, and job satisfaction.

Social capital value and networking opportunities

Degrees offer various extracurricular opportunities, friendships, and access to social

networks (Goldberg, 2020). Alternative, non-degree credentials tend to offer less of these
advantages given their focused content and short duration. In fact, the scant networking
opportunities for alternative credential holders have not been thoroughly examined. Some
bootcamps arrange prospective interviews with potential employers and interaction with
cohorts (Course Report, 2020). Most bootcamps offer career services that introduce
students to LinkedIn, GitHub, and other networking opportunities (Rhee, 2021). MOOC
courses also offer board and comment functions to bolster students’ interaction. Some
MOOCs offer career services for students taking micro-credential courses.

Employers’ perceptions and premium

University degrees have long held a strong market position based on the academic
credentials of the faculty and their role in assuring quality graduates (Miller & Boswell,
1979). Degrees have served as an established proxy for employers, as well as a reasonable
excuse in case the hiring does not work out (Goldberg, 2020).

Employers report that they expect, consider, and prefer candidates with certifications for
some fields, like human resources (Lester et al., 2011), IT (Wierschem et al., 2010), and
manufacturing (Workcred, 2018). In the IT industry, 91% of employers surveyed reported
they saw IT certifications as reliable predictors for an job applicant’s success (CompTIA,
2015). A study on how hiring managers use certifications indicates that certificates improve
the hiring process (Bartlett et al., 2005). Most employers in the manufacturing industry
also report that alternative credentials were useful when selecting among job candidates,
while large organizations said they prefer workers with credentials (Workcred, 2018).

Some employers value registered apprenticeships in recruiting new workers while they were
first honing their skills (Lerman et al., 2010; Lerman et al., 2014). Workers who completed
their apprenticeships were more likely to advance and be productive than those who did
not complete apprenticeships (Kenyon, 2005).

Part 3
79 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 But even certification-heavy industries may not include alternative credentials in a job
requirement. For example, only 0.5% of job postings list certification as a requirement in
the human resource field (Aguinis et al., 2005). Given the great number of certifications,
employers may not differentiate among the many kinds of credentials (Deterting & Pedulla,
2016). These expectations could vary by industry (Lamback et al., 2018).

Not all alternative credentials are equal. In job postings, employers ask for professional
certifications much more often than academic certificates (Markow, 2017). In the United
States in 2015, approximately 1.5 million job postings demanded professional certifications,
while only 130,000 postings asked for academic certificates (Markow, 2017). It may be
that the strong market value of professional certifications emerged from standardized
industry-wide criteria, apart from the content and quality of the certificate-granting
institutions (Markow, 2017) (see Table 3.6).

Table 3.6.
Job postings for applicants with alternative credentials

Number of job postings listing with alternative credentials

Top 5 professional Top 5 academic Number of job
Number of job postings
certifications certificates postings
Certified Public 202,971 Home Health Aide 18,007
Accountant (CPA) Certificate
Project Management 202,971 Paralegal Certificate 12,234
Professional (PMP)
Certified Information 91,981 Phlebotomy Certificate 10,485
Systems Security
Professional (CISSP)
Automotive Service
Medical Billing and Coding
Excellence Certification 67,973 8,466
Certificate
(ASE)
Cisco Certified Network 67,746 Typing Certificate 4,245
Associate (CCNA)

Source: Markow, 2017.

The numbers of credentials individuals can pursue

University degrees have long held a strong market position based on the academic
Individuals can earn relatively few degrees throughout their lifetimes because degree
programs take years to complete and are costly. Most individuals earn one or two academic
or professional degrees. By way of contrast, alternative credentials are easily amassed for
reasons of time and money.

So far, we have reviewed the differences between degrees and alternative credentials
across characteristics.

Part 3
80 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 • First, both degrees and alternative credentials could increase human capital,
communicate specific technical abilities and productivity (as well as cultural, social,
and interpersonal dispositions), and could be used for signaling as a mental shortcut
for employers (much more than actual skills and learnings) and to screen and filter
employees.

• Second, alternative credentials, such as certificates and certifications, can provide

much shorter, less expensive, more accessible, affordable, compact, to-the-point, and
versatile solutions to fill skills gaps and help individuals navigate the labor market than
academic degrees.

• Third, their market value and recognition still may vary, depending on occupations
and skills.

In Part 04, we will review occupations and skills that are more open to alternative credentials
than others.

Part 3
81 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials as Parts of
the Solution
 Part 4:
Degrees and
Alternative
Credentials for
Education and
Labor Markets
4.1. What occupations are not open to alternative credentials?............ 84
4.2. What occupations are open to alternative credentials?.....................86
4.2. When can alternative credentials be particularly helpful?................ 90

82
 Part 4:
Degree and Alternative
Credentials for Education and
Labor Markets
Since 2010, 13 million new jobs have been created in the United States alone (Muro et
al., 2017). Some professional career clusters are emerging, such as data and artificial
intelligence, engineering and cloud computing, product development, care economy, and
green economy; some occupations are disappearing (World Economic Forum, 2020).

Education requirements for people to enter an occupation have changed to varying extents
by industries and levels. Some occupations are open to alternative credentials, while other
occupations require degrees that signify years of education.

The purpose of this section is to identify the types of occupations that are open to
alternative credentials, and to review when alternative credentials are helpful. To answer
this question, we examined various occupations, their entry-level education requirements,
and 2020 median pay using the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics and the European
Commissions’ Occupation Classification. The caveat here is that these data are from
before 2020, and the future might be different. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the
fastest-growing occupations are found in the digital economy (e.g., computer science
specialists) or services (e.g., food-service professionals), whereas employment is declining
for managers and repair and maintenance workers (Azuara Herrera et al., 2019). Then, we
will identify when alternative credentials can boost job prospects and skills for students
and learners.

Part 4
83 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 4.1. What occupations are not open to alternative
credentials?
Most countries require that medical doctors, veterinarians, and pharmacists earn doctoral
and professional degrees from traditionally accredited institutions. In addition, most of
these professions are licensed by the state. They require alternative assessments as well as
state-issued licenses. These occupations with traditional degree requirements also show
high median pay. Median annual incomes for medical doctors, dentists, and pharmacists
are more than $100,000.

In the medical field, nurses, nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians (EMTs),
paramedics, and medical assistants can attain a alternative credential from a state-
approved education program, a certification, or a state-issued license. But median pay for
these occupations is half that of medical doctors, and ranges from $30,000 to $49,000.

Table 4.1.
Entry-level education and median pay: The medical industry

2020 Median pay

Occupational Occupation Entry-level education
(U.S. Bureau of
groups (U.S. Bureau of Labor
Labor Statistics,
Statistics, 2021)
2021)
Dentists Doctoral or professional degree $164,010
Medical doctors
Optometrists Doctoral or professional degree $118,050
Registered nurses Bachelor’s degree $75,300

Licensed practical
Nursing and and Licensed Postsecondary non-degree $48,820
midwifery vocational nurses
professionals A state-approved education
Nursing assistants program and a state-issued $30,830
and orderlies license or certification

Emergency medical A postsecondary non-degree

technicians (EMTs) educational program; license $35,650
and paramedics required

Postsecondary non-degree
Medical assistants education, such as a certificate, $35,850
or on-the-job training

Veterinarians Doctoral or professional degree, $99,250

a state license

Pharmacists Doctoral or professional degree, $128,710

a license after two exams

Pharmacy High school diploma or

$35,100
technicians equivalent

Dietitians and Bachelor’s degree $63,090

nutritionists

Part 4
84 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 The same applies to the legal industry. The United States requires a professional degree for
judges and lawyers, and most Latin American countries require a legal degree to practice
law. In addition to these professional degrees, some countries require that individuals
pass the bar examination, an equivalent to certification, in order to practice law. These
occupations with traditional degree requirements also show high median pay. Median annual
incomes for judges, hearing officers, and lawyers were more than $120,000. Paralegals,
legal assistants, and court reporters can attain an associate’s degree or postsecondary
alternative credentials and short-term or on-the-job training; their median pay ranges from
around $52,000 to $61,000.

Table 4.2.
Legal industry entry-level education and median pay

2020 Median pay

Entry-level education
Occupational Occupation (U.S. Bureau of
(U.S. Bureau of Labor
group Labor Statistics,
Statistics, 2021)
2021)
Arbitrators,
mediators, and Bachelor’s degree $66,130
conciliators
Postsecondary non-degree
Court reporters award $61,660

Legal Judges and hearing Doctoral or professional $124,200

officers degree

Lawyers Doctoral or professional $126,930

degree

Paralegals and legal

Associate’s degree $52,920
assistants

In sum, the data suggest that traditional occupations require formal degrees: lawyers,
judges, medical doctors, and pharmacists; they require long periods of education and
training. Some related legal occupations are more open, however, to alternative credentials
than these traditional occupations.

Part 4
85 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 4.2. What occupations accept alternative
credentials?
In contrast to many traditional industries, some fields, such as information and communication
technology (ICT), are open to alternative credentials. The ICT industry accepts certifications
and does not necessarily require degrees, while providing competitive pay. People can
become computer programmers, developers, security analysts, and computer support
specialists without degrees.

Median incomes range from $77,000 to $116,000. ICT credentials have been viable
alternatives to traditional degrees (Gallagher, 2016, 2020; Lashan, 2015), and more than
90% of employers surveyed in the IT industry believe IT certifications are reliable predictors
of a worker’s skill and ability (CompTIA, 2015).

Table 4.3.
ICT industry entry-level education and median pay

Entry-level education 2020 Median pay

Occupational Occupation (Adapted from U.S. Bureau (U.S. Bureau of
groups of Labor Statistics, 2021) Labor Statistics,
2021)
Computer and
information research Master’s degree $126,830
scientists
Associate’s degree; Bachelor’s
Computer degree; possibly certifications $89,190
programmers and certificates

Computer systems Bachelor’s degree;

Developers analysts possibly certifications $93,730
and certificates

Software developers Bachelor’s degree;

possibly certifications $110,140
and certificates
High school diploma or
equivalent; Associate’s degree;
Web developers possibly certifications and $77,200
certificates

Bachelor’s degree;
Computer network possibly certifications
architects $116,780
and certificates
Bachelor’s degree;
Database possibly certifications $98,860
administrators and certificates
Database and
network Bachelor’s degree;
Information security $103,590
analysts possibly certifications
and certificates

Network and Bachelor’s degree;

computer systems possibly certifications $84,810
administrators and certificates

Education requirements for

Computer support Computer support computer support specialists
specialists specialists $55,510
vary; possibly certifications
and certificates

Part 4
86 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 The engineering industry employs technicians and drafters who have associates’ degrees,
certification, and certificates. Their median income ranges from $46,000 to $68,000. Many
occupations in the engineering industry still require bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
Table 4.4.
Engineering industry entry-level education and median pay
Entry-level education 2020 Median
Occupational (Adapted from U.S. pay (U.S.
Occupation Bureau of Labor
groups Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2021) Statistics, 2021)
Life science Zoologists and Bachelor’s $66,350
professionals wildlife biologists
Developers Bachelor’s $82,320
Architects, planners, Landscape architects Bachelor’s $70,630
designers
Marine engineers and
Bachelor’s $95,440
naval architects

Mathematicians, Mathematicians and Master’s $93,290

statisticians statisticians
Insurance underwriters Bachelor’s $71,790
Actuaries
Actuaries Bachelor’s $111,030

Electrical and electronics Associate’s $67,550

engineering technicians
Electrotechnology Electrical and electronics Bachelor’s $103,390
engineers engineers
Electro-mechanical Associate’s $59,800
technicians
Aerospace engineering and Associate’s $68,570
operations technicians
Aerospace engineers Bachelor’s $118,610
Biomedical engineers Bachelor’s $92,620
Civil engineering
Associate’s $54,080
technicians
Civil engineers Bachelor’s $88,570
Engineers Associate’s $57,960
Drafters
Health and safety engineers Bachelor’s $94,240
Industrial engineering Associate’s $57,320
technicians
Industrial engineers Bachelor’s $88,950
Mechanical engineering Associate’s $58,230
technicians
Mechanical engineers Bachelor’s $90,160
Surveying and mapping High school diploma $46,200
technicians or equivalent
Surveyors Bachelor’s $65,590
Atmospheric scientists, Bachelor’s $99,740
Physical and earth including meteorologists
science professionals Doctorate or
Physicists and astronomers $128,950
professional degree
Geographers Bachelor’s $85,440
Geological and petroleum Associate’s $50,630
technicians
Geoscientists Bachelor’s $93,580

Part 4
87 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 A certificate of apprenticeship is another non-degree credential that ushers job seekers
into the labor market. In 2018, the United States had over 23,000 registered apprenticeship
programs and about 585,000 active apprentices (Torpey, 2019). Occupations that typically
require apprenticeships cluster in the construction trades—carpenters, construction
laborers, power-line installers and repairers, electricians, heavy and tractor-trailer truck
drivers, plumbers, and sheet metal workers (Torpey, 2019) (see Table 4.5). Their median
annual wages range from $35,800 to $70,910.

More and more companies in engineering and ICT industries are now offering
apprenticeships. IBM offers a 12- to 18-month apprenticeship for software engineers,
cybersecurity professionals, and designers (Fain, 2019). For high school and college students
and military veterans, Lockheed Martin offers apprenticeships in aircraft maintenance and
assembly, software, cyber security, and engineering (Lockheed Martin, n.d.).

Table 4.5.
Apprenticeships by the numbers

Employment Entry-level education 2020 Median

growth, Employment, (Adapted from U.S. pay (U.S.
Occupation Bureau of Labor
projected 2018 Bureau of Labor
2018–28 Statistics, 2021) Statistics, 2021)

8% (faster than High school diploma

Carpenters 1,006,500 or equivalent $49,520
average)

Formal education is
Construction 11 (much faster 1,405,000 not typically required; $37,080
laborers than average) high school diploma or
equivalent
Electrical
power-line 8 (faster than High school diploma
119,400 $68,030
installers and average) or equivalent
repairers
10 (faster than 715,400 $56,900
Electricians
average)

Heavy and
tractor-trailer 5 (average) Postsecondary non-
1,958,800 $47,130
truck drivers degree award

Plumbers,
14 (much faster High school diploma
pipefitters, 500,300 $56,330
than average) or equivalent
and
steamfitters

Sheet metal 8 (faster than 143,000 $51,370

workers average)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [employment growth, employment, and wages]; U.S. Department
of Labor (selected occupations, based on federal data on active apprentices in fiscal year 2018); Torpey
(2019).

Part 4
88 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 The data above suggest that new jobs, especially in ICT, are open to people who have
skills but no degrees. ICT industries also provide more high-income jobs. The findings
are aligned with existing literature, which notes that ICT certifications have been viable
alternatives to traditional degrees (Gallagher, 2016, 2020; Lashan, 2015). Students have
attended Cisco, Microsoft, CompTIA, and other certification programs sponsored by
technology vendors, securing high-paying jobs without college degrees (Gallagher, 2020).

Employers in the ICT industry can also use performance-based assessment and work
portfolios to screen job applicants. For example, employers can review a job applicant’s
code portfolios, such as GitHub (Fecak, n.d.), and assessments, such as code and whiteboard
challenges, in addition to conducting an onsite interview (Learn to Code, 2021; Vigil, 2017).
Such additional assessments and portfolios may enable applicants to showcase and update
their skills after earning their degrees and alternative credentials.

In the ICT field, both alternative credentials (including certification) and academic degrees
continue to influence employment decisions, earnings, and job stability. ICT-certification
holders seem to be hired more often than those with academic degrees. But degree holders
earned more income and secured more advanced jobs than certification holders (Lashan,
2015). Because so many workers have secured high-paying IT jobs without degrees, we may
perhaps conclude that professional credentials can replace university degrees (Gallagher,
2016), at least for entry-level positions.

We’ve reviewed the occupations that are more open to alternative credentials, we turn to
occupations and skills where alternative credentials can be helpful.

Part 4
89 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 4.3. When can alternative credentials be helpful?
Alternative credentials may have the greatest impact when unmet demand for talent is
high, skills can be certified by existing credentialing programs, but employers do not yet
make use of such programs (Markow et al., 2017). These conditions characterize markets
that lack efficient skill-validation mechanisms.

In Figure 4.1., the two cells on the left show cases where talent is plentiful and alternative
credentials are already widely used (top left) or may not add much value (bottom left).
In the latter case (limited certifying opportunity), employers do not need alternative
credentials to identify talent with skills, as they have no trouble filling jobs with qualified
candidates.

In the two cells on the right, a talent shortage exists. In the supply shortage quadrant (top
right), employers have a high demand for skills but struggle to find qualified candidates,
indicating a shortage of non-degree credential holders to meet demand. By earning a non-
degree credential to gain the relevant skills, job seekers could obtain a major payoff.

Conversely, in the under-credentialed quadrant (bottom right), positions are difficult

to fill, but there is not much demand for alternative credentials. Here, new non-degree
credentialing programs and outreach to employers about their benefits could change the
dynamics of the labor market by offering employers a clear proxy for difficult-to-find skills.

Figure 4.1.
Alternative credentials can help signal high-demand skills and identify talent
% requesting
certification

Certification-powered market space Supply shortage

Limited certifying opportunity Under-credentialed

Difficulty finding
skilled candidates

Source: Adapted from Markow et al., 2017.

The caveat here is that the market is changeable. For example, CompTIA launched a
certification program for data analytics in 2022 (CompTIA, 2021), creating a new credential
in an “emerging skills” domain to train individuals and meet the needs of employers. In
Latin America, non-degree credential providers can prioritize emerging-skills credentials
(see Figure 4.2).

Part 4
90 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 Figure 4.2.
Emerging and declining skills, 2015–17
Emerging Skills Brazil Chile Mexico Declining Skills Argentina Brazil Chile Mexico

Web Development Digital Literacy

Dentristry Business Management

Development Tools Leedership

Data Storage Technologies Administrative Assistence

Mobile Application Development Foreign Languages

Software Development Life Cycle (Sdlc) Project Management

Human Computer Interaction Negotiation

Software Testing People Management

Game Development Manufacturing Operations

Artificial Intelligence Technical Support

Family Law Procurement

Cloud Computing Enterprise Software

Criminal Law Inventory Management

Radiology Management Accounting

Digital Marketing Accounts Payable

Computer Graphics Financial Accounting

Kinesiology Costumer Experience

Orthopedic Surgery* Data Science

Scientific Computing Maintenance & Repair

Opthalmology* Oral Communication

*Data not avalable for Argentina

GROWTH RATE - EMERGING GROWTH RATE - DECLINING

-0.00031 -0.0002 -0.00011 0 0.0002 0.0004 0.0006 0.0008 -0.00198 -0.00165 -0.00131 -0.00098 -0.00065 0.00000 0.00001

Fuente: Amaral et al., 2018.

Additionally, alternative credentials can signal the emergence of new, nontraditional

skills in response to the new division of labor between humans and machines. Alternative
credentials highlight those workers in possession of skills not imparted through traditional
curricula or programs. Workers skilled in predictive modeling or user experience could be
in high demand, but few traditional education programs teach these skills. By demanding
non-degree IT credentials, employers signify their expectations and standards, while
would-be workers, credentials in hand, communicate their readiness to work.

Second, alternative credentials conferred after relevant learning and training programs
can boost the prospects among low-income workers and indigenous/marginalized
populations. For example, short-cycle programs attract learners who are older, women,
non-urban, married, working, and low- to middle-income, while traditional undergraduate
programs skew young, urban, and affluent (Ferreyra et al., 2021) (see Table 4.6). Also,
short-cycle programs showed higher completion rates than traditional degree programs
(see Figure 4.3). They provided higher salaries over the life cycle than high school degrees
and better labor market outcomes (e.g., employment rate, wage premium) than college
dropouts (Ferreyra et al., 2021).

Part 4
91 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 Table 4.6.
The socioeconomics of short-cycle programs (SCPs) and bachelor’s degree programs in
Latin American and the Caribbean: A comparison (in percentages)

Bachelor´s students Short-cycle students

Female(%) 54.5 63.1

Age (years) 24.0 24.9

Urban (%) 90.3 80.8

Married (%) 14.5 22.6

Employed (%) 41.8 43.6

Income Q1 (%) 8.9 14.4

Income Q2 (%) 13.1 17.0

Income Q3 (%) 19.0 23.5

Income Q4 (%) 23.9 25.9

Income Q5 (%) 35.0 19.3

Source: Ferreyra et al. (2021),

Figure 4.3.
In Latin American and the Caribbean, SCPs have higher completion rates than college
programs

100 100

80 80
Percent

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
l
or bi
a ca or hi
le ru ua ia co C ay
in
a zi ay a as
d Ri d Pe ag ol
iv
ex
i
LA gu nt Br
a
gu na
m
du
r
l va om ta ua C
ar ra e ru
Sa ol os Ec ic
B M
Pa rg U Pa on
C H
El C N A

Bachelor´s Short Cycle

Source: Ferreyra et al. (2021),

Part 4
92 Degrees and Alternative
Credentials for Education
and Labor Markets
 Part 5:
Next Steps to
Realize Alternative
Credentials’ Full
Potential
93
 Part 5:
Next Steps: Realizing the
Full Potential of Alternative
Credentials
Members of the generations coming up may not need a university degree to succeed, at
least in some industries. The ICT industries in particular are searching for employees who
have rare skills. And the new and emerging jobs in ITC offer competitive wages to those
who have the skills, not the academic degrees. A variety of alternative credentials, ranging
from certificates to digital badges and micro-credentials, are emerging to meet demand.

Will coming generations need a university degree to succeed in the labor market? Not
always. This is especially true if by “university degree” one means a traditional academic
course of study over three to five years, culminating in an academic degree. Some
occupations in law and medicine will continue to require lengthy courses of post-graduate
academic preparation and related assessments, such as bar exams and medical residencies.

Alternative credentials, in addition to supplying in-demand ICT skills, provide aspiring

employees with short, affordable, accessible, focused, and versatile training. Alternative
credentials are also practical when financial hardship forces a cessation of study (Ferreyra
et al., 2021), as happens among the low-income workers with household responsibilities.

In short, to succeed in the workplace, the generation coming up may not need a higher-
education degree. Chile, Colombia, and Mexico all place a lofty premium on educational
attainment (OECD, 2019). Salary comparisons explain why. Yet, few low-income students
can afford three to five costly years of university study to acquire a degree. Cost and
duration are, in fact, why so many students drop out.

For students who drop out of school for lack of time and resources, alternative credentials
provide practical alternative to a college degree (Ferreyra et al., 2021). They also allow
for modularity or stackability. Unlike college courses, in the event students complete only
two years toward a bachelor’s degree, they get no certificate for the completed courses.
In contrast, certificates are awarded even for completed micro-credential courses of
study. By way of contrast, the time and money spent on a half-finished undergraduate
program are lost when the degree is not obtained. With micro-credentials, courses are
shorter. As long as they finish courses, they will receive credentials that can be used in
the labor market.

Additionally, alternative, non-degree credentials help current and future employees upskill
and reskill as their jobs shift owing to automation and innovation (Ferreyra et al., 2021).
A recent analysis of the impact of certifications on U.S. employment and wages showed
that women with a certification but no bachelor’s degree had higher rates of employment,
while men with certifications showed wage gains post-certification as they moved into
new fields (Baird et al., 2021). Certifications, and potentially other alternative credentials,
may offer a pathway to better jobs and higher wages.

Part 5
94 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 With market disruptions, a vast sea of non-degree credentialing programs has emerged,
introducing uncertainty. Will certificates replace traditional degrees? Will the two systems
coexist? If so, for how long? What are their main differences and similarities? These are
among the questions we have tackled in this report.

It is most likely that traditional academic degrees will coexist with programs that award
certificates, certifications, and micro-credentials for attending bootcamps and undergoing
specialized training, mostly in ICT. Furthermore, coexistence will be marked by collaboration,
partnership, and competition. Although some employers have often been critical of the
ways universities and traditional education prepare students, only a few employers stated
a hiring preference for workers who possess newer types of alternative credentials in
(Gallagher, 2016). Many job openings still state a preference, or requirement, for applicants
who have degrees, and students enroll in degree programs that offer, or guarantee, wage
premiums (Gallagher, 2016).

So, while academic degrees continue to dominate the labor market, the learning and
training industry is nevertheless shifting, with the mix of degrees and alternative credentials
signaling that shift. Perhaps as life expectancy increases and skills cycle more rapidly
toward obsolescence, the generations coming up may need successive combinations of
credentials—including degrees, badges, certificates of course completion and training,
or certifications. Tertiary academic institutions could partner with non-degree credential
providers to offer both degrees and certificates, or certifications, so that students obtain
fundamental knowledge, while mastering industry-specific skills as they strengthen their
market competitiveness (Elzey & Cardenas-Navia, 2021; Swift et al., 2020).

Part 5
95 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 What are the challenges and opportunities? As the balance between degrees and
alternative credentials shifts, education providers will respond as best they can. Some
will survive and consolidate over time. Others will disappear—and not in 2050. This is
happening now. Digital education behemoth 2U recently acquired edX for $800 million
(2U, 2021; Hill, 2021), this after earlier acquiring both GetSmarter and Trilogy Education.
Some ways to increase the acceptance of alternative credentials among employers and
prospective students are discussed below.

1. Employer buy-in is critical. The power of certificates comes from the market, from the
buy-in of employers. Major employers have become credential-granting organizations
in their own right (Gallagher, 2016), such as AT&T sponsoring Georgia Tech’s online
master’s program in computer science, Google’s professional certificates (Google, 2022),
Amazon Web Services’ certification (AWS, 2022), and IBM badges (IBM, 2022). Also, some
professional certifications—auto repair (ASE certifications), IT help desk (CompTIA), and
welding (American Welding Society [AWS] certifications)—have already been robustly
deployed in the labor markets (Markow et al., 2017). Employer recognition bestows value
on alternative credentials.

2. Credentials must align with real-world tasks and work experience. Alternative credentials
used in professional settings have more value than those designed for other settings (e.g.,
academic). To understand the use and value of educational credentials in hiring, researchers
surveyed U.S. human resource leaders in 2018. They found that recruiters saw high-quality
content aligned with real work, along with experiential learning, is key (Gallagher, 2018).
The length of the program, its selectivity, or a student’s direct interaction with instructors—
all central features of traditional academic degrees—come last in importance.

3. Alternative credentials enable employers to identify candidates possessing the skills

they need. Alternative credentials convey the possession of certain skills in the education
and labor markets (Markow et al., 2017). Providers and employers use credentials to identify
workers able to fill the skills gaps.

4. Despite market needs, alternative credentials do not signify a job applicant has soft
skills. Professional certifications focus on hard skills (Markow et al., 2017), despite evidence
showing that the so-called soft skills are critical for success in work and life (Deming,
2017; Heckman & Kautz, 2012; Edin et al., 2017; Wolvin & Lim, 2022). As a consequence,
employers struggle to find job candidates with adequate soft skills (Adobe, 2019; Levy
& Cannon, 2016) and to accurately assess them (LinkedIn, 2019). Perhaps this is because
these skills are not easy to define, measure, and assess across occupations and contexts
(Adobe, 2019; Levy & Cannon, 2016; Markow et al., 2017). Still, with increased automation,
soft skills are becoming more important than technical ones (Deming, 2017; LinkedIn, 2019).

5. Employers and students are still learning about alternative credentials. (Gallagher,
2018; Maxwell, 2017). To understand the use and value of educational credentials in hiring,
Gallagher conducted a survey in 2018 with human resource leaders in the United States.
Among 750 hiring executives in the United States, only 20% hired applicants with alternative
credentials, and 30% encountered certificate-holding candidates in a recruitment process
(Gallagher, 2018). Even worse, about a quarter had not heard of alternative credentials

Part 5
96 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 (Gallagher, 2018). Such information deficits apply to would-be students and policy makers
alike and raises additional barriers to employment of those who hold alternative credentials.

Thus, to fill this information gap, it is critical to identify, provide, and communicate the
salaries, costs, funding options, career options, and rates of employment to students,
employers, and policy makers (Ferreyra et al., 2021). The U.S. Department of Education
has identified, collected, and disclosed such data for degrees at the university and program
levels (Copper, 2021a, 2021b; Gillen, 2021; Itzkowitz, 2021; Marcus, 2021). Similar efforts
need to be made with respect to alternative credentials.

Additionally, alternative credentials have stigma that they are the lesser choice compared
to bachelor’s programs (Ferreyra et al., 2021; Fazio et al., 2016). Public and private sector
will need to work to remove the stigma and increase alternative credentials desirability
by communicating potentials that alternative credentials can provide and success stories.

6. The ROI of alternative credentials needs to be better understood. Individuals and

employers can discern the value of alternative credentials only if there is data to support
their decisions. While policies in the United States require tertiary institutions to report
completion rates, employment, and wages for their graduates, there is no equivalent policy
for individuals holding alternative credentials. Scant data shed scant light on the value of
alternative credentials.

Administrative data could explain the ROI of credentials. In the United States, credentialing
organizations could link their data on credential holders by joining an effort organized by
the National Student Clearinghouse, the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Association of
Manufacturers (NAM)/Manufacturing Institute (MI), and their manufacturing organization
partners to gain insight about the impact of alternative credentials on wages. This approach
has been piloted by the National Student Clearinghouse (n.d.) with certification bodies,
such as the American Welding Society, NIMS, and Manufacturing Skill Standards Council.

Finally, employers and learners need to be aware of, and to use, information about
alternative credentials, including their ROI.

7. Alternative credentials have an uneven quality. Alternative credentials do not have

an official or regulated standard regarding delivery, duration, assessment, validation, and
content. Employers may find it difficult to differentiate among alternative credentials,
especially in comparison with traditional academic degrees (Kato et al., 2020; Pickard,
2018). Additionally, some providers, such as CISCO or CompTIA, have offered alternative
credentials for years, whereas tech companies such as Google and IBM only recently
ventured into the non-degree credential space (Bariso, 2020; Fain, 2019; Google, 2020).
We shall see whether and how these new providers contribute to closing the skills gap.
Evidence indicates that industry-wide standardized criteria can be a key factor for the
strong market value of professional certifications (Markow, 2017).

Part 5
97 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 To address uneven quality, non-degree credential markets may need quality-assurance
processes (Taylor & Soares, 2020). Quality assurance for alternative credentials can be
introduced with existing standards: ISO/IEC 17024: 2012 Conformity Assessment—General
requirements for bodies operating certification of persons and ASTM 2659: Standard
Practice for Certificate Programs.

A global standard for quality, ISO/IEC 17024 outlines a series of requirements for
certification. These requirements address conflicts of interest, the use of subject matter
experts in the development of the certification, a continuous quality-improvement process,
and the occupational relevance of a certification over time. Certifications accredited to
this standard provide certainty of relevance. As an international standard, ISO/IEC 17024
can be readily adopted for certifications in any country; it provides an approach to quality
assurance that can be immediately adopted for these alternative credentials in any country.
It also assists individuals to get their credentials accepted in any country that recognizes
the ISO/IEC Standard, increasing the mobility of workers and expanding job opportunities.

Similarly, ASTM 2659 outlines the development and governance standards for a quality
assessment–based certificate. Again, these standards require industry experts to be
involved in developing the certificate curriculum and to prepare examinations that validate
the competencies of an individual who earns the certificate. Used only in the United States,
ASTM 2659 could nevertheless be used as an international standard for quality assurance.

Such quality assurance processes provide oversight, supervision, and regulation of the
programs and institutions (Ferreyra et al., 2021), although high costs might be incurred with
over-regulation. Quality-assurance processes, developed with credentialing organizations,
such as ISO/IEC 17024 and ASTM 2659, could lessen the likelihood of over-regulation
since they are developed by individuals who run these programs and institutions.

Part 5
98 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 8. Blockchain technology can create verifiable, portable, interoperable, user-controlled
digital alternative credentials. Considering the growing potential of blockchain technology
and its unique features including decentralization, security, reliability, and data integrity,
it would be helpful to use it in validating and sharing credentials in education and labor
markets (Alammary et al., 2019; Smolenski, 2021). Blockchain generally refers to “a type
of distributed ledger that records an append-only, immutable database of transactions.”
(Smolenski, 2021). Blockchain technology can store the person’s entire learning journey,
including learning content, outcomes, achievements and academic certificates while
reducing credential fraud risks (Chen et al., 2018; Smolenski, 2021). Additionally, all these
can be transformed into a digital currency and stored in a blockchain network (Chen et al.,
2018).

9. Skills can be assessed through performance-based evaluations, work portfolios, and

other means. Employers, at least in the ICT industry, can ask job applicants to code, as
performance-based exams or assessments, and share their work portfolios via GitHub.
These screening tasks also enable job applicants to showcase their skills beyond their
degrees and alternative credentials. Also, job seekers with credentials can use performance-
based test results, rather than the number of course-hours completed, to demonstrate
knowledge and skills. Employers will then have more information to assess an individual’s
ability to perform certain tasks and possess specific skills.

Unlike the postsecondary four-year degree, alternative credentials can be stacked atop
each other to meet market demand. This is especially useful for diverse population groups
who lack time and resources (Bailey & Belfield, 2017). The alternative credentials also
provide a short-term path to well-paying jobs (Workcred, 2020). Short-cycle programs
facilitate skills development and can lead to college degrees, although not generally to
advanced degrees (Ferreyra et al., 2021). To realize their full potential, the door to other
learning pathways needs to open to more stackable, alternative credentials.

Academic institutions and certification bodies have also explored ways to embed
certifications into bachelor’s degrees (Swift et al., 2020). The value of this approach is
obvious: students gain fundamental knowledge and industry-specific skills sought by
potential employers (Elzey & Cardenas-Navia, 2021; Swift et al., 2020). Additionally, tertiary
academic institutions can become more responsive to market needs (and to employers
and students), while certification bodies can raise awareness regarding certification (Elzey
& Cardenas-Navia, 2021; Swift et al., 2020).

Part 5
99 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 Traditional postsecondary institutions need to revamp, update, and diversify how they
supply their services. A university education must be able to impart skills and knowledge in
ways that lead to higher earnings for its graduates, particularly in industries where workers
must constantly upskill to prevent the massive and looming displacements of workers
owing to the automation of routine, predictable tasks.

We need to ensure that individuals continue their learning trajectories after leaving school.
For many, the difference between low-income and middle- to high-income jobs could be
a matter of skills, such as digital skills (Muro et al., 2017).

The Inter-American Development Bank is building a new platform for the acquisition and
certification of 21st-century skills. The emerging platform is presented in Box 1.

Box.1 A new initiative to develop and certify

21st-century skills

Putting many of the above ideas into practice, Clic is a platform being developed
by the Inter-American Development Bank for countries in Latin America and the
Caribbean to certify 21st-century skills (or, transversal skills), generate information
and evidence, and manage talent more effectively for individuals and for public
policy and planning purposes.

Clic is a regional platform to help students develop and certify 21st-century skills.
It supports education and training systems to implement effective programs that
develop transversal skills for work and life.

Specifically, Clic helps identify, develop, validate, and communicate 21st-century

skills by making these invisible set of skills visible and connecting the disconnected.
It increases the chances of opening doors for jobs and personal growth through
gamification, peer-to-peer interactions, and a community network. Specifically, Clic
does the following:

• Assess skills with the patronage of academic rock stars!

• Certify skills with self-reported assessment, performance-based assessment,
and peer endorsement

• Showcase skills by leveraging a personalized digital portfolio

• Build a regional community network of peer-driven support and interaction
Clic promotes a cultural change in training to expand opportunities, transitioning
from the logic of degrees to the logic of alternative credentials for developing and
certifying skills.

Part 5
100 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 More and more people are using alternative, non-degree credentials to advance in the
education and labor markets. This is happening in traditional and emerging markets,
including Latin America and the Caribbean. Changes are occurring more rapidly, and with
greater impacts, in developed countries.

If people do not need a college degree to advance in their jobs, and avoid spending years
and money, that would be good news—not just for a market begging for more upskilled
and reskilled people, but also for social mobility and prosperity of those individuals in
search of better economic opportunities.

The government must play a role. But the private sector, which is by far the largest
employer, must alter its perceptions, hiring habits, and career development programs to
increase opportunities for workers without college degrees (Lohr, 2020).

This is a wake-up call for traditional formal education and training systems to adapt to a
world in transformation. Based on our experience of the 21st-Century Skills Coalition at
the Inter-American Development Bank, our call for action implores the public and private
sectors to learn from and collaborate with each other.

Only by strengthening the training and employment ecosystems with public-private

partnerships can we bridge the massive skills gaps. Only if the Latin American and
Caribbean region bridges the talent gap will its countries be able to prosper, innovate, and
compete globally.

Part 5
101 Next Steps to Realize
Alternative Credentials’
Full Potential
 References
2U. (2021). 2U, Inc. and edX to join together in industry-redefining combination.
https://2u.com/latest/industry-redefining-combination/
Academica. (2020). eCampusOntario, partners to collaborate on micro-credential strategy.
https://www.academica.ca/top-ten/ecampusontario-partners-collaborate-micro-credential-strategy
ACT. (2020a). ACT workKeys national career readiness certificate (NCRC): The must-have skills certification for an empowered, thriving workforce.
https://www.act.org/content/act/en/workforce-solutions/act-workkeys/act-workkeys-ncrc.html
ACT. (2020b). ACT work ready communities. https://www.workreadycommunities.org/
Adelman, C. (2000). A parallel postsecondary universe: The certification system in information technology. ED Pubs.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED445246.pdf
Adobe. (2019). Get hired: The importance of creativity and soft skills. Adobe. https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/7381490/
Adobe_April20/HED/Assets/Adobe_Get_Hired_Research_for_HED_Nov2019.pdf?__hstc=190225780.
b709746b4a6356a91e3a1cc6b31871a9.1599175541104.1599175541104.1599175541104.1&__hssc=190225780.1.1599175541104&__hsfp=
1699242462&hsCtaTracking=b969dc42-17a6-46e5-adbd-007b2721556a%7C85173093-d2cc-4ae8-b49c-b1181664761b
Aguinis, H., Michaelis, S. E., & Jones, N. M. (2005). Demand for certified human resources professionals in internet‐based job announcements.
International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 13(2), 160-171. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0965-075X.2005.00310.x
Alammary, A., Alhazmi, S., Almasri, M., & Gillani, S. (2019). Blockchain-based applications in education: A systematic review. Applied
Sciences, 9(12): 2400. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9122400
Albert, K. (2017). The certification earnings premium: An examination of young workers. Social Science Research, 63, 138-149.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.09.022
Amaral, N., Eng, N., Ospino, C., Pagés, C., Rucci, G., & Williams, N. How Far Can Your Skills Take You. Inter-American Development Bank.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001291
Anderson, M., & Lemaitre, M. J. (2010). Quality assurance in Latin America. Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) International
Quality Group (CIQG) Annual Meeting Presentations. https://www.chea.org/quality-assurance-latin-america
Arias Ortiz, E., Kaltenberg, M., Jara-Figueroa, C., Bornacelly, I., & Hartmann, D. (2020). Local Labor Markets and Higher Education Mismatch:
What Is The Role of Public and Private Institutions? Inter-American Development Bank. http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0002295
Arrow, K. J. (1973). Higher education as a filter. Journal of Public Economics, 2(3), 193-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2727(73)90013-3
Autor, D. H., Levy, F., & Murnane, R. J. (2003). The skill content of recent technological change: An empirical exploration. The Quarterly Journal of
Economics 118(4): 1279–1333. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355303322552801
Avvisati, F., Jacotin, G., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2013). Educating higher education students for innovative economies: What international data tell
us. Tuning Journal for Higher Education, 1(1): 223-240. https://doi.org/10.18543/tjhe-1(1)-2013pp223-240
Azuara Herrera, O., Pagés, C., Rucci, G., Amaral, N., Ospino, C., Torres, J., & González, S. (2019). The Future of Work in Latin America and The
Caribbean: What Are the Most In-Demand Occupations and Emerging Skills in The Region? Inter-American Development Bank.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001677
Bahr, P. R., Dynarski, S., Jacob, B., Kreisman, D., Sosa, A., & Wiederspan, M. (2015). Labor market returns to community college awards: Evidence
from Michigan. A CAPSEE Working Paper. Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED557080
Baird, M. D., Bozick, R., & Zaber, M. A. (2021). Beyond Traditional Academic Degrees: The Labor Market Returns to Occupational Credentials in
the United States. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR1299-1.html
Bailey, T., & Belfield, C. R. (date). Stackable Credentials: Awards for the Future?. Community College Research Center (CCRC) Working Paper No. 92.
https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/stackable-credentials-awards-for-future.pdf
Baird, M., Bozick, R., & Zaber, M. A. (2019). Beyond traditional academic degrees: The labor market returns to occupational credentials. RAND.
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/WR1200/WR1299/RAND_WR1299.pdf
Bartlett, K. R., Horwitz, S. K., Ipe, M., & Liu, Y. (2005). The perceived influence of industry-sponsored credentials on the recruitment process in
the information technology industry: Employer and employee perspectives. Journal of Career and Technical Education 21(2): 51–65.
http://doi.org/10.21061/jcte.v21i2.661

102 References
 Bariso, J. (2020). Google has a plan to disrupt the college degree: Google’s new certificate program takes only six months to complete, and will
be a fraction of the cost of college. Inc. https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/google-plan-disrupt-college-degree-university-higher-education-
certificate-project-management-data-analyst.html?fbclid=IwAR32aYN8ZssFsXohGOoLWSwobGotDuX_BV24PtzGkAKqGkv3i58-C5EFK5c
Becerra, M., Alonso, J. D., & Frias, M. (2020). COVID-19 impact on tertiary education in Latin America and the Caribbean.
http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/720271590700883381/COVID-19-Impact-on-Tertiary-Education-in-Latin-America-and-the-
Caribbean.pdf
Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. University of Chicago Press.
Belfield, C., & Bailey, T. (2017). The labor market returns to sub-baccalaureate college: A review. New York: Columbia University, Community
College Research Center. http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/labor-market-returns-sub-baccalaureate-college-review.html
Belkin, D. (2020). Is this the end of college as we know it? Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-this-the-end-of-college-as-we-know-it-11605196909
Belman, D., & Heywood, J. S. (1991). Sheepskin effects in the returns to education: An examination of women and minorities. The Review of
Economics and Statistics 73: 720–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/2109413
Bills, D. B. (2003). Credentials, signals, and screens: Explaining the relationship between schooling and job assignment. Review of Educational
Research 73(4): 441–69. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543073004441
Blair, P. Q., Castagnino, T. G., Groshen, E. L., Debroy, P., Auguste, B., Ahmed, S., Diaz, F. G., & Bonavida, C. (2020). Searching for STARS: Work
experience as a job market signal for workers without bachelor’s degrees. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper
26844. https://www.nber.org/papers/w26844
Blair, P. Q., & Chung, B. W. (2019). How much of barrier to entry is occupational licensing? British Journal of Industrial Relations 57(4): 919–43.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12470
Bol, T., & Weeden, K. A. (2015). Occupational closure and wage inequality in Germany and the United Kingdom. European Sociological Review
31(3): 354–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcu095
Bosch, M., Pages, C., & Ripani, L. (2018). The future of work of Latin America and the Caribbean: A great opportunity for the region? Inter-
American Development Bank. http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001339
Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (2011). Schooling in capitalist America: Educational reform and the contradictions of economic life. Haymarket Books.
Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (2002). Schooling in capitalist America revisited. Sociology of Education 75: 1–18. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090251
Brown, A. (2016). Key findings about the American workforce and the changing job market. FACTANK. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/06/key-findings-about-the-american-workforce-and-the-changing-job-market/
Brown, J., & Kurzweil, M. (2017). The complex universe of alternative postsecondary credentials and pathways. American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
https://www.amacad.org/multimedia/pdfs/publications/researchpapersmonographs/CFUE_Alternative-Pathways/CFUE_Alternative-Pathways.pdf
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm
Busso, M., Muños, J. S., & Montaño, S. (2020). Postsecondary Education in Colombia. Inter-American Development Bank.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0002121
Cappelli, P. (2012). Why good people can’t get jobs. Wharton Digital Press.
Carey, K. (2015). Here’s what will truly change higher education: Online degrees that are seen as official. New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/upshot/true-reform-in-higher-education-when-online-degrees-are-seen-as-official.html?abt=0002&abg=0
Carnevale, A. P., Garcia, T. I., Ridley, N., & Quinn, M. C. (2020). The overlooked value of certificates and associate’s degrees: What students need to
know before they go to college. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
https://1gyhoq479ufd3yna29x7ubjn-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/CEW-SubBA.pdf
Carnevale, A. P., Rose, S. J., & Hanson, A. R. (2012). Certificates: Gateway to gainful employment and college degrees. Georgetown University
Center on Education and the Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Certificates.FullReport.061812.pdf
Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2013). Recovery: Job growth and education requirements through 2020. Georgetown University Center on
Education and the Workforce.
https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/recovery-job-growth-and-education-requirements-through-2020/#resources
CB Insights. (2020). Unbundling Harvard: How the Traditional University Is Being Disrupted.
https://www.cbinsights.com/research/edtech-companies-unbundling-university/
Chen, G., Xu, B., Lu, M., & Chen, N. S. (2018). Exploring blockchain technology and its potential applications for education. Smart Learning
Environments 5(1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-017-0050-x
Chen, X. (2016). Remedial coursetaking at U.S. public 2- and 4-year institutions: Scope, experiences, and outcomes. National Center for Education
Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016405.pdf
Christensen, C. M., Horn, M, B, Caldera, L., & Soares, L. (2011). Disrupting college: How disruptive innovation can deliver quality and affordability
to postsecondary education. Center for American Progress. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535182.pdf

103 References
 CollegeBoard. (2019). Trends in college pricing 2019. https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/trends-college-pricing-2019-full-report.pdf
CollegeBoard. (2021). Trends in college pricing and student aid 2021.
https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/trends-college-pricing-student-aid-2021.pdf
CompTIA. (2015). 5 reasons why employers look for IT certifications. CompTIA.
https://certification.comptia.org/docs/default-source/downloadablefiles/hr-perceptions-of-it-training-and-certification.pdf
CompTIA. (2021). Data+ (Plus) Certification. CompTIA. https://www.comptia.org/certifications/data
Copper, P. (2021a). Is college worth It? A comprehensive return on investment analysis. Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.
https://freopp.org/is-college-worth-it-a-comprehensive-return-on-investment-analysis-1b2ad17f84c8
Copper, P. (2021b). How we calculated the return on investment of a college degree. Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.
https://freopp.org/how-we-calculated-the-return-on-investment-of-a-college-degree-e93bce69f9c7
Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (2020). About accreditation. https://www.chea.org/about-accreditation
Course Report. (2020). Coding bootcamps in 2020: Your complete guide to the world of bootcamps.
https://www.coursereport.com/2020-guide-to-coding-bootcamps-by-course-report.pdf
Coursera. (2019). Coursera 2019’s most popular courses. https://www.coursera.org/collections/popular-courses-2019
Credential Engine. (2021). Counting U.S. postsecondary and secondary credentials.
https://credentialengine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Counting-Credentials-2021.pdf
Cronen, S., McQuiggan, M., & Isenberg, E. (2018). Adult training and education: Results from the national household education surveys program of
2016. First look. NCES 2017-103rev. National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED580875.pdf
Crozier, J. R., Davis, R., & Levinson, D. (2018). Addressing the skills challenge with P-TECH schools. IBM Institute for Business Value.
https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/ptechschools#
Dadgar, M., & Trimble, M. J. (2015). Labor market returns to sub-baccalaureate credentials: How much does a community college degree or
certificate pay? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37(4): 399–418. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373714553814
Daniels, J. (2018). IBM issues one millionth badge. IBM training and skills blog.
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/ibm-training/ibm-issues-one-millionth-badge/
Deming, D. J. (2017). The value of soft skills in the labor market. NBER Reporter (4): 7–11.
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/178757/1/2017-no4-2.pdf
Deming, D. J., Yuchtman, N., Abulafi, A., Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2016). The value of postsecondary credentials in the labor market: An
experimental study. American Economic Review 106(3): 778–806. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20141757
Deterding, N. M., & Pedulla, D. S. (2016). Educational authority in the ‘‘open door’’ marketplace: Labor market consequences of for-profit,
nonprofit, and fictional educational credentials. Sociology of Education 89(3): 155–70. http://doi.org/10.1177/0038040716652455
Eggleston, L. (2017). 2017 coding bootcamp outcomes & demographics report. Course Report.
https://www.coursereport.com/reports/coding-bootcamp-job-placement-2017
Eggleston, L., Pethiyagoda, R., Johnson, S., Casimir, J., Yang, D., Burgess, J., & Paola, D. (2016). C.S. degree vs. coding bootcamps. Course Report.
https://www.coursereport.com/blog/webinar-panel-cs-degree-vs-coding-bootcamps
Elzey, K., & Cardenas-Navia, I. (2021). Increasing value through certification and degree pathways. The EvoLLLution.
https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/increasing-value-through-certification-and-degree-pathways/
Emmons, W. R., Kent, A. H., & Ricketts, L. (2019). Is college still worth it? The new calculus of falling returns. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Review, 101(4): 297-329. https://doi.org/10.20955/r.101.297-329
Espinoza, R., & Urzúa, S. (2016). Returns to higher education: Funding, coverage and quality. Background paper for this report.
Ewert, S., & Kominski, R. (2014). Measuring alternative educational credentials: 2012. Household Economic Studies, P70-138. U.S. Census.
https://www.luminafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/p70-138.pdf
Fain, P. (2019). IBM looks beyond the college degree. Inside Higher Ed.
https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/10/29/interview-ibm-official-about-companys-new-collar-push-look
Fazio, M. V., Fernández-Coto, R., & Ripani, L. (2016). Apprenticeships for the XXI Century: A Model for Latin America and the Caribbean?. Inter-
American Development Bank. https://publications.iadb.org/en/apprenticeships-xxi-century-model-latin-america-and-caribbean
Fecak, D. (n.d.). What do job-seeking developers need in their GitHub? TechBeacon.
https://techbeacon.com/app-dev-testing/what-do-job-seeking-developers-need-their-github
Federal Reserve Bank of New York. (2021). The labor market for recent college graduates.
https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/college-labor-market_underemployment_rates.html
Federal Student Aid. (2021). Federal student loan portfolio. https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/portfolio

104 References
 Ferreyra, M. M., Dinarte, L., Urzua, S., & Bassi, M. (2021). The fast track to new skills: Short-cycle higher education programs in Latin America and the
Caribbean. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35598
Find Something New. (2020). Find something new: There’s more than one path to a new career. Ad Council. https://findsomethingnew.org/
Fuller, J. B., & Sigelman, M. (2017). Room to grow: Identifying new frontiers for apprenticeships.
https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/room-to-grow.pdf
Fuller, A., Beck, V., & Unwin, L. (2005). The gendered nature of apprenticeship: Employers’ and young people’s perspectives. Education+ Training
47(4–5): 298–311. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910510601887
Gallagher, S. R. (2016). Future of university credentials: New developments at the intersection of higher education and hiring. Harvard University Press.
Gallagher, S. R. (2018). Educational credentials come of age: A survey on the use and value of educational credentials in hiring. Northeastern
University, Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy.
https://www.northeastern.edu/cfhets/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Educational_Credentials_Come_of_Age_2018.pdf
Gillen, A. (2021). State ranking of public higher education based on student loan debt and earnings: 2021. Texas Public Policy Foundation.
https://www.texaspolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-06-RR-Gillen-NGT-State-Ranking-Loan-Debt-and-Earnings.pdf
Goldberg, J. (2020). Coronavirus could shake foundations of higher education. Boston Herald.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-could-shake-foundations-of-higher-education/
Google. (2020). Google career certificates. Grow with Google. https://grow.google/certificates/
Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). (2021). Corporate recruiters survey.
https://www.gmac.com/market-intelligence-and-research/market-research/corporate-recruiters-survey
Grob-Zakhary, R., & Hjarrand, J. (2017). To close the skills gap, start with the learning gap. Meaningful education in times of uncertainty. Brookings.
https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/to-close-the-skills-gap-start-with-the-learning-gap/
Hadavand, A., Gooding, I., & Leek, J. T. (2018). Can MOOC programs improve student employment prospects?.
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3260695
Hanson, A. (2021). Examining the value of nondegree credentials. Strada Center for Education Consumer Insights.
https://cci.stradaeducation.org/pv-release-july-28-2021/
Hill, P. (2021). Three charts that help explain the 2U / edX acquisition. Phil on EdTech.
https://philonedtech.com/three-charts-that-help-explain-the-2u-edx-acquisition/
Holon IQ. (2019). Global education technology market to reach $341B by 2025.
https://www.holoniq.com/topics/ar/global-education-technology-market-reach-341b-2025/
Holon IQ. (2020). $87bn+ of Global EdTech funding predicted through 2030. $32bn last decade.
https://www.holoniq.com/notes/87bn-of-global-edtech-funding-predicted-to-2030/
Holon IQ. (2021). Micro & alternative credentials: Size, shape and scenarios—Part 1.
https://www.holoniq.com/notes/micro-and-alternative-credentials.-size-shape-and-scenarios-part-1/
Holon IQ. (2021). 2021 Latin America EdTech 100. https://www.holoniq.com/notes/2021-latam-edtech-100/
Holon IQ. (2021). 4 strategic shifts in higher education. https://www.holoniq.com/notes/4-stategic-shifts-in-higher-education/
Horn, M. B. (2014). Unbundling and re-bundling in higher education. Christensen Institute.
https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/unbundling-and-re-bundling-in-higher-education/
Hunsinger, D. S., & Smith, M. A. (2009). IT certification use by hiring personnel. Journal of Computer Information Systems 50(2): 71-82.
http://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2009.11645386
IBM. (2020). P-TECH: When skills meet opportunity, success happens. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/ptech/index.html
Itzkowitz, M. (2021). Which college programs give students the best bang for their buck? Third Way.
https://www.thirdway.org/report/which-college-programs-give-students-the-best-bang-for-their-buck
Iqbal, O. (2020). TikTok makes moves into education market. BBC News. https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/
technology-53079625?fbclid=IwAR1wzaMKl2blRbJKPEx_WOAzfnVmiFWoKJ8vj0xqzHVAwZjOv-YlGy9MZrg
Jacobson, L. (2011). Improving community college outcomes measures using Florida longitudinal schooling and earnings data. New Horizons Economic
Research. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Jacobson-2011.pdf
Jepsen, C., Troske, K., & Coomes, P. (2014). The labor-market returns to community college degrees, diplomas, and certificates. Journal of Labor
Economics 32(1): 95–121. https://doi.org/10.1086/671809
JISC. (2020). The future of assessment: Five principles, five targets for 2025. JISC.
http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/7733/1/the-future-of-assessment-report.pdf
Kasriel, S. (2017). Skill, re-skill and re-skill again: How to keep up with the future of work. World Economic Forum.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/skill-reskill-prepare-for-future-of-work/

105 References
 Kato, S., Galan-Muros, V., & Weko, T. (2020). The emergence of alternative credentials. OECD Education Working Papers 216.
https://doi.org/10.1787/19939019
Kenyon, R. (2005). The business benefits of apprenticeships: The English employers’ perspective. Education+ Training 47(4/5): 366–73.
https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910510601931
King, M., & Zaharchuk, D. (2016). Navigating the skills shortage crisis through cultivating talent. IBM Institute for Business Value.
https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/skillsstorm#
Klasik, D. (2012). The college application gauntlet: A systematic analysis of the steps to four-year college enrollment. Research in Higher Education
53(5): 506–49. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-011-9242-3
Lang, L., Pearlman, L., & Rosa, T. (2018). 2017 EDUCAUSE core data service (CDS) Benchmarking report.
https://library.educause.edu/resources/2018/11/2017-educause-core-data-service-cds-benchmarking-report
LaPrade, A., Mertens, J., Moore, T., & Wright, A. (n.d.). The enterprise guide to closing the skills gap. IBM Institute for Business Value.
https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/closing-skills-gap
Learn to Code. (2021). Technical interviewing 101: Ultimate guide to acing your tech interview in 2021.
https://learntocodewith.me/posts/technical-interview/#onsite-interview-and-whiteboard-challenge
Leaser, D., Jona, K., & Gallagher, S. (2020). Connecting workplace learning and academic credentials via digital badges. New Directions for
Community Colleges, 189, 39-51. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20396
Lester, S. W., Fertig, J., & Dwyer, D. J. (2011). Do business leaders value human resource certification?. Journal of Leadership & Organizational
Studies 18(3): 408–14. http://doi.org/10.1177/1548051811404422
Lerman, R., Eyster, L., & Chambers, K. (2009). The benefits and challenges of registered apprenticeship: The sponsors’ perspective. Urban Institute.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED508268
Lerman, R. I., Eyster, L., & Kuehn, D. (2014). Can we upgrade low-skill, low-wage occupations? The case of apprenticeships in the long-term care
occupations. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 35(2): 110–32. http://doi.org/10.1080/1554477X.2014.890835
Leventoff, J. (2018). Measuring non-degree credential attainment: 50-state scan. National Skills Coalition.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED603101.pdf
Levy, F., & Cannon, C. (2016). The Bloomberg job skills report 2016: What recruiters want. Bloomberg.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2016-job-skills-report/
LinkedIn. (2019). 2019 global talent trends: The 4 trends transforming your workplace. LinkedIn.
https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/talent-solutions/resources/pdfs/global-talent-trends-2019.pdf
Lippman, L. H., Ryberg, R., Carney, R., & Moore, K. A. Workforce connections: Key “soft skills” that foster youth workforce success: Toward a
consensus across fields. Child Trends. https://childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-24WFCSoftSkills1.pdf
Lockheed Martin. (n.d.). Lockheed Martin apprenticeships. https://www.lockheedmartinjobs.com/apprenticeships
ManpowerGroup. (2018). 2018 talent shortage survey. Solving the talent shortage: Build, buy, borrow and
bridge. https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2942250/MG_TalentShortage2018_lo%206_25_18_FINAL.pdf?__
hstc=35276798.64174eea52d23685ad37b4b2f2fcdca2.1530032831571.1530118725522.1530551061040.3&__
hssc=35276798.1.1530559681642&__hsfp=613330879&hsCtaTracking=bf275e90-4a47-4879-9407-d697352fa1c1%7C3328e579-147a-4fc8-
9181-bbaf97a0f029
Marcus, J. (2021). Will that college degree pay off? A look at some of the numbers. Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/11/01/college-degree-value-major/
Markow, M., Restuccia, D., & Taska, B. (2017). The narrow ladder: The value of industry certifications in the job market. Burning Glass Technology.
https://www.burning-glass.com/wp-content/uploads/BurningGlass_certifications_2017.pdf
Mateo Diaz, M., Lee, C., Zucchetti, A., Olszewski, B., Cobo, C., Viik, L., Kyllönen, M., South, J., Montaldo, M., Ramos, Y. (2020). What technology can
and can’t do for education: A comparison of 5 stories of success (M. Mateo-Diaz, & C. Lee, Eds.). Inter-American Development Bank.
https://doi.org/10.18235/0002401
Mateo Diaz, M., Lim, J. R., Pellicer, C., López, E., Rodríguez, H., López, R., Magro Mazo, C., Vásquez Guerra, A., Quesada Alvarado, A., Brooks-Young,
S., Álvarez, X., Ramos, Y., Rivas, A., Barrenechea, I., Brazão, V., Ndebele, V., Nathan, D., Groot, B. (2022). The power of curriculum to transform
education: How education systems incorporate 21st century skills to prepare students for today’s challenges (M. Mateo-Diaz., & J. R. Lim, Eds.).
Inter-American Development Bank. https://doi.org/10.18235/0004360
Mateo Diaz, M., Rucci, G., Amaral, N., Arias Ortiz, E., Becerra, L., Bustelo, M., Cabrol, M., Castro, J., Caycedo, J., Duryea, S., Groot, B., Heredero, E.,
Hincapie, D., Magendzo, A., Navarro, J. C., Novella, R., Rieble-Aubourg, S., Rubio-Codina, M., Scartascini, C., & Vezza, E. (2019). Future is now:
Transversal skills in Latin America and the Caribbean in the 21st century. Inter-American Development Bank. https://doi.org/10.18235/0001950
Maxwell, N. (2017). Micro-credentials: Do they hold promise? Presentation at the CIRE Forum. Mathematica Policy Research.
https://www.mathematica.org/-/media/internet/files/centers/cire/2017/20170629/cire-forum-micro-credentials-062917.pdf
McKinsey. (2017). A future that works: Automation, employment, and productivity. McKinsey Global Institute.
https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/Digital%20Disruption/Harnessing%20automation%20for%20a%20
future%20that%20works/MGI-A-future-that-works-Executive-summary.ashx

106 References
 Messina, J., & Silva, J. (2017). Wage Inequality in Latin America: Understanding the Past to Prepare for the Future. World Bank.
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28682
Miller, J. W., & Boswell, L. E. (1979). Accreditation, assessment, and the credentialing of educational accomplishment. The Journal of Higher Education
50(2): 219–25. http://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1979.11778099
Muro, M., Liu, S., Whiton, J., Kulkarni, S. (2017). Digitalization and the American workforce. Brookings.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/mpp_2017nov15_digitalization_full_report.pdf
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2019). Recruiting benchmarks survey report 2019. National Association of Colleges and Employers.
https://www.naceweb.org/store/2019/recruiting-benchmarks-survey-2019/
National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Tuition costs of colleges and universities. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76
National Center for Education Statistics. (2018b). Digest of education statistics, 2016 (NCES 2017-094). U.S. Department of Education.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017094.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest of education statistics, 2015 (NCES 2016-014). U.S. Department of Education.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2016014 National Conference of State Legislatures. (2019). The evolving state of occupational
licensing: Research, state policies, and trends. https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/employ/Occu-Licensing-2nd-Edition_v02_web.pdf
National Conference of State Legislatures. (2017a). Occupational licensing: Examining challenges for four subpopulations.
https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/occupational-licensing-challenges-for-certain-populations.aspx
National Conference of State Legislatures. (2017b). The state of occupational licensing: Research, state policies, and trends.
https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/employ/Licensing/State_Occupational_Licensing.pdf
National Student Clearinghouse. (2021a). Current term enrollment estimates. https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/
National Student Clearinghouse. (2021b). High school benchmarks: COVID-19 special analysis update & correction.
https://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021_HSBenchmarksCovidReport.pdf
National Student Clearinghouse. (n.d.). Industry credentials. https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/workforce/industry-credentials/
New York State. (2020). Online learning with Coursera. https://dol.ny.gov/online-learning-coursera
Non-Degree Credentials Research Network. (2019). What we know about non-degree credentials: A literature scan. George Washington University.
https://gwipp.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2181/f/downloads/06.23.19%20NCRN%20Literature%20Scan.pdf
OECD. (2015). E-Learning in Higher Education in Latin America. Development Centre Studies. OECD Publishing.
https://www.oecd.org/dev/e-learning-in-higher-education-in-latin-america-9789264209992-en.htm
OECD (2019). Skills matter: Additional results from the survey of adult skills. OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/1f029d8f-en
OneClass. (2020). 75% of college students unhappy with quality of eLearning during Covid-19. OneClass.
https://oneclass.com/blog/featured/177356-7525-of-college-students-unhappy-with-quality-of-elearning-during-covid-19.en.html
Opportunity@Work. (2020). Navigating with the skilled through alternative routes (STARs): Reimagining equitable pathways to mobility.
https://opportunityatwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Navigating-with-the-STARs.pdf
Pate, D. (2020). The top skills companies need most in 2020—and how to learn them. LinkedIn.
https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/top-skills-and-courses/the-skills-companies-need-most-in-2020and-how-to-learn-them
PayScale. (2020). Bachelor of science (BS / BSc), computer science (CS) degree.
https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Bachelor_of_Science_(BS_%2F_BSc)%2C_Computer_Science_(CS)/Salary
Pelster, B., Stempel, J., & van der Vyver, B. (2017). Careers and learning: Real time, all the time. 2017 global human capital trends. Deloitte.
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2017/learning-in-the-digital-age.html#endnote-sup-8
Pérez Sanagustín, M., Maldonado, J., & Morales, N. (2016). Status report on the adoption of MOOCs in higher education in Latin America and Europe.
European Commission Erasmus+ Programme, European Union.
http://www.mooc-maker.org/wp-content/files/D1.1-InformeMOOCLatam-vFINALDEFINITIVO_English.pdf
Perkins Collaborative Resource Network. (2020). Employability skills. U.S. Department of Education.
https://cte.ed.gov/initiatives/employability-skills-framework
Pew Research Center. (2016). The state of American jobs. Social & Demographic Trends.
https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/10/06/the-state-of-american-jobs/
Pickard, L. (2018). Analysis of 450 MOOC-based microcredentials reveals many options but little consistency. Class Central MOOC Report.
https://www.classcentral.com/report/moocs-microcredentials-analysis-2018/#_ftn2
Plastino, E., Zuppolini, M., & Govier, M. G. (2018). América Latina: habilidades para el trabajo en la era de las máquinas inteligentes. Accenture.
Reed, D., Liu, A. Y. H., Kleinman, R., Mastri, A., Reed, D., Sattar, S., & Ziegler, J. (2012). An effectiveness assessment and cost-benefit analysis of
registered apprenticeship in 10 states. Mathematica Policy Research.
https://ideas.repec.org/p/mpr/mprres/1b5795d01e8a42239b3c98dcc1e1161a.html

107 References
 Renski, H. (2018). Estimating the returns to professional certifications and licenses in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Economic Development Quarterly
32(4): 341–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891242418792090
Rhee, S. (2021). Coding bootcamp vs college: Which will help you land the most prestigious jobs in the tech Industry?. Switchup.
https://www.switchup.org/blog/coding-bootcamps-vs-college-for-prestigious-tech-jobs
Rob, M. A. (2014). IT certification: Demand, characteristics and integration into traditional university MIS curriculum. Communications of the IIMA
14(1): 21–43. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1352&context=ciima
Rometty, G. (2016). We need to fill ‘new collar’ jobs that employers demand: IBM’s Rometty. USA Today.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2016/12/13/we-need-fill-new-collar-jobs-employers-demand-ibms-rometty/95382248/
Rometty, G., & Bush, W. (2018). Congress must address the “skills gap” and update our education system by passing the Perkins Act. CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/22/congress-must-address-the-skills-gap-and-update-our-education-system-by-passing-the-perkins-act.html
Ross, M., Moore, K. A., Murphy, K., Bateman, N., DeMand, A., & Sacks, V. (2018). Pathways to high-quality jobs for young adults. Brookings Institution.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/pathways-to-high-quality-jobs-for-young-adults/
Schultz, T. W. (1962). Reflections on investment in man. Journal of Political Economy 60(5): 1–8. https://www.nber.org/chapters/c13570.pdf
Shah, D. (2019). EdX’s 2019: Year in review. Class Central MOOC Report. https://www.classcentral.com/report/edx-2019-year-review/
Sidhu, P., & Calderon, V. J. (2014). Many business leaders doubt U.S. colleges prepare students: Few leaders believe U.S. colleges and universities are
the best. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/167630/business-leaders-doubt-colleges-prepare-students.aspx
Smolenski, N. (2021). Blockchain for Education: A New Credentialing Ecosystem. In OECD (Eds). OECD Digital Education Outlook 2021: Pushing the
Frontiers with Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Robots. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/6893d95a-en
Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics 87(3): 355–74. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882010
Stewart, L. (2020). How coding bootcamps can change the face of tech. Course Report.
https://www.coursereport.com/blog/diversity-in-coding-bootcamps-report-2020
SURFnet. (2016). White paper: On open badges and micro-credentials.
https://www.surf.nl/files/2019-06/Whitepaper-on-open-badges-en-micro-credentials.pdf
Swift, R., Elzey, K., Cardenas-Navia, I., Hansen, R., Uranis, J., Martin, S., Jyotishi, S., Garmise, S., & Rodriguez, A. (2020). Embedding certifications into
bachelor’s degrees. https://workcred.org/Documents/Embedding-Certifications-Into-Bachelors-Degrees-Certification-Degree-Pathways-Project-
Framework-Report-November-2020.pdf
Taparia, H. (2020). “The future of college is online, and it’s cheaper.” New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/opinion/online-college-coronavirus.html?referringSource=articleShare
Taylor, S. C., & Soares, L. (2020). Quality assurance for the new credentialing market. New Directions for Community Colleges 189: 67–82.
http://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20398
Torpey, E. (2019). Apprenticeships: Outlook and wages in selected occupations. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2019/article/apprenticeships-outlook-wages-update.htm
TV Perú. (2020). Minedu: More than 174 thousand students dropped out of universities during 2020 (Minedu: Más de 174 mil estudiantes dejaron la
universidad en lo que va del 2020). Interview with Jorge Mori, Director of Higher Education–Universities, Ministry of Education.
https://www.tvperu. gob.pe/noticias/nacionales/minedu-mas-de-174-mil-estudiantes-dejaron-la-universidad-en-lo-queva-del-2020
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Occupational outlook handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021a). Job openings and labor turnover summary. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021b). The employment situation—June 2021. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020). Employee Tenure Summary. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). FY 2018 official national cohort default rates with prior year comparisons.
https://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/defaultmanagement/schooltyperates.pdf
Vicentini, I. C. (2020). La educación superior en tiempos de COVID-19: Aportes de la segunda reunión del diálogo virtual con rectores de universidades
líderes de América Latina. Inter-American Development Bank. http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0002481
Vigil, A. (2017). Code challenges in interviews. Codecademy Forums. https://discuss.codecademy.com/t/code-challenges-in-interviews/82161
Walker, K. (2020). A digital jobs program to help America’s economic recovery. Grow with Google. Google.
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/grow-with-google/digital-jobs-program-help-americas-economic-recovery/
Walsh, J. D. (2020). The coming disruption: Scott Galloway predicts a handful of elite cyborg universities will soon monopolize higher education. New
York Magazine, Intelligencer. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/05/scott-galloway-future-of-college.html
Weathers, L. A. (2014). What America needs to know about higher education redesign. Lumina Foundation.
https://www.luminafoundation.org/les/resources/2013-gallup-lumina-foundation-report.pdf

108 References
 Weeden, K. A. (1999). From borders to barriers: Strategies of occupational closure and the structure of occupational rewards. Ph.D. diss. Stanford
University. https://www.worldcat.org/title/from-borders-to-barriers-strategies-of-occupational-closure-and-the-structure-of-occupational-
rewards/oclc/80907628
Weeden, K. A. (2002). Why do some occupations pay more than others? Social closure and earnings inequality in the United States. American
Journal of Sociology 108(1): 55–101. https://doi.org/10.1086/344121
Weidmann, B., & Deming, D. J. (2020). Team players: How social skills improve group performance. NBER Working Paper Series, w27071, 1–49.
National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w27071
Wenzel, E. (2010). IT certifications that matter. ITWorld Canada. http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/it-certifications-thatmatter/141874
White House. (2020). Executive order on modernizing and reforming the assessment and hiring of federal job candidates. Executive Orders. White
House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-modernizing-reforming-assessment-hiring-federal-job-candidates/
Wierschem, D., Zhang, G., & Johnston, C. R. (2010). Information technology certification value: An initial response from employers. Journal of
International Technology and Information Management 19(4): 89–108.
Williams, A. (2020). Coding bootcamp vs. college. Course Report. https://www.coursereport.com/blog/coding-bootcamp-vs-college
Wolf, J. B. (2018). Overconfident students, dubious employers. Inside Higher Education.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/02/23/study-students-believe-they-are-prepared-workplace-employers-disagree
Wolvin, A., & Lim, J. R. (2022). Skills for life: Listening. Inter-American Development Bank. https://doi.org/10.18235/0004351
Workcred Institute. (2018). Examining the quality, market value, and effectiveness of manufacturing credentials in the United States.
https://www.workcred.org/Documents/NIST-MEP-Report.pdf
World Bank. (2016). World development report 2016: Digital dividends. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2016
World Bank. (2021). Acting now to protect the human capital of our Children: The costs of and response to COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the
education sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35276
World Economic Forum. (2016). The future of jobs: Employment, skills, and workforce strategy for the fourth industrial revolution.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf
World Economic Forum. (2017). Accelerating workforce reskilling for the fourth industrial revolution: An agenda for leaders to share the future of
education, gender, and work. https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/accelerating-workforce-reskilling-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution
World Economic Forum. (2020). Jobs of tomorrow: Mapping opportunity in the new economy.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Jobs_of_Tomorrow_2020.pdf
Xu, D., & Trimble, M. (2016). What about certificates? Evidence on the labor market returns to nondegree community college awards in two
states. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 38(2): 272–92. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373715617827
Young, J. R. (2016). Why Udacity and EdX want to trademark the degrees of the future—and what’s at stake for students. EdSurge.
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-11-03-why-udacity-and-edx-want-to-trademark-the-degrees-of-the-future-and-what-s-at-stake-for-students
Zanville, H. (2020). Reflections on education in a new era of work and learning. New Directions for Community Colleges 189: 83–94.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20399

109 References
110