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By Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer, Coursera

Today, I’m delighted to present some new independent research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, emphasizing the employability advantages provided by micro-credentials on Coursera. The recent paper, “The Value of Non-Traditional Credentials in the Labor Market”, reveals outcomes from a randomized study, discovering that revealing micro-credentials as evidence of skills acquisition enhances the likelihood of a learner securing a new job. These impacts are especially pronounced for learners who lack conventional qualifications, do not possess relevant working experience, or are situated in emerging markets.

“Our study indicates that micro-credentials, when exhibited on professional platforms like LinkedIn, can effectively enhance employment opportunities for learners who have traditionally faced barriers to entering the labor market,” noted Susan Athey, professor of economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “By increasing the visibility of skills to employers, these digital credentials help equalize the opportunities for talent in emerging markets and underserved communities.”

“It was remarkable to observe how a minimal alteration — merely eliminating small barriers in the sharing process — could result in such a substantial rise in credential sharing, which, in turn, improved the rate at which individuals secured new employment,” added Emil Palikot, co-author of the research and assistant professor of marketing at Northeastern University.

Technological advancements continue to reshape global labor markets. They are not only amplifying the demand for digital positions but also enabling individuals to be hired for these roles, irrespective of their geographic location. Talent in emerging markets frequently lacks training for these positions, prompting learners globally to pursue job-relevant micro-credentials to address skills gaps and discover new career pathways.

To investigate the effect that micro-credentials have on learner employability, Susan Athey and Emil Palikot, researchers at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) and Northeastern University, executed a randomized experiment that assessed the ramifications of credential sharing on job outcomes across a cohort of 40,000 Coursera learners. Their goal was to ascertain:

• The Influence of credential sharing on employability — Do micro-credentials truly enhance job prospects by equipping learners with fresh skills and showcasing them to employers?

• Effectiveness of platform-driven credential sharing — Evaluate how Coursera’s integrated features and prompts affect learners’ propensity to share their credentials online.

• Differential benefits for underserved learners — To what degree do non-traditional credentials benefit learners from developing nations or those without college degrees, and which demographic stands to gain the most from these opportunities?

Key discoveries from the investigation include:

• Showcasing non-traditional credentials on professional networking platforms can significantly enhance employability for learners, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds. Learners who shared a micro-credential on LinkedIn to signify their newfound skills were 6% more likely to report new employment within a year compared to those who didn’t share their attained credentials.

• Encouraging and simplifying credential sharing is effective. A platform feature, comprising nudges and a streamlined sharing process, boosted visibility and job outcomes.

• The advantages of micro-credential sharing were greater for learners with lower initial employability. Coursera and Stanford GSB determined that learners in the lowest employability tertile — based on their initial probability of reporting a new job considering factors such as their past job history, level of education, type of university, and age — experienced an 11% increase in employability.

The study authors advocate that:

• Online education providers should persist in developing and promoting features that foster the sharing of non-traditional credentials. All of Coursera’s credentials, provided by top universities and prominent industry partners, can be effortlessly shared on LinkedIn.

• Educational institutions and policymakers should endorse initiatives that bolster the credibility and recognition of non-traditional credentials. In doing so, they can assist learners from underprivileged backgrounds in effectively showcasing their skill sets in the absence of traditional diplomas or relevant work experience, thereby enhancing their employability.

These findings present compelling new experimental evidence that obtaining and sharing micro-credentials can mitigate disparities in employment outcomes, especially for individuals without conventional qualifications or strong job histories.

Coursera continues to expand its assortment of micro-credentials and has recently launched ten job-relevant Professional Certificates, offered by leading industry entities such as Amazon, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, and XBOX. In 2024, Coursera recorded over 4.3 million enrollments across our portfolio of Entry-Level Professional Certificates, which are preparing learners from all backgrounds and locations to attain the most sought-after remote digital jobs in under six months.

The complete study is available here.

The article New Stanford study: Sharing Coursera micro-credentials on professional networking platforms can significantly improve learner employment outcomes appeared first on Coursera Blog.

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