Microcredentials are short, targeted learning units that certify specific skills or competences. Unlike full qualifications, they focus on concrete learning outcomes and can be achieved in a shorter time. This makes them especially useful in fast-changing sectors, such as those linked to the green transition, where new skills are constantly emerging.
One of the main advantages of microcredentials is their flexibility. Learners can upskill or reskill without committing to long training programmes, while employers gain clearer evidence of what a person can actually do. Microcredentials also support lifelong learning, as they can be combined over time to build broader competence profiles.
In Europe, microcredentials are increasingly used in vocational education and training (VET), higher education and adult learning. The European Commission has promoted a common approach to ensure quality, transparency and recognition across countries. As a result, microcredentials are being used to respond to labour market needs, support green and digital transitions, and improve the portability of skills between sectors and regions.
In Uganda, microcredentials are gaining attention as a practical tool to strengthen skills development, especially within the TVET system. Their modular nature fits well with a context where learners may move between formal and informal work, or need to quickly acquire job-relevant skills. Microcredentials can help make learning outcomes more visible and easier to recognise by employers.
This approach also aligns with Uganda’s education and training policies, which emphasise competence-based education, employability and responsiveness to labour market needs. By focusing on clearly defined skills and assessment, microcredentials support national efforts to modernise TVET and promote skills for priority areas such as the green economy.
Within this context, the GreenVET4U project will develop a microcredentials application tailored to VET and in-company training. The application will allow VET trainers and in-company trainers to select the specific skills they want learners to be assessed on. Learners who successfully demonstrate these skills will obtain the corresponding microcredentials, providing clear and portable evidence of their competences in green jobs.
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