This section presents lecturers, students, and employers’ perspectives organized into three research concerns: the pedagogical principles underlying the micro-credentialing process, the micro-credentials and ePortfolio for employability enhancement, and the methodology uptake.
Lecturer perspective
Pedagogical principles
Lecturers evaluated the pedagogical principles for employability skills micro-credentialing (ESMC) positively both in the questionnaires (see Fig. 3) and interviews. The questionnaires revealed promising results with little variations regarding inquiry, reflection, and integrative learning (75%, n = 6 lecturers).
The lecturers highlighted that the methodology enabled students to inquire into their experience and identify appropriate situations and evidence demonstrating the acquisition of skills. The collection of the evidence along with the articulation of skills fostered reflection on their learning journey and contributed to a better understanding of their strengths in relation to the requirements of the labour market. One of the lecturers mentioned that “the ePortfolio requires students to upload their own evidence where they can actually understand what they’ve learnt, and show to the employers exactly what they know”. Some others explained that this experience has helped students to “improve their self-confidence in various fields of study” and, even though “there were some challenges, they became more resilient; it was a full win situation”.
Additionally, lecturers concurred that the methodology provides strong support for outcomes assessment (87.5%, n = 7). Specifically, they stated that the ePortfolio has proven to be a very useful tool for assessing students’ achievements across an entire programme. The use of rubrics was also appreciated as they provide common criteria and detailed descriptors that increase transparency and homogeneous assessment. Moreover, some lecturers highlighted the benefits of formative feedback and continuous assessment, especially in the process of identifying the best evidence in support of their skills demonstration. This brings opportunities to students to fine-tune their submissions. The interaction among students and lecturers was also perceived by the latter as a valuable strategy to support reflection and to improve the awareness of their own employability skills: “through ePortfolio, students can simply send their activities online and get immediate feedback for further improvement where necessary. Contrary to traditional assessment, students can be assessed several times to make sure that they are able to fully demonstrate their capacity in a particular skill”.
The qualitative analysis also showed that the implementation of the methodology prompted a conceptual change that influenced the lecturers’ teaching practices as shown in the following quote: “Prior to my participation in the project, I did not know how to incorporate employability skills in my lecturing activities. I can now include employability skills in the assignments and tasks. My module design skills have also greatly improved”. Lecturers concurred that this experience provided clues on how to integrate employability skills by rethinking the design of their courses focusing on the use of active learning, the definition of learning outcomes and an assessment no longer based on the student’s ability to memorise, as testified by one of them “This experience will be integrated into the course preparations, specifically in the selection of the skills, how they will be put into actual practice (…) and how they will be reflected in the evidence”.
Employability enhancement
The lecturers acknowledged the potential of the micro-credentialing methodology to foster employability. Most of them agreed that the badges linked to the selected evidence allow students to showcase their value as future employees: “The EPICA ePortfolio has been proven to definitely increase the visibility of our students’ employability skills to employers, after having gone through a digital-based review and approval process by our teachers”. Great importance was attributed by lecturers to the authenticity of the evidence from students’ lived professional or work-related experiences as they provide substantive information to employers about the students’ performance and application of knowledge and know-how to real situations and problems. Besides this, the contextualisation of the evidence with further explanation was also considered as an added value as it helps employers develop a comprehensive understanding of the presented experiences. Finally, the ePortfolio was also perceived to be an optimal tool for students to demonstrate their skills and for employers to more reliably appraise student profiles.
In addition to this, the communication between academia, employers and students encouraged by the methodology was also seen by lecturers as a means to discover more about the demands of the labour market and therefore to redesign the curriculum: “My participation in EPICA project has helped me understand in a broader perspective what it entails to make graduates competent enough to become employable as well as create employment by themselves”.
Regarding the visibility of skills, lecturers felt enthusiastic with the idea that students show their achievements and productions to employers or other people, like potential clients. One of the lecturers expressed: “I encouraged students to set their profiles to a public setting. They are proud and full of esteem for their work, so they want to share it”. Moreover, they stated that most students expressed eagerness to present their profiles to others as they were proud of the micro-credentials earned and their achievements. However, the lecturers expressed the need to give the student control over their own ePortfolios and over what they share and with whom.
Methodology uptake
Despite some difficulties experienced during the pilot due to Covid-19, lecturers positively valued the overall experience and expressed their willingness to integrate the micro-credentialing methodology into their teaching practices (87.5%, n = 7). However, they highlighted the need for wide adoption of a competency-based approach and for transformation of the curriculum to close the gap between graduate readiness and labour market expectations: “My participation made me realize that the University curriculum needs transformation in order to prepare students so that they are competent for the labour market at the time they graduate”. They also recommended extending the implementation of the micro-credentialing process to other academic programs within the university to reach a larger audience and benefit all university students.
Student perspective
Pedagogical principles
Students have an even better perception than lecturers of the pedagogical dimensions of the micro-credentialing process (see Fig. 4). They also presented greater homogeneity in their opinions: inquiry (98%, n = 49 students), reflection (100%) and integration (92%, n = 46) present similar scores.
The qualitative analysis revealed that the micro-credentialing of their employability skills helped them develop a new perspective regarding their educational journey. Some students explained that identifying relevant situations and evidence demonstrating their skills raised their awareness of their usefulness within and outside their academic contexts. The formative feedback was perceived as essential to foster reflection on students’ own achievements and hence on their level of performance, progress over time and aspects to improve: “Due to the feedback I got from my teachers and the employer about my evidence in the ePortfolio, I realized that there are some aspects that I needed to improve in my professional development”. However, the students commented that the production of the reflective narrative linking situations and evidence to provide an integrated account of their skills proficiency was a challenging task. They appreciated the availability of the assessment rubrics at all times as a conceptual support tool for this purpose, but also as an element that contributed to the development of their self-assessment skills. Similarly, they reported that the STAR method encouraged them to identify connections between skills, tasks, actions and the results attained, improving their awareness of the skills developed in a variety of situations.
Most of the students also stated that the integrative process not only helped develop their awareness but also improved their skills (e.g. writing and editing, self-assessment, digital and analytical skills, self-presentation, self-directed learning): “I’ve gained not only writing and editing skills, but also I’ve learned how to express myself, improving myself-esteem and confidence”. Some students commented that they increasingly improved their performance by repeating the same process for the demonstration of each skill. The exercise of communicating the skills first to lecturers and then to employers also helped students to better understand what each target group was expecting from them.
Students also agreed with lecturers that the most highly valued aspect is the outcomes assessment (94%, n = 47) since it provided them with a clear view of their skills development: “it is an appropriate strategy to assess the level of development of my skills in a progressive way and throughout the whole program”.
Employability enhancement
The micro-credentialing process stands out among students for its potential to enhance employability. Some of them concurred that the badges awarded by the lecturers make skills not explicitly mentioned in the curriculum visible along with their level of development, and that this increases job opportunities. In addition, this process entails linking academic and professional sectors and hence putting recruiters in contact with possible candidates. This connection along with the option to interact with employers and receive their appraisal is perceived as an opportunity to understand what they are expecting and, therefore, to fine-tune the way they present their profiles.
According to most of the students, the process also provided them with the opportunity to showcase the skills developed through curricular or extracurricular activities and to connect them with real evidence and certificates demonstrating their achievements. The availability of this information makes the process behind the badge transparent for employers who have to make hiring decisions and increases trust and confidence among stakeholders.
Moreover, digital badges and the ePortfolio, by making skills visible, also provide added value to the diploma that could increase opportunities to find a job: “I think that the use of the ePortfolio adds value to my diploma as I attain more skills and also present real up-to-date evidence that never leaves questions hanging about the truth and in this way, this adds more employability opportunities on my scale”. Some of the students also claimed that the ePortfolio is a powerful tool to be used together with the CV as it provides the job applicant with an advantage over other candidates. The potential to enhance employability is also attributed to the use of the STAR method, which is perceived as a useful strategy to improve performance in job interviews.
Besides this, most of the students stated that they felt comfortable sharing digital badges and the related evidence with others as this exercise also increases their visibility. The majority of them shared their ePortfolio with lecturers, tutors and employers but also with colleagues, family and friends. Conversely, a few of them, while comfortable with showcasing badges, prefer to limit their sharing of their ePortfolios and evidence to lecturers, and are very cautious about what they show to others.
Methodology uptake
Students expressed positive attitudes regarding the micro-credentialing process and the ePortfolio and stated their intention to use them in the future (92%, n = 46).
Among the benefits they perceived is the opportunity to develop employability skills relevant to the workplace and to complement the traditional curriculum vitae (CV) with micro-credentials. However, they pointed to two additional aspects that affect successful adoption of the methodology: wider use in different programs and courses and ePortfolio ownership. Student control over their ePortfolios once their studies are finished will play a significant role in ensuring their badges remain linked to the supporting evidence and in helping them build their lifelong learning and career on a centralized platform. Likewise, some students proposed that in order to capture a comprehensive overview of the skills to be showcased to employers, their assessment should be applied throughout the whole programme.
Additionally, the students stated that they would appreciate it if employers were involved earlier in the programme as the interaction with them is key to improve their performance: “I am of the view that employers should be in the system from the beginning of the program so as to enable students to be guided from the very beginning and improve their confidence”.
Cooperation with peers should also be enhanced. Another suggestion that emerged that would facilitate uptake of the solution is to involve students who already know the micro-credentialing process in the training of their peers. A few students also revealed their intention to keep using it in the future due to the opportunity it offers to work from home due to the relatively low bandwidth needed. For this reason, the implementation of this methodology should be recommended to other African universities, especially after the pandemic which forced students to move online all their activities.
Employer perspective
Pedagogical principles
The overall employers’ perception of the students ePortfolio, understood as an intentionally organized collection of artefacts, showed that the ways that students expressed themselves and presented their profiles were useful both for getting to know the candidate profile (81.8%, n = 9 employers) and for verifying how skills had been developed (81.8%, n = 9). Asked also about the linking of badges to supporting evidence and the video testimony, the results also reflected high scores (see Fig. 5) in line with the overall opinion of the ePortfolio, thus reinforcing the relevance of each element in building a trustworthy portrait of the candidates’ capacities (90.9%, n = 10).
The qualitative analysis provides further information regarding employer perceptions of the experience which is seen as an innovation that enables students not only to learn but also to better prepare themselves for the labour market. Through the appraisal of students’ profiles, they manifested that the students presented significant situations revealing their capacity to perform complex tasks and that the evidence was clearly explained providing credibility to the earned micro-credentials. In addition, some of them saw the experience as an opportunity for students to improve their network of contacts, reflect on a personal development plan and career goals, and enhance the skills required by the labour market: “It has been a good and inspiring experience for the students, in a way that it has given room to the learners to build their employability skills in communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork and problem-solving skills and with this, I believe the students can be in a position to be prepared for the job market and also equipped with the necessary skills for it”.
Some employers mentioned that they had been pleasantly impressed by the students’ engagement in the process, their great sense of responsibility in the presentation of the contents and their enthusiasm for the feedback received.
Employability enhancement
Most employers consider that the micro-credential process and the ePortfolio provide new employability opportunities for graduates. The award of badges is perceived as a viable solution for showcasing skills that help differentiate and identify potential best graduates for a job. Some of them commented that the badges and the attached evidence provide a clear view of the candidate skills that is due also to the availability of rich information that complements what is reported in a traditional curriculum vitae: “the ePortfolio provides practical evidence that supports students’ resumes/CV”. Moreover, some of them underlined that it meets their need to see more than academic achievements reported in transcripts and resumées. Through the ePortfolio they can access a broad range of evidence that links university learning with extracurricular and work-related experiences that are of particular value in hiring processes. This also increases the reliability of the process as “the recruitment is based on verifiable information about the candidates”.
Most of the employers also agree that digital badges and the ePortfolio provide some advantages in the selection process over other methods. They make it easier to identify the strengths of a candidate and thus easily match organizational goals and job requirements with the graduate’s skills, qualifications, talents and personal interests. To sum up, employers recognise the potential of the EPICA solution to support job interviews and to simplify the recruitment of new candidates: “I believe this is the best system and it should be adopted and implemented because it clearly illustrates someone’s skills. All the students’ ePortfolios I have appraised clearly illustrated their problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills”. According to them, the use of the STAR method also contributes to the capture of the skills of a job seeker as applied to a real context.
Additionally, some of them acknowledged the benefit of the digitalization of achievements and credentials. Making relevant information digitally available enhances graduates’ visibility and provides opportunities for students to be noticed by companies looking for candidates for a given position.
Methodology uptake
Most employers saw a benefit in the use of badges attached to evidence within an ePortfolio as part of the hiring processes: 81.1% said they would use it always or frequently. Although this is only a picture of employers who were inclined to participate in the pilot, their comments on the subject provide insights into their view of the EPICA solution. Their participation in the pilot was seen as having a positive impact on their efficiency in terms of productivity and the time spent on exploration of students’ profiles, and their effectiveness, due to improved performance in the identification of best candidates based on a clear understanding of their characteristics and documented previous experience. The easy access to rich profiles through digital makes it possible to foresee adoption: “(…) with the ePortfolio available online employers can find online students’ credentials for a particular position more easily than with a traditional CV”.