A new Swinburne U report to be released this morning, recommends, “embedding a robust system of micro-credentialing into the Australian Qualifications Framework”

It isn’t going to happen, at least not now – but it should.

The 2019 Noonan review of the AQF states, “stakeholders did not support including shorter form credentials in the AQF as qualification types.”

Which is as good an excuse as any for governments to do nothing.

But what the review did do is set out a bunch of work needed to include mcs and enabling programmes in the AQF-universe, by recognising shorter-form credentials as being for-credit and aligned to Australian Qualification Framework bands.

Which makes a case that keeps being made, notably by the NSW Productivity Commission – which calls for mapping MCs to the AQF (CMM June 2).

The Noonan review has set out a way to adapt the existing training system to the less emerging than arriving skills parallel-universe, where employers and skill-seekers can create the courses they want independent of the government-mandated system.

The Commonwealth adopted all the Noonan review recommendations on higher education and commended those on training to the states (CMM December 10 2019).

But that appears to be it and the Noonan review is deep in the policy weeds, where it is in danger of being forgotten. That would be very bad indeed.