Educational and labour transformation through microcredentials in Latin America: regulation, quality assurance, recognition and digital infrastructure in comparative perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35362/rie10117366Keywords:
micro-credentials, quality assurance, recognition, lifelong learning, employabilityAbstract
Micro-credentials have become a short-form certification mechanism that may support employability, skills updating and curricular flexibility. In Ibero-America, their rapid expansion occurs amid persistent inequities in access to higher education and significant skills mismatches in labour markets. This article conducts a comparative documentary analysis of the regulatory, quality assurance and digital infrastructure conditions required for micro-credentials to contribute to educational and labour transformation in the region. The study prioritises European policy and technical sources (the 2022 EU Council Recommendation, the European Commission’s approach and progress reporting, and ENQA/IMINQA and Cedefop guidance) alongside recent Ibero-American evidence (MOCHILA, IDB, CLACSO and OEI). Results identify four requirements: a shared operational definition and minimum metadata, alignment with qualification frameworks and credit systems, proportionate quality assurance based on risk, and interoperable digital credential infrastructures. The article concludes that rapid proliferation without standards can lead to fragmentation and credential inflation, and it proposes a phased regional roadmap centred on transparency, quality, progressive recognition and equity.
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