Triple-Win: Micro-credentials that work

Canada is the most educated country in the G7 - yet continues to have one of the highest unemployment rates among postsecondary graduates.

Traditional 3–4-year programs struggle to evolve at the pace of industry, leaving many graduates with skills that don’t align with current job opportunities.

Many existing micro-credentials are costly, generic, or disconnected from real employer demand, limiting their practical value and impact.

CanWorks will conduct research to identify niches sectors with high number of vacancies. We will facilitate the co-design of job-aligned micro-credentials between Canadian public postsecondary institutions and major employers, ensuring labour-market relevance, quality and learners’ job readiness.

This approach delivers a triple win — a steady talent pipeline and reduced recruitment costs for employers, job-ready graduates with direct employment pathways, and increased enrolment  for postsecondary institutions.

The ultimate goal is to create a simple, repeatable playbook that others can easily adopt and apply.

Conduct comprehensive research using up to date and reliable data sources.

Co-design the micro-credential  with a post contrary institution and a leading employer facing unfilled roles in that niche to ensure a direct and credible pathway to employment.

Launch the credential as an elective through a public post-secondary institution, with a completion timeframe of 6–8 months.

Share the model and outcomes so other institutions can adopt.

Generate analytics and reporting to measure social impact, inform public policy, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and guide continuous improvements within CanWorks.