Higher education has an opportunity to shift from one-time credentialing to lifelong partnership, helping people navigate constant change in work and technology. By collaborating authentically with employers and designing modular, competency-based pathways that respect learners’ experience, institutions can build a more agile and future-ready learning ecosystem.

On this episode, Jo-Anne Clarke, Dean of the Division of Continuing Studies at the University of Victoria, discusses how authentic collaboration with employers shapes responsive program design while examining how microcredentials can evolve into stackable pathways that support long-term career mobility.