BROWSE COURSES

Micro-certifications – an attempt to solve the ICT staff shortage

Home » Blog » Micro-credentials – an attempt to solve the ICT staff shortage
Portrait of Matic Ferolja. Matic Ferfolja Key Account Manager
22 April 2025

Certificates of short-term training allow you to acquire the specific skills and competences required by the labor market more quickly.

Slovenia is lagging behind the EU average in digital competences, ranking 25th in the number of information and communication technology (ICT) professionals. In the 2023/2024 academic year, only 4,372 students have chosen to study ICT, showing that interest in this field is already declining between primary and secondary school.

We are trying to fill the gap by offering shorter trainings and courses. At the end of the course, the student receives a certificate or micro-certificate, or a record of the learning outcomes that he or she has achieved by improving his or her knowledge. The concept is already well established in Europe, but in Slovenia the legislative framework is still being harmonized or the proposal for a new law on higher education is still under consideration. Therefore, at this stage, Slovenian institutions are not yet issuing micro-proofs, but universities are introducing them in Slovenia through their pilot projects. These are learning about the advantages and disadvantages of micro-proofs, what needs to be changed in the system and how best to adapt it to the needs of the economy and the environment.

Bringing practical experience into the classroom

Matic Ferfolja, Key Account Manager, NIL Learning

Micro-credentials can also be obtained outside academia. At NIL, the NIL Learning programme delivers computer science and ICT training in classrooms in different countries around the world or in a virtual environment, allowing flexibility and accessibility regardless of the location of the participants.

Each participant in official Cisco training at NIL Learning receives the relevant Certificate of Completion, which demonstrates the knowledge and skills acquired. These certificates or micro-documents enable individuals to continue their certification and validation of professional competences or to obtain globally recognised qualifications.

“The main challenge in training is to ensure the right balance between the difficulty of the course and the knowledge of the participants. To help companies and individuals choose the most appropriate training path, we also offer prior knowledge assessment. This allows us to accurately determine knowledge and recommend the appropriate course,” explains Matic Ferfolja, Key Account Manager at NIL Learning, where they have one of the strongest teams of Cisco instructors in the world with over 40 instructors. Each is also an active engineer, bringing real-world experience directly into the classroom.

“One of the main educational programmes that NIL Learning is exclusively offering in partnership with Cisco is CCIE Project 525, designed to address the acute shortage of top engineers in Europe. Through this programme, we aim to enable engineers to achieve one of the most prestigious certifications in the industry more quickly and efficiently,” says Ferfolja.

You can read the interview in full on the Finance web site..