Brayden Cagle is pursuing an alternative, post-high school career path. Instead of pondering Plato at a four-year college, he’s apprenticing as a heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician.

“I get something fixed and I feel really good knowing I helped someone stay comfortable,” said Mr. Cagle, 22, who lives in Sullivan, Indiana. “I also couldn’t see myself sitting in an office all day.”

He signed up for an HVAC program at public Ivy Tech Community College in nearby Terre Haute to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle, who own businesses in the industry.

---

---

Like Mr. Cagle, more college-aged students have pursued nonacademic “microcredentials” to work in the skilled trades since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, shunning costly degrees.

Microcredentials are short, hands-on courses that industry employers recognize as certifying applicants to work in skilled jobs. They can be acquired within a week to just under two years and are often “stackable,” allowing earners to return for a broader credential, certification or degree.

Advocates argue that microcredentials are preferable in today’s inflationary economy to racking up six-figure student loan debt for a liberal arts education that borrowers may never use.

There are now more than 1 million unique badges, licenses, certificates and diplomas available nationwide.

“The incentive is quality education that doesn’t put them in debt,” said David Will, the engineering school dean at Ivy Tech, which offers a range of microcredentials. “We give them hands-on skills for a lifelong career to support their families.”

Ivy Tech, which manages all of Indiana’s building and trade certifications across 19 campuses, has seen enrollment in those credential programs climb from 500 students two years ago to 800 this fall.

Mr. Will said more people aged 18 to 22 have signed up to earn credentials while apprenticing as HVAC techs, plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, operating engineers and painters. That’s unusual for a commuter college system that usually draws older students with families.

Other certifications include those for mechanics, electricians, welders, machinists, software engineers, and automation and robotics specialists.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, more than 1 million students enrolled in an undergraduate-level certificate program in Spring 2024, up from 919,000 in 2019. Preliminary estimates released Wednesday show certificate enrollment grew by another 7.3% this fall, while first-year college enrollments among 18-year-olds fell by 6%.

“Certificates are unique in that they can serve to elevate students’ learning even within more traditional degree pathways,” said Jennifer Causey, a senior research associate at the clearinghouse.

Microcredentials have been around for decades, but higher education watchers say retirements, technology-driven changes and a tight job market have made them more attractive.

At the same time, inflation and rising tuition have made young people more reluctant to pursue a college degree, they say.

“Microcredentials’ sudden popularity in recent years also coincides with the pandemic,” said John Lane, a vice president at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, a network of government agencies overseeing public colleges. “COVID-19 was not only a public health crisis, but also a significant economic crisis.”

Success stories

Some students earn microcredentials at industry trade schools and private agencies, but most enroll in regional colleges such as Ivy Tech that partner with industries to fill job openings.

Mr. Will said government subsidies and employer reimbursements allow 4 out of every 5 Ivy Tech students to finish debt-free.

Ivy Tech tailors its programs to job openings in each of the 19 counties it serves, ensuring that certificate earners can make around $45,000 a year in entry-level trade jobs after completing their classes.

That’s roughly the same salary first-year teachers make in Indiana after graduating with four-year education degrees and tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

Enrollments have also surged nationally for credentials in office jobs that no longer require four-year degrees.

Florida Atlantic University, a public research university in Boca Raton, found that enrollment in its online Hospitality and Tourism Industry Certificate surged to 56,000 people from 144 countries when the school offered it for free during pandemic lockdowns.

Siri Terjesen, an economist and associate dean at FAU, says thousands also sign up annually for entrepreneurship and business executive certificates.

“Microcredentials can really open these pathways for young adults, recent immigrants, and even older adults seeking a career change or re-entry,” Ms. Terjesen said.

Henry Mack, Florida’s higher education chancellor for four years under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, helped draft the state’s skills-based education laws.

He said Florida has experienced “a remarkable increase in short-term, non-degree attainment” among minority students from low-income backgrounds in recent years.

“Higher education risks becoming irrelevant,” said Mr. Mack, a vice president at private St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. “Most companies don’t believe students have the skills they need and are increasingly spending time and money on reskilling employees after they hire them because the higher education institution didn’t do what it was supposed to.”

In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced a $32 million investment to expand a professional microcredential program in collaboration with the State University of New York. The funding will help SUNY expand the program across its campuses and reach up to 6,000 students by 2030.

Summer Schneider, executive director of Legacy College Preparatory Charter School, a New York City public charter school in the Bronx, says more K-12 families have realized a four-year degree may not be for everyone.

“High school students and their families are looking for ways to expand their interests after high school without taking on the debt that comes with many four-year institutions,” Ms. Schneider said. “We are seeing more scholars show an interest in trade schools and have started offering tours during junior and senior years to help explore this option.”

According to Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade group for the non-unionized construction industry, microcredentials give high school grads a fast track to employment. The average U.S. construction worker earns over $46,000 a year.

“With the need for more than half a million skilled construction professionals this year alone, microcredentials offer an opportunity for those interested in a career in the construction industry to learn the needed skillset more quickly and effectively,” said Timothy Mongeau, ABC’s director of workforce development.

Nevertheless, Mr. Mongeau cautioned that more colleges need to “create avenues for students to earn microcredentials,” emphasizing that many schools remain disconnected from workforce needs.

Buyer’s remorse

Recent reports suggest the U.S. has too many high school graduates pursuing four-year degrees and not enough entering blue-collar industries to serve the emerging tech-based job market.

According to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, nearly a third of annual job openings through 2031 will require some credentials but not a degree.

The center reported in May that “at least half” the colleges in half the nation’s labor markets must reduce baccalaureate preparation in humanities and general studies to refocus on vocational training that meets this need.

Lindsay Daugherty, a senior education and workforce development policy analyst at the Rand Corporation, says American colleges have long neglected vocational training. She adds that elite and top-tier universities “aren’t interested in this at all.”

“The U.S. was the outlier relative to countries in Europe and elsewhere in trying to force all individuals into traditional college pathways and neglecting investments in strong, formalized vocational and applied training pathways,” Ms. Daugherty said. “So this seems like a positive trend toward more balanced investment.”

In a USA Today poll released this month, 33% of college graduates said they wished they had “taken a different approach” or not attended college. That included 10% who regretted not entering the workforce right after high school and 8% who would have pursued an apprenticeship or fellowship if they could do it over again.

Another 46% of college graduates said they could have landed their current jobs without a degree and 39% said they did not use their degrees in their daily work.

Survey respondents who didn’t attend college cited financial constraints as their top reason for not going.

According to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a liberal arts advocacy group, microcredentials deprive students of the generalized skills four-year degrees offer.

“Students are simply responding to the strong and growing incentives, seeking any alternative they can find to the skyrocketing costs of four-year college,” said Bradley Jackson, ACTA’s vice president of policy. “Although these courses may pay off in the short term, students will likely find these courses ignore the critical thinking skills that will be vital for any career.”

In 2023, the Cicero Institute reported that 23 states no longer required college degrees for their employees. That included governors in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia who had directed state agencies over the preceding year to hire based on skills rather than degrees.

Michael Brickman, an adjunct fellow specializing in higher education at the American Enterprise Institute, said that doesn’t necessarily mean students should rule out degrees, which still lead to higher earnings over time.

“It gets to the return on investment question,” Mr. Brickman said. “They should work backward from their goals and what programs will get them there. They shouldn’t make decisions based on ’college is good’ for me or ’college isn’t good for me.’”

But Peter Wood, president of the conservative National Association of Scholars, says returning to the original concept of college as an exception rather than the rule for young people would make everyone better off.

“Not going to college should be the default,” said Mr. Wood, a former associate provost at private Boston University.”Only high school graduates who have a burning ambition to go to college, the ability to succeed at a demanding curriculum for four uninterrupted years, and the resources to bypass market opportunities should apply.”