Across the globe, we’re hearing from education leaders and policymakers who’re facing a common reality: the demand for skills is accelerating faster than what traditional systems can deliver. Whether in Tanzania’s dual-track secondary reform, The Gambia’s focus on inclusive technical and vocational education and training (TVET) or South Africa’s push for digital learning and youth employment, the message from this year’s Education World Forum continues to resonate – countries urgently need scalable, flexible and inclusive approaches to upskilling and reskilling both current and future workforces.

Transnational Education (TNE) is rising to meet this challenge by offering flexible, borderless opportunities for skills development. Through eLearning, hybrid delivery and modular qualifications, TNE meets learners where they are. This approach allows individuals to earn globally recognised qualifications from their home countries, eliminating both geographical and financial barriers.

What’s emerging is a shift in how TNE is understood – not just as an education export but as a collaborative solution to global skills challenges. Countries aren’t only importing UK degrees; they are co-creating learning ecosystems rooted in local needs, delivered through international quality frameworks.

For example:

• Saudi Arabia is launching new technical colleges aligned to TNE-based dual certification.
• The Gambia and Tanzania are embedding employer-led TNE pathways into national skills strategies.
• Ghana and Botswana are using TNE to promote parity of esteem for TVET and foster entrepreneurship.
• In Mauritius, over 4,000 learners already use global platforms like Coursera and FutureLearn.

Why TNE matters now more than ever

With over 70% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population under 30, there’s a critical need for educational models that can equip the young generation with the skills to thrive both locally and globally, especially as many in Asia and Latin America are also seeking international opportunities. TNE has emerged as a powerful tool to:

• Bridge the education-employment gap.
• Support migrant-ready skills and certification that’s internationally recognised.
• Address the infrastructure and teacher shortages in traditional systems to meet the new demands.

TNE’s global reach and flexibility make it uniquely positioned to respond to changing learner needs, especially in emerging economies. But as industries evolve and skills demands shift rapidly, the TNE model is being strengthened and complemented by the rise of microcredentials.

Microcredentials: A natural extension of TNE

Microcredentials are short, targeted certifications that help learners develop and demonstrate specific skills or competencies aligned with industry needs. Often stackable, microcredentials are designed to be flexible, allowing learners to progress at their own pace through digital or hybrid formats.

They support regional labour market alignment by tailoring training to sector-specific skill shortages, enhancing employability in critical or emerging industries. Initiatives by UNESCO and the European Union make it easier to recognise and use microcredentials in different countries, helping people move and work internationally. Microcredentials contribute to lifelong learning and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), helping close urgent skills gaps in areas like healthcare, technology, and green sectors.

Microcredentials also play a significant role in workforce transformation to support lifelong learning through stackable modules and recognition of prior learning. This approach offers flexible, affordable and inclusive opportunities.

Our recent work with the British Council in creating a best practice guide to microcredentials highlights how microcredentials in TNE is no longer an alternative model but a strategic tool of capacity building. A leading example is Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University. They developed a flexible and stackable online microcredential offer in postgraduate business education. Learners can choose from nine 10 credit modules and stack any six to earn a Post Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Management Practice. With no required core modules and an eight-year completion window, Nottingham Business School empowers learners to design their own educational journey, making this model particularly suited to working professionals across diverse geographies.

This kind of flexibility, underpinned by strong institutional frameworks and adaptable validation processes, shows how TNE partnerships can become engines of lifelong learning. When local relevance is combined with global recognition, microcredentials provide a scalable, inclusive blueprint for future ready education, one that countries around the world can adapt and make their own.