Those "horrific training videos" are usually made to comply with some regulatory or insurance requirement, as opposed to being actual training. In this issue o

Those "horrific training videos" are usually made to comply with some regulatory or insurance requirement, as opposed to being actual training. In this issue of the economist they indicate that most of the people who are using MooCs are are already working and using them to increase their skills. While the people marketing MooCs may pitch it as a replacement for school, I don't think that's the reality for most people. Consequently I would suggest thinking of the "credentials problem" as how you demonstrate a new skill to an employer - I the answer may be not be a certificate at all, e.g. maybe a portfolio site, side project, etc.