In our newly remote world, you can learn anytime from anywhere. It’s a great equalizer. From the … [+]
getty
While we were worried about the virus outbreak, the world changed. It felt like businesses, work and personal lives transformed overnight and pushed us hard into the future. We are now in a fast-moving, digital and innovative online world.
For many people, this is exhilarating. New jobs and careers have been created. Entrepreneurs started companies at record rates. Lives are made easier with app-based food deliveries, online shopping, creative and mundane tasks taken care of and almost all our needs answered via technology platforms.
The downside is that those who don’t possess the right skills risk falling behind. This could lead to not being able to find a suitable job or being passed over for promotion. To remedy this matter, companies are offering upskilling and training to teach their employees new skills. They run the gamut, including software coding, cybersecurity, data analytics, gaining credentials and accreditation and taking a variety of self-improvement courses.
A leader in this space is Coursera, founded by Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. Their vision was to offer “life-transforming learning experiences to learners around the world.” The educational company offers more than 4,000 courses to around 75 million people. About 100-plus Fortune 500 companies and 6,400 campuses, businesses and governments rely upon Coursera to access its catalog of world-class learning. The company offers a wide range of educational opportunities, such as “hands-on projects and courses to job-ready certificates, career credentials and degree programs.”
Here are some of the general Coursera statistics:
- There are 92 million registered learners (more than 5 million globally), 17.3 million learners in the U.S.
- Coursera has over 5,200 courses, 600-plus specializations, more than 2,100 projects, 70-plus certificates (15 entry-level) and 33 degrees.
- It has more than 175 university and 75-plus industry partners globally.
- More than 6,500 institutions across 130 countries have used Coursera to upskill and reskill employees, citizens and students.
- Some of its 2,900 companies consist of eBay, Reliance Industries (India), Zurich Insurance and Expedia.
- Some of its 230 government entities include Commonwealth of Learning, National Training Institute Barbados, New York State Department of Labor, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the National Institute of Health.
- Some of its 3,600 campuses consist of Oklahoma State Regents (U.S.), Universidad de Guadalajara (Mexico), University of Jeddah (Saudi), KAUST (Saudi), …….