Gone are the days when, to learn anything new, you needed access to a good library. Today, with technology meeting education, the world of e-learning has opened its doors like never before! The worldwide e-learning market is projected to reach an unprecedented $325 Billion by 2025.
These days, in order to stay current in their respective industries, professionals are expected to constantly acquire new knowledge and to keep upskilling. The skills that got them the job, are not the ones that will help them get promoted. A recent LinkedIn report states that 62% of professionals are daunted by the rapid pace of skill-upgrades that employers demand. They are often seen scrambling to take up courses that they assume will help them get a leg up the career ladder. The choice of the course is often, however, without clear intent and information.
That brings us to the question: How does one choose the “right course” and acquire crucial skills that are necessary for career growth? Does it involve accessing Google, typing in a general “popular” search term and taking up the first course that it throws up out of millions of results? Quite a few people do this. However, there is no link between current job prospects and course popularity. A course may be good, may have amazing content too, but if landing a job is the learners’ aim, the course might not help.
Therefore, picking the right skill to hone is essential to reach the next rung on the ladder. A lot of research is needed. This involves reaching out to people in personal networks or professional ones such as LinkedIn and looking up job postings on company websites. All this involves time and effort – exactly what one is short of, what with stringent deadlines at the workplace and endless errands to run at home!
To solve this problem, what if we could have a magic genie in the form of a smart recommendation engine that, in a few seconds, tells us exactly what courses or skills will help us advance our careers? Yes! It is indeed the need of the hour!
The case for a smart recommendation engine:
- Intent-based learning – A smart recommendation engine can help learners identify their current standing with respect to skills and pay scales. It can identify the skill sets required to move onward and upward, along with the expected pay range. Instead of choosing courses ad-hoc, knowing that a particular skill can enable career advancement, a learner can choose the right course with the right intent.
- Better completion rates – Seeing the growing demand for e-learning courses, trainers are busy making more courses and introducing new segments. However, studies show that the average completion rate of online courses is less than 10% worldwide. Tying learning to the actual market need for such knowledge helps in the right ‘match-making’ between trainers and learners. This acts as an incentive for learners to complete courses taken up by them.
- Discovery of right course providers by learners – Having a smart recommendation engine that specializes in recommending the most relevant courses to learners will help connect learners to the right content providers and trainers who offer high-quality courses. This would be irrespective of whether the trainers are associated with large universities or popular learning platforms. Excellent visibility for their courses to millions of learners is powerful motivation for top notch trainers.
The skills acquired as people navigate their career paths play a massive role in shaping their success stories. Smart recommendations engines can empower individuals with the most relevant, accurate and timely information that will enable career decisions backed by informed choices.