Demand for online learning platforms is growing, a research and consulting firm, the e-learning market is on track to become a $300 billion industry by 2025, with 40% of demand coming from North America, driven by employee training needs. LinkedIn Learning's research has shown a drop in L&D leaders who cite budget constraints as a top concern for their organizations, and more than one-third believe their online learning investments will increase in the next year.
Udemy, an online learning platform developed in 2010, saw increasing demand for workplace learning solutions and created its Udemy for Business platform in response. Shelley Osborne, vice president of learning at Udemy, tellsLifeLabs Learning, which specializes in manager and leadership training, has doubled its client base every year for the past five years.
Part of this participation gap could be that employees aren't encouraged to invest in their skills at the same rate leaders are. A majority of L&D professionals say it's not a challenge getting executive buy-in to invest in employee learning, but just 27% of CEOs actively invite their employees to take advantage of such learning resources.
Robleh Kirce, head of coaching at LifeLabs Learning, says it makes sense that companies are more likely to invest in development at the senior leadership level, given they have a bigger impact on organizational performance.