Udemy, a prominent AI-driven skills acceleration platform, recently made an announcement about forging a strategic partnership with Workera, an AI-driven skills verification platform. The main objective of this collaboration is to offer a comprehensive and data-backed approach to understanding employee skills and measuring learning and development efforts.
As a result of the partnership, Workera’s thorough skill certifications, aimed at ascertaining exactly what employees know and can do, will be integrated with Udemy’s rich catalog of courses on various subjects conducted by subject-matter experts. Effective learning will be achieved with an end-to-end solution enabling organizations to diagnose the status of employees today and track progress.
“We’re combining rigorous assessment with the familiar and trusted global learning platform that Udemy provides, and it will be a very powerful and data-driven solution that will enable businesses to cultivate more resilient and more innovative teams,” said Hugo Sarrazin, President and CEO at Udemy.
The news comes against a background of an exploding market demand for up-skilling and reskilling in the wake of AI dramatically transforming job requirements and talent needs. According to a recent Global Learning and Skills Trends Report released by Udemy, there is an organizational focus on developing applicable skills, and AI skills topped that list.
Implications for the HR Industry
- Increased Strategic and Data-Driven Talent Management
HR leaders, on the other hand, perceive it as a shift from making skills decisions based on intuition to ones that are measurable and data-driven. By that measure, businesses will be able to accurately assess skills proficiency and relate learning outcomes with business outcomes.
It also enables talent decisions at all levels, ranging from recruitment and internal talent movement, talent reviews, succession planning, and workforce planning. It becomes possible for HR departments to figure out not only what skills are required but also who possess them and what skills should be developed.
- More Effective Skills-to-Learning Alignment
By incorporating learning and assessment as an integral business process, HR departments can make sure that learning efforts are directly linked with business needs. As opposed to offering learning as a standalone solution, it can be based on a gap that arises from an assessment – making learning an accountable process.
It also facilitates a culture of continuous learning, as employees will have a clear understanding of gaps within skills and on exactly how to develop them, as opposed to traditional catalogs.
- Improving Effectiveness and Agility Regarding Employees
Skills verification using AI offered by Workera lets companies have a very detailed understanding of skills and capabilities within their workforce. Companies facing rapid technological shifts, be it cloud, AI, or digital, will find it very useful. By skills verification, they can also predict what skills will be in demand and prepare a plan for reskilling.
Impacts on Businesses within a Skills-Based Economy
Improving Competitive Advantage with Learning Effect
Companies that incorporate skills measurement and learning platforms into their business models are better equipped with a skills readiness advantage. When an organization identifies its authentic skills and gaps and can address them effectively, it becomes more adaptable and better equipped to adapt effectively and efficiently to market changes. It is particularly useful in sectors with accelerated skills developments, including tech, finance, healthcare, and consulting.
ROI on Investments on Training
Skills intelligence can assist in relating these training efforts to business metrics. Finance and business executives will be better equipped to appreciate learning program impact on getting more productivity, innovation, and customer satisfaction. L&D will no longer be viewed as a cost center but as an enabler.
Faster Cyber Transformation
As businesses embark on digital business transformation, an understanding about skills within an organization, and more so in skill sets surrounding AI, automation, data analytics, and cloud computing, becomes imperative. It will enable an organization to learn and adopt new technologies faster.
Talent Attraction and Retention Support
The modern-day labor force, and more so Millennials and Generation Z, want opportunities for growth and learning. Companies that show a commitment to learning and developing skills are more likely to attract and retain excellent employees.
Conclusion
The collaboration between Udemy and Workera marks a significant step forward in terms of how companies approach talent development, measurement, and utilization within their talent pools. Embedding skills intelligence within the learning platform allows HR and business leaders to make better-informed decisions and effectively fill skills gaps. As the rate at which technological change occurs continues to accelerate, it will be an ever-greater determinant and hallmark of organizational resilience and success and a cornerstone of work readiness that an understanding and leveraging of the appropriate skills will be.
