The challenge of the ever-shrinking shelf life of skills is about to be overcome by LinkedIn, with the launch of a new platform. LinkedIn Learning is the fruit of the company’s $1.5bn acquisition of Lynda.com.
Not just a place to connect, LinkedIn wants to be viewed as a place to learn.
The business social network – which was acquired by Microsoft this summer for a whopping $26bn – has developed a strategy to be a kind of online academy for skills.
‘The shelf-life of skills is less than five years, and many of today’s fastest growing job categories didn’t even exist five years ago’
– RYAN ROSLANKSY, LINKEDIN
Last year, it acquired Lynda.com for $1.5bn. Lynda.com was co-founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin and provides a library of premium skills content, offering a massive library of high-quality courses via a subscriptions service.
Last night in San Francisco, LinkedIn revealed LinkedIn Learning which combines content from Lynda.com.
The LinkedIn Learning service has a library of more than 9,000 digital courses taught by industry experts. It covers everything from technical subjects, including programming, to creative subjects and leadership “soft skills.” This also includes language courses such as German, Spanish, Japanese and French.
Taking the guesswork out of learning
“With more than 450m member profiles and billions of engagements, we have a unique view of how jobs, industries, organisations and skills evolve over time,” said Ryan Roslansky, vice president of product at LinkedIn.
“From this, we can identify the skills you need and deliver expert-led courses to help you obtain those skills. We’re taking the guesswork out of learning.
“The pressure on individuals and organisations to adapt to change has never been greater. The skills that got you to where you are today are not the skills to prepare you for tomorrow. In fact, the shelf-life of skills is less than five years, and many of today’s fastest growing job categories didn’t even exist five years ago.”
As well as the launch of LinkedIn Learning, the social network revealed a new desktop design that reflects the experience of the company’s flagship mobile app.
It also previewed new messaging functionality that incorporates AI bot technology to link in with connections, or even schedule a meeting or meeting room.
Online learning. Image: Andrey Popov/Shutterstock
