The learntech platform BYJU's is currently valued at about 16.5 billion dollars and there are estimates that it can fetch upto 50 billion if it goes for an IPO now. Many learntech companies like Thinkific, Benchprep, Udemy etc. got millions of dollars of investment money pouring into them. Many consolidation efforts (M&A) like the Progress Group acquiring Grey Matter Learning are happening all across the industry. Post COVID, there are seismic shifts in the learning world.

This post is intended to answer the questions - Why are these shifts happening & what is in it for us?

Why are these shifts happening?

Impact of the pandemic

The pandemic locked all of us in our homes at such a short notice & caught us all off guard. There was a scramble to adapt to the new situation - businesses that relied purely on the physical transactions or presence had to see sudden drop in their revenues (think F&B, cinemas, tourism etc.) Those who could move to the digital space transitioned quite rapidly. This required newer ways of working & thinking about it. More people had time with them which means they could use to improve their skills. Signups increased for the online learning platforms.

Value of Skills/Skill gap

The digital transformation and Industry 4.0 (now 5.0 is already being talked about). There are fewer people with the right skills available in the market. With the rapid digitalization, new business models & new roles are getting carved out.

People with very little tech skills, had to be reskilled to newer ways of working to continue to remain gainfully employed. Even those who have some degree of tech skills, have to keep pace with the change & upskill themselves.

Given the scale, it requires a different approach to upskill & reskill the workforce where learntech solutions are paving the way.

Technology changes

Technologies like AI, Analytics, video communications have also matured so much & pushing the boundaries already. It is now WAY more easier to create a course online & make your presence felt. Knowledge which were only available with the higher academic institutions or Corporates, now became more common & popular. With higher adoption, the cost of technologies also have come down. With the technologies becoming more accessible to all, more people are able to now go online to sell their learning courses and other related services. More & more trainers are moving to synchronous online learning & even move to asynchronous methods.

ROI focus

Today college degrees, especially MBA degrees are losing its value. People like to earn skills and start applying it as soon as possible, than invest a lot of money to learn stuff that they may not use at all in life. Add the high cost of college degree (especially in the US) & the time it takes to repay student loans, college degrees are losing their value.

There is a growing trend among progressive organizations to ask proof of skills than mere education. This has tilted the balance towards acquiring of the right kind of skills (read tech skills mostly). Online learning platforms like Coursera have seen multifold increase in enrolments.

Convenience

Gone are the days when you have to search for the right expert in a field, long for opportunities to listen to them. Learning was also traditionally seen as only the classroom type or similar environment where you learn formally. Today, learning has taken many forms - microlearning, podcasts, TED-type talks, infographics, simulations, games - the list & its variations are endless. Learning has become less formal now. Learning was limited to the classroom - from the teacher to the learner or at the most some classroom interactions with co-learners. Students now have access to industry forums, experts, practitioners etc. Access to information is no more a constraint. Assimilating the information & application to one's context is easier today through the multitude of tools. When the university can come to you, why do you have to go university?

Investor actions

The future of work is changing already. Traditional roles are getting replaced with newer ones. The Investing Community has understood this mega trend of digitalization of learning & changed learning needs due to digitalization. The global education technology market size was valued at USD 89.49 billion in 2020 and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9% from 2021 to 2028. Global e-learning market is valued at about $250 billion and expected to grow at 21% to reach about $1 trillion in 2027. This is a phenomenal opportunity for the Investing Community and lot of action is due to it.

What does it mean for us?

This is the best time to be in the Learning Industry, lots of innovation in technology and methods of instruction. There is a host of opportunities to tap onto.

For the Learner, there are so many options available - access to content is easy. However, there is a flood of content which can confuse the efforts of the learner if not careful. There are a host of tools (many free/cheap) to tap onto.

In short, let us ride the wave to make the world a better place.

I am curious to listen to your thoughts, do write to me.