Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

2| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

Businesses Are Facing Challenges in the Global EconomySustained low unemployment. Global economic uncertainty. Rapid technological changes that mean recent grads’ skill sets are already stale the day they get their diplomas.

It adds up to a high-pressure, competitive environment in which the only way to be prepared is to continuously invest in your people in flexible, innovative ways through a commitment to deep, transformative learning.

In this e-book we’ll share:

The common workforce challenges facing companies across industries.

Findings on the most in-demand skill sets, based on data from our 28 million learners.

How global L&D leaders are using Coursera to maintain their competitive edge.

3| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

What Are the Biggest Challenges?

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 20th CEO Survey, global businesses are facing a common set of challenges:

Unrelenting Technological Advancement The accelerating pace of technological developments, constant cyberthreats, the challenge of maintaining stakeholder trust in the event of a breach, and the promise and peril of artificial intelligence are all applying constant pressure to established players and startups alike.

An Unstable Business EnvironmentChanging business regulation, an increased focus on national rather than global economic relationships, and unpredictable tax policies make workforce planning more challenging than ever.

Fresh Sources of Competition Business threats are arising from nontraditional market players, both globally and in local markets.

4| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

These seemingly disparate challenges actually come down to a single challenge: constant pressure to maintain and develop workers’ skills. As workforces become increasingly mobile, the old L&D models are struggling to keep pace, driving global leaders to look for new ways to deliver meaningful learning opportunities to workers in flexible ways that better fit the demands of their careers and lifestyles.

As a result, corporations are turning to new models. In 2010, the global digital learning market hit $32.1 billion, and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants estimated the global digital learning market at $91 billion in 2014. According to Global Market Insights, this market was estimated at $150 billion in 2016 and is expected to hit a compound annual growth rate of 5 percent in the next seven years.

Anxiety over the availability of key skills is rising in line with parallel worries about the speed of technological change. The talent demands now stretch from industrial engineers for robotics work to executives with a background in analytics and innovation.

Jon TerryGlobal Financial Services HR Consulting Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers

| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap 4

5| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

What Are the Most In-Demand Skill Sets?Companies are focusing training on the new skills that will help them answer their biggest challenges. We reviewed the data from our database of 28 million learners and found these takeaways.

Keeping Pace with TechnologyExamples include full-stack web development, data science, machine learning, and cybersecurity (for tech teams and nontech teams).

Responding to a Changing Business EnvironmentSkills like leadership, understanding changing financial markets, and building career success are also seen as crucial.

Keeping Up with the CompetitionSkills such as creativity and agility are needed to help the next generation of leaders adapt in a constantly changing business landscape.

of CEOs say leadership is a very important skill for their workforces, but 35 percent say it’s difficult to recruit for leadership skills.Source: PwC 2017 Global CEO Survey

88%

6| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

Computer ScienceTops the ListWe reviewed Coursera course data and found that employees at companies across all industries are most focused on computer science.

23%Computer science

Business

Data science

Social sciences

Arts and humanities

Physical science and engineering

Life science

Math and logic

19%

18%

9%

8%

7%

6%

4%

Most Popular Courses Among Enterprise Learners

7| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

Data Science

Python for Everybody

Excel to MySQL

Data Analysis & Presentation Skills

Deep Learning

Top 5 Specializations for Women:

Deep Learning

Python for Everybody

Data Science

Applied Data Science with Python

Machine Learning

Top 5 Specializations for Men:

Specializations are a series of related courses that are designed to help learners master a specific topic, which can help companies quickly transform their workforce.

8| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

North America:

Top 5 Courses by Geography

EMEA:

APAC:

Learning How to Learn

Neural Networks & Deep Learning

Programming for Everybody

Intro to Mathematical Thinking

Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Technologies

Learning How to Learn

Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Technologies

Intro to Mathematical Thinking

Neural Networks & Deep Learning

English for Career Development

Learning How to Learn

Programming for Everybody

Algorithms, Part I

Neural Networks & Deep Learning

Intro to Mathematical Thinking

9| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

Top Courses by Industry

Top Coursera courses taken by enterprise learners across different industries:

Telecommunications

Financial Services

Insurance

Health Care

Technology

Intro to Marketing

Bitcoin & Cryptocurrencies

Learning How to Learn

Learning How to Learn

Algorithms, Part 1

Not only do employers understand the challenges of fighting the skills gap, it’s clear that employees do as well. Employees are looking for the edge that computer science, deep learning, data analysis and other forward-looking skills can give them in an increasingly competitive workplace.

10| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

How L&D Leaders Can Address the Skills Gap

Global L&D leaders are constantly searching for ways to help their teams re-skill and up-skill to meet those challenges.

Lorri FreifeldEditor-in-Chief, Training Magazine

L&D leaders are focused on:Integrating different disciplines and functions to work in nimble, mission-focused teams.

Shifting the culture to focus on rapid learning.

Aligning incentives to promote collaboration and risk-taking.

Banking and finance companies have seen — and continue to see — rapid advances in technology, both in terms of automated services for consumers and technology that employees are using. This affects not only the systems throughout the organization but the way a company does things overall. Because of these changes, many companies are constantly updating their training, as well as the method in which they deliver it.

11| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

How Coursera Helps Transform TalentNo matter what skill sets you’re focused on, transformative learning requires high-quality content, delivered in a flexible format that meets employers’ and workers’ needs.

For Learners

Courses created and delivered by world-renowned professors from top universities.

100% online and mobile-friendly format, with iOS & Android apps.

Instant feedback and auto-graded assignments, coupled with engaging discussion forums.

Certificates that highlight new skills and achievements.

For Organizations

The ability to hand-pick courses to create customized programs aligned with your company’s exact needs.

An easy-to-use dashboard effectively and efficiently manages learners.

Progress tracking that delivers analytics in real time.

12| Data Insights: How Your Employees Are Fighting the Skills Gap

ConclusionAs the global business environment evolves, it’s become imperative that we find new ways to fight the skills gap. We dug into our database of 28 million learners and learned about the kinds of skills companies and workers are gaining to meet emerging business challenges. Now is the time to make a major investment in your talent, whether you’re upskilling tech workers, training savvier teams, or grooming the next generation of leaders. Coursera can help.

Coursera helps companies around the globe transform the skills of their workforce and stay competitive through curated, online learning experiences developed by the leading universities of the world.

To learn more, contact us at coursera.org/enterprise.

Build Your Team’s Skills

CALL TO ACTION