While Indians focus on communication skills, Italians are learning guitar and Photoshop amid lockdown

People around the world are learning how to work from home and stay productive amid the Coronavirus lockdown. Online learning has seen a massive surge in the past two months 
Pic: Udemy.com
Pic: Udemy.com

Udemy, one of the world’s largest online learning destination that helps students, businesses, and governments gain the skills they need to compete in today’s economy, on Monday released Online Education Steps Up: What the World is Learning (from Home), a special data report that provides a comprehensive look at online learning and teaching around the globe as the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown orders, and social distancing impact the world.

The report segregated the courses that people have opted during the lockdown for by the countries they live in. While people in the US are gravitating toward creative skills like Adobe Illustrator (326 per cent increase), the Spanish are taking Piano lessons (466 per cent) and focused on Investing (262 per cent). People in India are learning Business Fundamentals (281 per cent) and Communication Skills (606 per cent) while Italians are taking courses on Guitar (431 per cent), Copywriting (418 per cent), and Photoshop (347 per cent).

The new report analyses global trends on the platform showing how people are turning to online learning to upskill, stay busy, and increase productivity. “Udemy’s mission to improve lives through learning has never been more vital than during today’s challenging times,” said Darren Shimkus, President, Udemy for Business. “We remain committed to providing people and businesses around the world with affordable access to the skills they need today and in the future. The trends we’ve seen over the last two months represent a significant acceleration in the transformation to a new Future of Work.” As remote working becomes the new normal, the findings reveal significantly increased demand globally across every segment:


- 425 per cent increase in enrollments for consumers
- 55 per cent increase in course creation by instructors
- 80 per cent increase in usage from businesses and governments  
 

The State of Online Learning
The report points out that the online learning enrollments have significantly increased all over the world with surges in Spain (280 per cent increase), India (200 per cent increase), and Italy (320 per cent increase) after shelter-in-place orders took effect. In addition to strong growth in technical categories like Web Development (60 per cent increase) and Data Science (58 per cent increase), online learning is increasingly being used for lifestyle and health support, with courses on Pilates (402 per cent increase) and Meditation (111 per cent) surging. Strong global growth in top-ranking professional skills includes Neural Networks (61 per cent increase), Communication Skills (131 per cent), and Growth Mindset (206 per cent).


People are also focusing on learning new instruments as a result of which music lessons like Ukulele has seen 292 per cent increase and Blues Guitar (190 per cent). There is also increased enrollment in courses that parents can take with their children, like Art for Kids and Coding for Kids, as they adapt to parenting in this new world.
 
The State of Learning within Organisations
The COVID-19 pandemic has translated into increased reliance on online learning as companies shift to remote work and move away from travel and in-person events and training. There has been an immense surge in enrollments in courses related to Telecommuting (21,598 per cent increase) and Virtual Teams (1,523 per cent), as well as Decision Making (277 per cent), Self-Discipline (237 per cent), and Stress Management (235 per cent).

The State of online teaching
In addition to increases in course enrollments, the findings also reveal that there's been significant growth in the number of courses being published.  The uptick in course creation may be a result of several factors, including possibly having additional free time during the lockdown, needing a way to move in-person teaching online, or working to supplement or replace lost income. There is also an increase in course creation as experts around the world are looking to share their knowledge as well as supplement their income through online teaching.
 

Categories with the highest surge in new courses include Office Productivity (159 per cent increase), Health and Fitness (84 per cent), IT & Software (77 per cent), and Personal Development (61 per cent). "As a result of this pandemic, we are all being forced to learn. Some of us are learning how to work from home and how to work from home with kids at home. Others are learning out of necessity because of job loss or an uncertain professional future. Learning requires effort, but it can help us make progress from where we are today to where we want to be. We are in a unique time in history where a platform like Udemy can provide us with more opportunities for learning than ever before," said Padraig Nash, PhD, Director of Learning Science and Instructional Design at Udemy.

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