Online learning surges as people look for ways to be productive at home

People around the world are learning how to work from home and stay productive in response to COVID-19, Udemy reveals.

As remote working becomes the new normal, the findings reveal significantly increased demand globally across every segment:

• 425% increase in enrollments for consumers
• 55% increase in course creation by instructors
• 80% increase in usage from businesses and governments

The state of online learning

Online learning surges as people look for ways to be productive while staying at home. Strong global growth in top-ranking professional skills includes neural networks (61% increase), communication skills (131%), and growth mindset (206%).

Demand also correlates with shelter-in-place orders around the world. For example, the data shows a 130% growth in enrollments in the U.S., 200% in India, 320% in Italy, and 280% in Spain.

• People in the U.S. are gravitating toward creative skills like Adobe Illustrator (326% increase)
• The Spanish are focused on investing (262%)
• People in India are learning business fundamentals (281%) and communication skills (606%)
• Italians are taking courses on copywriting (418%) and Photoshop (347%)

The state of learning within organizations

COVID-19 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% increase) and virtual teams (1,523%), as well as decision making (277%), self discipline (237%), and stress management (235%).

The state of online teaching

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% increase), health and fitness (84%), IT & Software (77%), and personal development (61%).