Udemy, the online learning platform, has announced the launch of its new Badging offering as part of its Integrated Skills Framework methodology. This new feature aims to help organizations future-proof their workforce by assessing their current technical skills landscape, identifying gaps, and providing employees with an effective way to acquire and validate skills mastery.
Through its partnership with 1EdTech, Udemy is bringing the Open Badges standard to its platform, allowing employees to focus on course content aligned with the most in-demand technical certifications and verifiable badges like AWS, Azure, and CompTIA.
The Integrated Skills Framework and Badging capabilities address the urgent need for specialized skills in organizations, with a reported 87% of leaders stating significant skills gaps within their workforce. Experts predict that over 85 million job positions could go unfilled by 2030. To combat this challenge, 98% of executives are adopting a skills-based organizational model.
Stephanie Stapleton Sudbury, President of Udemy Business, said, One of the biggest challenges currently facing our enterprise customers is their inability to confidently assess and validate the technical skills landscape within their organization, ensuring their employees possess the necessary skills to help them achieve strategic business outcomes both today and in the future.
Udemy’s Badging offering, combined with the Integrated Skills Framework, supports three critical phases of skill-building: discovery, preparation, and demonstration. By providing organizations with a holistic way to assess their skills landscape, Udemy aims to help businesses make informed decisions regarding their learning and development needs.
Customers have already been leveraging Udemy for certification preparation, with over 10 million enrollments in IT certification training courses in the past year alone. For example, a large professional services organization upskilled more than 4,500 employees to meet client demands for cloud computing expertise, achieving an impressive 84% first-time pass rate through Udemy’s customized learning paths.
David Koehn, Vice President of Product at Udemy Business, highlighted the importance of measuring skills impact through verifiable badges. He said, Through our Integrated Skills Framework and the introduction of Badging capabilities, businesses can measure impact not just by minutes learned but rather by the verifiable badges earned, ensuring their employees demonstrate skills mastery.
Udemy’s Badging capabilities are initially available to subscription customers, with the certification preparation center becoming accessible to all Udemy learners in the coming months.
Udemy continues to improve lives through learning, offering flexible and effective skill development to individuals and organizations. With their new Badging offering, Udemy aims to help organizations bridge the skills gap and equip their workforce with the necessary skills for success in the ever-evolving job market.
