Accenture announced that it will be acquiring Udacity, a digital education pioneer with expertise in the development and delivery of proprietary technology courses. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Udacity’s team of more than 230 professionals will join Accenture LearnVantage, a new service that provides the company’s clients with technology learning and training services to reskill and upskill their people in technology, data and AI. The acquisition is part of Accenture’s larger effort to invest $1 billion in LearnVantage over next three years. It comes at a time when the demand for technology skill development has risen, especially around AI and generative AI.

With the new investment and acquisition, Accenture is tapping into the growing need for developing the right tech skills in the industry. An Accenture research points out that business leaders consider inability to upskill their workforces as the No. 1 challenge, with 51% of organizations starting to see negative impacts from worsening IT skills shortages.

The acquisition will bring to Accenture Udacity’s capabilities in integrating proprietary content, expert services and scalable learning technology while seamlessly bridging the gap between online education and workplace relevance, the company stated. 

Since its founding in 2011, Udacity has evolved from primarily consumer-focused to a talent transformation platform bringing customer value creation through career development in AI and tech. Through its network of more than 1,400 experts and a vast library of exclusive content co-created with industry leaders, Udacity has served more than 21 million registered learners in 195 countries, providing localized course offerings in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Korean and Spanish. In a crowded market, Udacity has differentiated itself through its combination of high-quality content and ‘human in the loop’ learning, coupled with an outcome-focused approach.

“The rise of generative AI represents one of the most transformative changes in how work gets done and is driving a growing need for enterprises to train and upskill people in cloud, data and AI as they build their digital core and reinvent their enterprises,” said Kishore Durg, global lead of Accenture LearnVantage. 

“As we join forces with Accenture, we are thrilled to embark on this next chapter of our journey. Together, we are dedicated to delivering impactful and cutting-edge tech education that enables individuals and organizations to unlock their potential,” said Kai Roemmelt, CEO of Udacity. “

The post Accenture to acquire Udacity in a bid to cash in on the tech education market  appeared first on CIO Dimension.

Udemy, an online skills marketplace and learning platform, released key insights ahead of the one-year anniversary of the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, revealing how global organizations and professionals have embraced and implemented Generative AI over the past year, providing an in-depth look into the impact of emerging tech skills in the workplace.

“As we have observed, generative AI skills will lead to the rise of new roles and industries while simultaneously impacting overall corporate culture,” said Vinay Pradhan, Senior Director and Country Manager for India at Udemy. “Businesses will need to adapt to the new wave of flexible and effective skill development to make their workforce future-ready.”

Key findings from Udemy data collected between ChatGPT’s launch on November 30, 2022, through October 31, 2023, indicate how the technology has been leveraged globally over the last year:

• Nearly 800 instructors created and published more than 1,000 courses related to ChatGPT on the Udemy platform
• Udemy has more than 2.2 million enrollments in ChatGPT courses, with 557K+ enrollments in India.
• Udemy courses about ChatGPT have been developed in 25 languages with the most number of courses consumed in English amongst other languages.
• The highest number of enrollments in ChatGPT courses are from learners in India, the U.S., Japan, Mexico and the U.K.

Broader data trends on professionals learning generative AI reveal:

• The top-ten industries where organizations are empowering their employees with generative AI skills are: Professional Services, Consulting Services, Technology, Manufacturing, Retail, Financial Services, Entertainment & Media, Education, Government and Life Sciences.

• The most popular generative AI courses focus on Midjourney, AI art, Python, and ChatGPT prompts. The Q2 Global Workplace Learning Index also highlighted how AI learning is expanding into other functional fields such as marketing, HR, sales and project management.

The recent 2024 Global Learning & Skills Trends Report by Udemy highlighted that generative AI could help automate up to 30% of current work hours by 2030, contributing an estimated $15 trillion to the global economy. The Udemy platform witnessed a 60% increase in AI-related training over the past year and demand for ChatGPT courses surged 5,226% in Q1 2023 alone, demonstrating how organizations are prioritizing skills acquisition to optimize business outcomes.

“Globally, organizations are adopting generative AI in a purposeful and responsible manner, propelling workforce transformation and cultivating a culture that nurtures agility, resilience and competitiveness,” said Greg Brown, President and CEO at Udemy. “Cutting-edge solutions powered by generative AI have endless potential. At Udemy, we are excited to empower corporations with courses and curated learning paths on emerging skills and lead the transformation to a skills-based economy in this ever-evolving landscape.”

At Udemy’s recent FWD event, business leaders and practitioners from top global organizations gathered to share strategies for excelling in this transition to a generative AI era, including:

• Ensuring all employees have an understanding of generative AI. As companies continue to embrace new technologies and integrate them into transformation strategies, many jobs can be displaced and reshaped. The World Economic Forum predicts 97 million net-new roles are expected by 2025 – understanding the opportunity with generative AI will help organizations plan for the future and ensure they continue to be effective and efficient.

• Using AI as a catalyst for the transition to a skills-based economy. Managing talent is becoming less about degree requirements, and more about understanding where there are skill gaps in an organization and strategically closing those gaps, often with existing talent. AI can help do that at scale and can help upskill and reskill team members.

• Developing strong leaders at scale who possess the skill, resilience and agility to lead through transformational change, resulting in competitive advantage. Organizations must nurture leaders who are able to identify skill gaps and embrace emerging opportunities in the field of generative AI, and to effectively coach and lead teams through significant change. Leaders must ensure the fear of AI taking over roles does not build up and teams embrace the new technology versus reject it.

“AI is changing the way we work and learn, with our data highlighting efficiency and effectiveness as the top goals for organizations wanting to leverage generative AI tools,” said CEO and Founder, Jim Lundy of Aragon Research. “Organizations need to continue evaluating the right AI solutions that address accuracy, reliability, security and privacy concerns to expand their use cases beyond translations and media generation.”

The post ChatGPT’s first year: Udemy data shows unprecedented demand for GenAI skills appeared first on CIO Dimension.