Everything seems to be moving online. Digital migration has taken the world by storm and education hasn’t been spared. But how big is the opportunity offered by online education? Well, we can’t quantify that but we know it is quite a chance for entrepreneurs.
Udacity, edX, Coursera, and Khan Academy are some of the leading online course providers today. There are thousands more like those providing eye-opening courses and training. While some will cost you money, others are free and provide the modern skills you need to maneuver in the job market.
Market projections
According to Global Market Insights, the eLearning market is currently valued at $250 billion. The figure is expected to rise to $1 trillion by 2027. This is a 27% p.a. and shows the demand that the eLearning market has.
Academic and corporate eLearning, as well as governmental studies, make this field valuable. It is important to understand that corporates value employees that continuously put in the effort to grow their competencies.
With the rise of Covid-19, more studies went online and the value of this sector rose even more. Today, most corporate employees are flooding the online scene to improve their skills. They’re doing both paid and free courses.
There are thousands of career paths available today. Each of them has specialists and these experts have a lot to share. That is why institutions hire these individuals to share their experiences. The lessons can come in form of text, videos, or both.
In the next few years, more of these experts are expected to come on board. Organizations are encouraging their own to mentor others and that’s why most of these training are increasing in number.
Now, previously trainers mostly relied on workshops and physical meetings. Today, they have reduced the overreliance on physical training to online ones. They’ve also resolved to charge some of these sustainability training.
It costs a lot to organize these events. Some organizations do not have enough money to pay for these events. That is why charging for the events will help them organize more in the future. The proceeds can be used to motivate the trainers as well as pay event organizers who work day and night to make these events successful.
Elearning market trends
According to https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/elearning-market-size, the eLearning sector is experiencing an uptake in consumption. Corporate and educational learning take the bigger chunk of this market. The rise has been experienced within the past five years and hit its climax in 2020 with the rise of covid-19.
As the number of schools and businesses increases, the need for the adoption of online education increases. Teachers and employers have resolved to this kind of education to increase engagement and experience for its students and workers.
According to a report by gminsights.com, the eLearning market had reached a high of $250 billion. Technology and the different providers online are some of the most common topics discussed online. Healthcare and governmental topics are also discussed often.
The Online Market Growth Drivers
The online market is growing at a tremendous rate. Several factors have led to the growth of this industry. But, different regions of the world have varying growth stimulants. While it may be identical in some cases, you will realize every region of the world has one or two factors unique to them.
For instance, Europe and North America share three market growth drivers. One of them is the rise in demand for healthcare. The increase has seen more people flock to the online space to feed their hunger for healthcare knowledge.
Content digitization has also seen the online market grow. Today, the world knows anything can be found online. If you want any information today, it is readily available online. Some have packaged their sites well enough to earn from educating the online market.
Some information will require you to pay some amount to access it. Well, it is free for some. Depending on the effort used to produce the content. For instance, educational materials for higher levels of education will cost you quite an amount to purchase.
Besides, you may take more time in finding such content. This is because the details have been well researched and it took the publishers and owner of the content a lot of time and effort to produce the information.
Most organizations have also switched to cloud-based systems. That has pushed the demand for online market education further up in Europe and North America. The switch also saw a need for the acquisition of new skills increase.
In that regard, most employees had to go back to sharpen their skills and refresh a little bit. This is to match the changing needs of the workspace. The changes have also seen other organizations become more competitive.
What that means to other employers and employees is that they need to pull up their socks to meet the growing competition. The online education space is the most convenient path at the moment. And for that reason, they’ve moved online to improve their skills.
On the other hand, Asia has seen the higher education sector significantly grow. Organizations in these middle east countries are also leveling up their training programs. In addition, there has been a hike in the demand for online courses.
For African countries, governments are actively creating programs online to give their citizens opportunities. For that reason, their people are moving online to meet these opportunities.
Other than the opportunities, most of these African countries have experienced a rise in the penetration of the internet and digital learning. This has seen more people move their operations online.
Education for Survival
It is a common saying, that education is the key to success. Well, that’s the truth but doesn’t come with any guarantees. Other than gaining that academic knowledge, you need survival skills to move through life today.
The online market has provided a chance for people to learn more than just schoolwork. For instance, digital marketing is a skill in demand at the moment. It has been used widely by individuals even to promote those online training working today.
But the online market has also experienced its challenges. For instance, the lack of person-to-person interaction has seen the seriousness that education should be treated with drop.
For instance, some students claim to attend virtual classes yet they just log in to their devices and get lost. They never attend the classes not attempt to learn. That means some online students finish courses without learning what’s required of them.
That means the graduation of half-baked professionals. This reduces the effectiveness of this training. On the flip side, the situation has given many people an opportunity to work as they study. In the end, they add to their competencies and become better professionals.
Conclusion
Slow internet connectivity and adaptability challenges in some countries have slowed down the growth of online education markets. But that has not stopped the global growth of this market. That is why it continues to boom even with the challenges around it. With time, we will see more opportunities and the demand is likely to grow further in the next 5-10 years.