LinkedIn has launched a suite of new products that include an online learning platform — LinkedIn Learning — that the professional network says will enable individuals and organisations to achieve their objectives and aspirations, and help overcome challenges caused by the “ever-shrinking shelf-life of skills”.
In addition to LinkedIn Learning, LinkedIn has also revealed a desktop redesign, new search and long-form writing experiences and more efficient messaging features.
LinkedIn says its Learning platform combines the “industry-leading content from Lynda.com with LinkedIn’s professional data and network”.
“With more than 450 million member profiles and billions of engagements, we have a unique view of how jobs, industries, organisations and skills evolve over time. From this, we can identify the skills you need and deliver expert-led courses to help you obtain those skills. We’re taking the guesswork out of learning,” LinkedIn says in a blog.
{loadposition peter}“The pressure on individuals and organisations to adapt to change has never been greater. The skills that got you to where you are today are not the skills to prepare you for tomorrow. In fact, the shelf-life of skills is less than five years, and many of today’s fastest growing job categories didn’t even exist five years ago,” LinkedIn says.
To tackle these challenges, LinkedIn says LinkedIn Learning is built on three core pillars:
• World-class content: The library of 9,000+ digital courses are taught by industry experts and cover a wide range of business, creative and technical topics, from leadership “soft skills” to design principles to programming. LinkedIn is always evolving the Lynda.com library, adding at least 25 courses a week, and teaching the leading-edge skills one needs to stay current. Plus, there are courses in German, Spanish, Japanese and French.
• Data-driven personalisation: LinkedIn gets the right course in front of the user at the right time. Using the intelligence that comes with our network, LinkedIn Learning creates personalised recommendations, so learners can efficiently discover which courses are most relevant to their goals or job function. Organisations can use LinkedIn insights to customise multi-course Learning Paths to meet their specific needs. It also provides robust analytics and reporting to help measure learning effectiveness
• Anytime, anywhere convenience: It isn’t enough to know exactly which course to take – it also needs to be easy to take. The courses are broken into bite-sized segments that can be viewed anytime, on any device, online and off. Learning content is recommended throughout the LinkedIn.com experience, helping the user easily discover relevant courses. The content can be integrated with a learning management system.
“Learning and development professionals and learners are already realising value. Our pilot process for LinkedIn Learning included companies such as Bertelsmann, Box, Ellie Mae, NBCUniversal and Viacom – along with thousands of learners. We are just starting our journey and are thrilled with our partners’ experiences,” LinkedIn says.
During their pilot, LinkedIn says NBCUniversal saw that learners who use LinkedIn Learning once, “come back over and over”.
“It provides great content and recommendations, all through a great user experience,” said Terence Morley, NBCUniversal director of talent development.
“People wouldn’t be coming back unless the content and recommendations were good.”
According to Morley, it's the recommendations and positioning within a familiar online space where employees feel comfortable, that make LinkedIn Learning a “standout solution”. He said it enhances individual learning needs through the personalised nature of the platform, “something NBCUniversal learners agreed with”.
Here's what LinkedIn says about the suite of products, in addition to LinkedIn Lerning, it revealed at an event in San Francisco:
• Desktop Redesign: LinkedIn is bringing the experience of its flagship mobile app to the desktop experience – the largest redesign since the company’s inception. A new look and feel for the desktop offers a cleaner, simple and more intuitive way for members to quickly access the jobs, information and insights they need.
• Evolving content ecosystem: LinkedIn has made its biggest ever advancement of its feed, with changes including a new search function, videos from influencers and a brand new long-form writing experience.
• Making messaging smarter: With a 240% increase year-on-year in the number of messages sent, LinkedIn has previewed the new ability to message a connection wherever you may be navigating on the site, plus the ability to schedule a meeting and meeting room using bot technology.