Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Machine Learning Rank Among Top Skills Most in Demand, According to New Workplace Survey from Emeritus
Learners Realized a Nearly 20% Salary Boost from Professional Education
Boston – July 22, 2021 – Artificial intelligence is cited as the top upskilling need among professionals seeking online continuing education, according to a recent survey of worldwide professionals conducted by Emeritus, a global company providing elite online professional learning to companies and individuals around the world. The Emeritus 2021 Global Career Impact Survey assessed the effects of professional learning on the careers of 2,200 professionals across 75 different countries who took the company’s Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs). The results underscore a major desire among workers across the globe to become more technically proficient in the post-pandemic job market.
Following AI as the most important upskilling need in their organization (39%), respondents also scored business analytics (33%), data analytics (32%) and machine learning (32%) at the top of vital skills. When asked how such education programs positively impacted their businesses, respondents ranked tech-focused skills at the top, citing an increased use of innovation (30%), advancements in digital transformation (27%) and increased use of technology (24%).
According to the World Economic Forum, by 2022, 54% of employees will require re-skilling and 72% of employers are likely to retrain employees to address shifting skills, underscoring the relevancy of professional education. A definitive conclusion of the Emeritus survey is that upskilling through professional education is not only relevant, but directly tied to advancement of work status. In fact, on average, individuals taking a professional education course saw on average a 17% salary increase after completing the program.
“Upskilling in areas directly tied to technology, like Artificial Intelligence and data analytics, is in high demand in today’s workforce,” said Ashwin Damera, co-founder and CEO of Emeritus. “Also noteworthy is the direct tie between professional education and an increase in salary. This career boost is just one specific aspect of the tremendous value today’s professional education – namely SPOCs – provides to those in the workplace.”
Two forthcoming courses from Emeritus are designed to meet this desire for tech-driven upskilling, including: an Advanced Business Analytics Course in partnership with The Wharton School that enables participants to master and apply tools around predictive, descriptive and prescriptive business analytics; and an immersive program in Artificial Intelligence with Berkeley’s Haas School that teaches AI capabilities, automation, machine learning and robotics.
Among the other key findings that directly connect upskilling to advancements in the work status of today’s global professionals:
- 94% said that their chosen program has had a positive impact on their career and professional development, with 96% noting that this impact came within the first 12 months after completing the program;
- A quarter found new opportunities at work, and 97% feel the program was responsible for these opportunities;
- More than six in 10 feel their chosen program has made them more self-confident, more passionate about what they do, or they found more meaning and purpose in their careers;
- Nearly 80% agreed that the tools and strategies they learned in their respective program were immediately applicable to their work, and almost seven in 10 feel that completing the program enabled them to be more effective and efficient at their job.
The career impact survey also revealed that SPOCs are both accessible and affordable: more than 80% of respondents agreed that the format of the course they took allowed for an easy balance across work, personal life and study. Nearly 70% said that their chosen program was an excellent value for the investment, with seven in 10 likely to take another program offered by the respective partner school in collaboration with Emeritus. Moreover, two-thirds have recommended the programs they’ve taken to someone else.
Emeritus’ SPOCs include industry-driven certification programs, bootcamps, and workforce leadership development initiatives created in collaboration with top colleges and universities from around the world. Unlike massive open online courses, or MOOCs, which typically enroll thousands of students in static, self-guided non-credentialing courses, SPOCS add personal engagement between faculty and students, course customization, mentoring and coaching, and career counseling.
They are also predicated on cohort-based learning, in which a small group of individuals learn and progress through the specific course together to foster collaboration, networking and peer support, while exposing learners to a variety of perspectives. And very importantly, SPOCs offer a resume-building education credential to the online content.
About Emeritus
Emeritus is committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments around the world. It does this by collaborating with more than 50 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and China. Emeritus’ short courses, degree programs, boot camps, and senior executive programs help individuals learn new skills and transform their lives, companies and organizations. Its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation, and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors and coaches educates more than 100,000 students per year across 80 countries. Founded in 2015, Emeritus, part of Eruditus Learning Solutions, has more than 1,000 employees globally and offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Palo Alto, Mexico City, New York, Boston, London, and Dubai. The company is backed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia India, Leeds Illuminate, and Prosus Ventures. Learn more at Emeritus.org and Emeritus LinkedIn.
