How To Use Coursera For Business

10 years ago, it was impossible to imagine a world where people could cross geographical boundaries and get higher education without ever stepping foot into an actual classroom.

Back then, traditional education was still seen as being taught by teachers in physical settings. But now, in 2022, technology has transformed the education industry entirely.

The first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) emerged back in 2008, introducing self-paced courses with interactive assessments and video lectures, collaborative forums, and regular quizzes for assessment.

But this was only one of many advancements that the tech industry has offered everyone connected to it — learners, schools, teachers, and businesses alike — over the past few years.

With traditional education and training methods no longer fulfilling the need of this sector, Coursera business model stepped up and provided access to learning from top universities worldwide to anyone with an internet connection.

What Is Coursera? 

Coursera is an American online world-class learning platform founded by professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller in 2012.

The company offers massive open online courses (MOOCs), specializations, and degrees to help learners acquire new skills, deepen their professional expertise, or gain college credit.

In the decade since its launch, Coursera has partnered up with over 250 universities and companies to deliver courses at a variety of levels, difficulties, and prices.

Their data-driven technology allows educators to produce, teach, and deliver world-class content in individual or enterprise settings—ranging from single learners to thousands of personnel.

Through the use of data-driven technology, educators can produce, teach, and deliver content—from one student to thousands—in both individual and enterprise settings.

What does this mean for businesses?

Unique Business Model 

Coursera offers top-notch and job-relevant learning courses that are affordable or free.

Their expansive library of content from leading Coursera partners allows learners to access world-class knowledge, from the beginning step to applying it in real-life settings, through interactive online learning programs.

Couserea’s massive library of content from top industry partners provides access to world-class knowledge from inception to the application through inflexible hands-on online learning environments. 

Not only does Coursera provide free content from credible partners, it offers learners the ability to upskill at an affordable cost.

Companies are also able to access potential customers through data-driven marketing campaigns.

Coursera’s flexibility even allows learners to “stack” content and credentials; completion of stand-alone courses feeds into broader programs of study– creating more flexible paths for upskilling or reskilling with competitive price points.

Clearly, Coursera’s unique business model has been successful—particularly due to the three primary stakeholder groups: Learners, Businesses, and Institutions/Educators—making it one of the leading platforms for accessing quality educational materials online. 

All three groups use the platform for their own needs: Learners gain access to engaging education materials that add value to their skill set; businesses gain potential customers that lead converts into paying subscribers; institutions/educators open new areas around student base expansion, as well as generate substantial revenues by signing deals with various partner organizations.

So, what specifically can it do for business?

Upskill Employees 

Given the speed of business and technology disruptions, companies must upskill their employees to thrive in the digital economy.

Companies need to identify in-demand skills quickly and provide targeted training that rapidly equips their employees with critical competencies.

To support the rapid deployment of training for critical job-ready skills, companies should look for solutions that provide content from top universities, businesses, professional organizations, and recognized industry experts.

Additionally, certain tools offering hands-on guided projects can help learners understand and apply new concepts more efficiently.

Lastly, organizations should also explore tools such as latent semantic indexing (LSI) solutions, which can automatically track employee competencies and benchmark them against learning offerings goals set by the organization to inform smarter decisions.

Such solutions can ultimately bridge any skill gaps employers may have when it comes to adapting to ever-changing technologies.

Train Each Team 

As the pace of change and the need for new skills increases, increasingly developing technical literacy, creativity, and problem-solving skills is necessary for employees to meet their job-based learning programs. 

To ensure that your team is well-equipped to face the challenges of the future, consider implementing job-based learning in order to provide them with the most impactful skills that will support your company’s needs. 

With job-based learning, employees can gain valuable new insights into their role as they learn how to use tools they may be unfamiliar with or enhance a current skill set.

Furthermore, this process increases employee engagement and prepares them for future trends in the industry.

By investing in your team through job-based learning, you are making a commitment to both their development and success that will lead to amazing results for your business in return.

Let’s take a look at specific courses that help businesses thrive. 

Courses For Business 

Tech Academy 

IT and engineering departments are integral to the success of an organization or business.

To help teams upskill and meet digital transformation objectives, Tech Academy provides a broad range of courses that enable personal development and broader initiatives within the IT, engineering, and security fields.

Tech Academy offers educational courses designed to accelerate your team’s transformation journey, so you can quickly streamline the process and better prepare your staff when they need it most. 

With more than 4.73 (1,020K) course reviews worldwide, the company is trusted globally by some of the biggest names in technology who rely on their expertise at all stages of their tech adoption journey. 

Classes cover everything from basic product knowledge to expert-led webinars to help IT pros master complex topics such as network management and cloud technologies.

Marketing Academy 

The Marketing Academy is an online training platform offering hands-on martech and digital marketing training to supercharge your marketing team.

The courses are designed to help close the skills gap across all levels of experience. 

With over 769k course reviews, our engaging curriculum has been awarded an average rating of 4.73 stars.

Gain industry-specific knowledge directly from experienced professionals and develop into a true professional worth hiring!

Leadership Academy 

Organizations are looking for innovative ways to develop their employees and position them as leaders.

The Leadership Academy is designed to build on the existing competencies of managers and executives, while also developing new skills such as collaboration, communication, and leading teams and projects.

This fully online program provides resources from top-rated instructors who offer online courses with real-world experience and—more importantly, allows users to gain a deeper understanding of leadership challenges in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

With personalized feedback, tailored content, and rich visuals, the Leadership Academy will guide participants through the complexity of modern organizations.

Finance Academy

Finance Academy is a comprehensive online course that provides business owners with the skills they need to make informed decisions.

The course, which has earned an impressive 4.75 rating out of 5 from over 1.08 million reviews, covers forecasting, budgeting, and various other essential topics related to managing your finances. 

Through a series of video lessons and interactive exercises, Finance Academy will help you build confidence in your financial decisions by improving your understanding of key concepts such as cash flow management, capital budgeting, retirement planning, and more. 

With Finance Academy’s easy-to-follow instructions and helpful resources, you’ll be able to achieve your business goals in no time!

Career Academy 

Many employers are looking for ways to attract and retain talented, engaged frontline workers.

That’s why launching a Career Academy—a comprehensive approach to mid-level development in your organization—is important for organizations interested in attracting, retaining, and growing their current workforce.

Career Academy provides employees with an opportunity to develop skills that are in demand.

It helps them build valuable credentials they can take with them, opens the door to marketing their skill development with potential employers, and creates an open path for upward mobility within your organization.

With the Career Academy program, you’ll give employees unlimited access to over 4 million courses across all industries from 1,000+ services, from Fortune 500 companies like Google and Microsoft to Digital workshops on relevant topics.

The course reviews a wide variety of team learning content, done at the employee’s own pace anytime, anywhere.

Starting Your Own Business 

For all future entrepreneurs out there, an online course can help you learn how to start a business with the right resources and guidance.

Coursera’s specialization in ‘How To Start Your Own Business’ walks students step-by-step through the business creation process, giving them guidance and tools to plan, launch, finance, and manage a business.

The instructor is an experienced veteran of business startups.

The course will help you understand how to identify and test new opportunities, create a means for financing a business venture, and introduce you to other important aspects of launching and running a successful enterprise. 

The series consists of 5 courses, each about 4 weeks long. The total commitment for completing ‘How to Start Your Own Business’ is 19 hours per week, with 31,302 already enrolled in this course offered by Coursera.

Skills You’ll Learn 

Regardless of your business type, there are some universal skills that you will gain when running a startup.

Leadership is essential in any endeavor in which you’re the head of the pack. In order to attract employees and investors, you need to be able to lead by example and present a persuasive vision for success.

You will also learn about lean startup principles, which can help you track market demand, deploy resources quickly and efficiently, and minimize risk during times of uncertainty. 

Having a business plan is also invaluable when applying for loans or launching campaigns; it keeps everyone focused on long-term goals while staying agile enough to handle ever-evolving opportunities.

This program covers a selection of topics necessary for a prosperous business organization, including mentality, imagination, organizing, action, and policies.

The main point of emphasis will be on leading you through the process of actually carrying it out, instead of simply elucidating what to do within each stage. 

You will make your own intentions and take steps towards generating your own company. It doesn’t stop there, though.

The Capstone course completes everything by helping you to kick off your business.

It may not be the business of your dreams starting off, but it will become a usable prospect that grants you the potential to build something even superior!

Finally, entrepreneurship teaches problem-solving skills; you’ll be handling obstacles on a daily basis, so developing sound tactics will become second nature before long.

Hands-On Project 

When you sign up for a Specialization, a single sign-on will get you to participate in hands-on projects which will help you apply what you’ve learned.

Every Specialization comes with such a project, and finishing it successfully is necessary to complete the course and gain your certificate.

After enrolling in the project course, you’ll receive an email confirming your enrollment and with instructions on how to access the course and submit your work via Canva or by other methods outlined in the course.

Remember: If the Specialization requires a course that focuses on the hands-on project, complete all the other courses first before tackling it.

Learner Outcomes Coursera 

A recent Coursera Impact Report (2020) indicates that 87% of learners reported having career benefits after taking a course on the platform.

Specific career outcomes mentioned included getting a promotion, an increase in salary, becoming better at their current job, and finding a new job.

The report states that 77% of learners who started a free course in 2020 completed it within 3 months, with many citing increased confidence and improved skills as incentives to complete their learning.

The survey also revealed that 86% of learners’ employers consider Coursera learning outcomes equivalent to college degrees or master’s professional certificates.

Reinforcing this trend, Gallup reported in 2019 that online courses are seen as a legitimate post-secondary online education option by 81 percent of senior-level decision-makers globally.

Conclusion 

There is no doubt that Coursera courses help businesses stay competitive and up-to-date with the latest trends. They also provide employees with the skills they need to succeed in their roles. 

With a wide range of courses available, businesses can find courses that are tailored to their specific needs and goals.

Additionally, employers can benefit from the fact that Coursera courses are seen as legitimate post-secondary education options by many decision-makers.

Furthermore, Coursera courses provide vital skills needed to start a business and be successful. 

We hope that you read this whole article and now you will know how to use Coursera for business!