Upskilling: Trends and benefits

The latest eLearning report released by Go1, one of the world’s largest corporate education content hubs, provides a valuable insight into the current state of reskilling in the UK and the positive impact learning new skills can have on people’s lives.

Since the pandemic, health and safety concerns have clearly come to the fore, and so it is perhaps not too surprising that health, safety and wellbeing was the most popular eLearning topic area. Courses relating to IT software, people and communication skills, and leadership, however, also featured prominently on the list of popular eLearning subject areas.

The research also revealed a number of interesting insights about people who have attended online courses and the benefits they derived from learning new skills. Among the key findings were:

43% of workers were hesitant to take a course because they felt they were too old to learn something new, with men more likely to believe this than their female counterparts
45% were taking additional steps to upskill in the hope of changing career
38% of employees reported a promotion after learning a new skill
49% of people aged 55+ said they want to learn more skills in the near future
43% of 16 to 24-year-olds said learning new skills had helped them start their own business
55% said developing their skill set had boosted their self-esteem
50% experienced better mental health as a result of learning a new skill.

Chris Eigeland, co-founder of Go1, commented, “Continued learning is one of the most important aspects of our professional and personal wellbeing. Our research shows that you’re never too old to learn, to change careers or even to launch your own business. Seeing interpersonal and wellbeing skills so high on the list of Brits’ priorities is also really positive.”