Hilversum, November 5, 2021 – Today, online trainers SkillsTown and Online Academy announced their strategic partnership. By joining forces, knowledge and experience in online training platforms are pooled to develop and produce new formats that fit the rapidly changing learning landscape. It is unique that two leading online educators are going to work together in this way.
A strategic partnership
As the popularity of online learning continues to grow, the strategic partnership between SkillsTown and Online Academy is a logical step. New ways of working and possibilities follow each other at lightning speed, resulting in enormous changes in the learning landscape in recent years. By combining SkillsTown’s years of experience in providing different forms of learning solutions with Online Academy’s qualitative, data-driven, e-learning offering, both parties can better meet the needs of organisations and their end users. This increases the possibility to produce more types of content yourself, while combining a large range of quality online training courses on one strong platform.
“The Online Academy is part of the NCOI group, one of the largest educational institutions in Europe with a presence in 26 countries worldwide. The combination of SkillsTown’s innovative modern way of learning and Online Academy’s vast experience and credentials in the online learning arena make for a formidable offering to the market and we are extremely excited about the possibilities,” says Kevin Hardy, Managing Director, SkillsTown South Africa.
Online learning gaining momentum
“With the reality of a new hybrid working environment post the pandemic, companies are increasingly looking for opportunities to help create positive employee experiences using a digital platform. Employees are naturally fatigued after a day of online meetings and they need short, powerful and interactive courses to keep them engaged. There is a real risk that companies lose that connection with their employees and it is crucial they use a platform like SkillsTown to enhance and support that engagement,” Hardy emphasises.
There is also an increasing demand for a combination of online and classroom multi-year training and leadership programmes. This brings a new balance between online and classroom learning.
“I expect that we will jointly create much more impact, because we can completely unburden organisations in all facets of online learning,” said Hans Schuurmans, CEO of SkillsTown. “Thanks to the collaboration with Online Academy, we are also able to establish a link with recognised trainers faster and better.”
Tom Bos, CEO of Online Academy said: “I am looking forward to our partnership with SkillsTown and I am convinced it will help us achieve our international ambitions. We are currently active worldwide, but SkillsTown will help us accelerate this growth.”
