The Reskilling Pipeline

LearnerShape is building a solution for computing individualized reskilling pathways, so we pay close attention to what other companies are doing in this space. Increasingly, we are observing that the market is coalescing around a reskilling “pipeline”:

1. assess existing skills of individuals (what we call ‘point A’)
2. determine target skills, on an individual or organizational basis (what we call ‘point B’)
3. identify learning pathways from point A to point B
4. deliver learning content.

The combination of the urgency of the future of work problem and the ability of information technology to help address it has led many companies (including a bevy of startups) to tackle pieces of  this complex challenge. Most players are aiming at one or perhaps two segments of the pipeline, with some division between those focusing on skills analysis (i.e. steps 1 and 2 above), content recommendation (step 3) and content production (step 4). Some are trying to serve more of the pipeline -- for example, well-funded start-up Degreed, which has been focused on content delivery, recently acquired skills platform Adepto. And leading step 4 content platforms Coursera and LinkedIn Learning are determinedly expanding their offers to help corporate customers deliver learning pathways using proprietary content.

At LearnerShape, we are focused on computing learning pathways using data science and machine learning. Our initial proposition, to be launched later this year, targets step 3 of the reskilling pipeline and pathways including any content. We also have some cutting-edge ideas on how to use ML to optimize identification of future skill requirements (step 2). As for those pieces of the pipeline that we don’t currently cover, we are working actively to build partnerships to acquire first-rate technology and content.

Maury Shenk
Co-Founder & CEO, LearnerShape