Number of women enrolling in online courses triples since the start of lockdown
- Enrolment in online courses increases by almost 200 per cent since the first lockdown as women look to pivot careers and combat impact of Covid-19
- Highest sign-ups among 18-25 age group – the most affected by redundancies3
- AllBright partners with digital education platform FutureLearn to provide women with the skills needed to succeed post-pandemic
The number of women enrolling in online learning courses increased by almost 200 per cent from March to October when compared to the same period last year, according to data from social learning platform FutureLearn, in conjunction with professional women’s network AllBright.
For business and management-focused courses, FutureLearn has seen over a 250 per cent increase in female enrolment, with almost double the number of sign-ups from females aged 18 to 25 compared to last year.
AllBright has partnered with FutureLearn to launch an on-demand four-week career coaching course, providing women with the skills and tools they need to pivot and propel their career. The course will offer practical advice, and tried and tested career hacks, echoing the offer of AllBright Digital which was launched during the first lockdown to critical acclaim. With current social restrictions in place the ‘Lockdown LifeSaver’ package offers a much-needed lifeline to women at scale, with over 14 million learners representing every country form around the globe, to help women realise their full potential.
Research from AllBright revealed last month that 61 per cent of women were planning a complete career change, with 1 in 4 members setting up their own businesses, as women sought to negate the disproportionate impact of the crisis and pivot their careers. The new statistics from FutureLearn further highlight how women are investing in upskilling themselves to future-proof their careers following these challenges.
The AllBright data also pointed to a renewed sense of optimism, as the results indicate women are planning to build the necessary skills and professional networks to navigate the challenges of the last few months.
Demonstrating the broader impact COVID-19 is having on women, recent reports have highlighted how many are putting their careers on hold and taking on a disproportionate share of household responsibilities while working from home[1], with women further impacted by increased levels of furlough and redundancies, experiencing a greater impact on mental wellbeing[2].
Debbie Wosskow, co-founder of AllBright, said: “This year has been challenging for everyone – but the crisis has affected women disproportionately – from redundancies to the mental strain of working from home while managing household responsibilities.”
“But the crisis has acted as a catalyst for women to take control of their lives and pivot careers. Partnering with FutureLearn compliments the work we’re already doing at AllBright and supports our vision of connecting like-minded women to succeed in their professional life.”
Susannah Belcher, Chief Operations Officer at FutureLearn, said: “At FutureLearn we’re seeing the effects of the pandemic on various groups across society. Research has shown that women in particular are being adversely affected, which has resulted in a growing trend of more women signing up to career development courses on our platform.”
“Similarly, we’ve seen a big increase in sign-ups from 18-25-year olds, which correlates with research from the London School of Economics, and other analysts, that twice the number of people aged 25 and below have been made redundant compared with older workers. Our mission at FutureLearn is to transform access to education and give people the tools they need to build their own future, we’re proud to be a valued resource for those most affected.”
About AllBright
AllBright is all about inspiring change. Our Members’ clubs provide a unique environment for women to connect, create and collaborate, with a particular focus on skills, events and space. More than just a club, we are a springboard for smart-minded women of all ages and at all stages of their career. We opened our first club in London on International Women’s Day 2018, a second London club in Mayfair in 2019, then entered the US market with the launch of our West Hollywood club shortly after. Our clubs are all unique but share the same vision to create a broad, inclusive platform where exciting things happen between like-minded women. Our latest partnership with FutureLearn offers an on-demand four-week career coaching course, providing women with the skills and tools they need to pivot and propel their career. The course will offer practical advice, and tried and tested career hacks, echoing the offer of AllBright Digital which was launched during the first UK lockdown.
About FutureLearn
Here at FutureLearn, our purpose is to transform access to education. We do that by partnering with over a quarter of the world’s top universities to support millions of learners across the globe to develop skills and achieve their personal and professional goals. We’re a leading social learning platform founded in December 2012 by The Open University and are now jointly owned by The Open University in the UK and The SEEK Group. We use design, technology and partnerships to create enjoyable, credible and flexible short online courses and microcredentials, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. In addition to top universities, we also partner with leading organisations such as Accenture, the British Council, CIPD, Raspberry Pi and Health Education England (HEE), as well as being involved in government-backed initiatives to address skills gaps such as The Institute of Coding and the National Centre for Computing Education.
How AllBright is supporting members during COVID-19:
Digital programming: AllBright has been delivering an array of over 25 digital events a week, with many hosted on the clubs Instagram channel. Previous guests include Col. Dame Kelly Holmes MBE, Deborah Frances White, Dr Barbara Sturm, Lily Cole and Gina Miller.
Upskilling: AllBright Academy provides unparalleled video training courses from a range of high-profile business leaders and coaches, with the focus on helping women upskill with the tools and information they need to succeed.
Connection: AllBright’s networking App, AllBright Connect allows access to an active community of skilled and successful women from across the globe and has more than doubled its number of global subscribers since lockdown began mid-March.
[1] https://www.docdroid.net/joYdZsN/the-impact-of-covid-19docx-pdf
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/14/one-third-of-uk-women-are-suffering-from-lockdown-loneliness
[3] https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2020/j-October-20/One-in-10-young-people-lost-their-job-during-covid-19-pandemic
