Udemy Improves Lives Through Learning, Delivering Equitable Skills Education to Lift Learners and Communities

Rhea-AI Summary

Udemy has released its first-ever Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impact report, highlighting its commitment to enhancing online learning globally. The report emphasizes Udemy's role during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiding over 52 million learners and 68,000 instructors since its inception in 2010. Key ESG pillars include providing quality education, advancing talent, and promoting diversity. Highlights include a 38% increase in international students and a 230% rise in non-profit learning hours, showcasing Udemy's significant societal impact.

Positive

• Empowered over 49 million people to advance their skills using the platform.
• Achieved a 38% increase in international students, adding 4.4 million new students in 2021.
• Facilitated a 230% increase in learning hours consumed by non-profit customers.

Negative

• None.

Dynamic online learning marketplace releases its first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact report, showcasing its commitments and progress toward providing education to all

SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Udemy, a leading destination for learning and teaching online, today announced the publication of its inaugural “ESG Impact Report: Improving Lives Through Learning.” The report highlights Udemy’s positive societal impact since its founding in 2010, specifically spotlighting the advancement opportunities that online education enabled during the economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the company’s continued work to help individuals, communities and organizations globally gain marketable skills for future success. As of May 2022, 52 million learners and 68,000 instructors are part of the Udemy online education marketplace.

“Access to high-quality education lifts individuals, and in turn, lifts businesses, communities, and societies,” said CEO Gregg Coccari. “During a time of intensifying market volatility and increasing inequality around the globe, we're proud that our platform enables real-world experts from across the world to improve their own lives by teaching online while also improving outcomes for individuals and organizations everywhere.”

Udemy’s impact strategy aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and is focused on three key pillars:

• Providing Quality Education: Udemy is committed to improving the lives of people around the world with equitable access to learning opportunities and continued investment in supporting lifelong learners at home and at work.
• Advancing Talent, Global Expertise, and Economic Opportunity: Udemy helps organizations of all kinds prepare for the ever-evolving future of work by providing employers the power to develop in-house expertise and to satisfy employees’ hunger for learning and development.
• Catalyzing Diversity and Inclusivity: Udemy provides a platform for upskilling and pursuing learning paths that unlock career opportunities regardless of prior formal education or geography.
  

Highlights of Udemy’s ESG efforts featured in the report include:

• As of Q4 2021, empowered more than 49 million people around the world to advance their own skills using the platform.
• Expanded digital learning opportunities across global borders with almost 80 percent of learners located outside the U.S. who have access to more than 185,000 courses in over 75 languages that can be purchased using 28 currencies.
• Added 4.4 million new students internationally across 187 countries – a 38 percent increase in 2021 alone.
• Enabled more than 64,000 instructors – a 14 percent increase from 2020 – to offer their expertise to individuals and organisations around the globe. In total, Udemy instructors earned $177 million, helping them to support themselves, their families, and their communities.
• Saw an almost 80 percent increase in Udemy Business learners in 2021 alone as more organizations built cultures of learning at work.
• Offering more than 19,000 free courses and enabling instructors to distribute millions of coupons globally, encouraging individuals to try their courses for free with the result that over 10% of the usage on our platform is for free.
• Served over 200 non-profit customers who consumed over 58,000 hours of learning – a 230% increase in hours consumed in 2021, when compared to 2020.
• In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, launched the Udemy Free Resource Center offering over 700 free courses ranging in topics from essential tech skills to personal growth and wellness. Generating 4.6 million enrollments with 883,000 hours of educational content consumed.

In addition to aligning with the UN SDGs, the report was developed with guidance from the Sustainability Accounting Standard Board (SASB), a global framework for sustainability reporting.

Udemy has been recognized as a leader in ESG and sustainability by influential third parties including Sustainalytics, Great Place to Work and Fortune. To learn more about Udemy’s ESG practices, visit https://about.udemy.com/esg-at-udemy/.

About Udemy 

Udemy (Nasdaq: UDMY) provides flexible, effective skill development to empower organizations and individuals. The Udemy marketplace platform, with thousands of up-to-date courses in dozens of languages, offers the tools learners, instructors, and enterprises need to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. Millions of people learn on the Udemy platform from real-world experts in topics ranging from programming and data science to leadership and team building. Udemy Business offers corporate customers an employee training and development platform with subscription access to thousands of courses, learning analytics, and the ability to host and distribute their own content. Udemy Business customers include Fender Instruments, Glassdoor, On24, The World Bank, and Volkswagen. Udemy is headquartered in San Francisco with hubs in Ankara, Turkey; Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Mountain View, California; Denver, Colorado; Dublin, Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; New Delhi, India; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Contact

Patrick Heffernan
Senior Corporate Social Responsibility Communications Manager
Patrick.heffernan@udemy.com