GALWAY, IRELAND – 2026-07-10

Alison, a global leader in free online learning, and South Africa’s social enterprise Reconstructed Living Lab (RLabs) announced a strategic partnership to scale high-quality employability training for young people across Africa. This initiative targets the 70.9 million young Africans (23% of youth) currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET). 

By embeddingAlison's Continuing Professional Development accredited content directly into  Yoma.world platform a flagship programme of Generation Unlimited (GenU), a global public-private-youth partnership launched by UNICEF,  incubated by RLabs.The Yoma.world digital ecosystem connects young people to a "learning-to-earning" pipeline. With over 5.3 million youth engaged and 1.5 million registered users, Yoma provides a verifiable digital identity and a marketplace for skills development, personal growth, and economic participation.

Bridging the Gap: From Coffee making to Cyber security 

The partnership integrates a diverse range of Alison’s 6000+ courses into the Yoma ecosystem. Key learning pathways include:

• Core employability: IT and digital literacy, communication, and critical thinking

• Vocational Trades: Practical skills such as plumbing, coffee making (barista), and housekeeping.

• Future-Proof sectors: Sustainable agriculture, climate awareness, and graphic design.

• Personal Development: Mental health, stress management, and emotional intelligence

Future roadmap features include psychometric profiling, career recommendations, and automated CV-building tools to personalise learning and support job matching.

Technical Vision: Verified Credentials and Career Matching

The partnership extends into a long-term strategic collaboration involving YoID, Yoma’s unique digital identity system. This allows learners to earn verifiable credentials through Alison that integrate into a single, large-scale learner/earner dataset.

Empowering Youth in Africa Through Skills and Opportunity

This partnership brings unprecedented access to transformative education for youth outside formal systems. By combining Alison’s open-learning model with Yoma’s youth engagement framework, learners will gain the digital, professional, and personal skills required to thrive in today’s evolving economy. For employers and educators, the integration creates a new channel to identify capable, accredited, and work-ready talent emerging from across the continent.

Marlon Parker, Founder of RLabs and incubating partner for YOMA, said: “This partnership with Alison marks an important step forward in expanding access to quality, relevant learning for young people across Africa. By integrating Alison’s world-class learning content into the Yoma platform, we are enabling youth to build the skills, confidence, and capabilities needed to participate meaningfully in the digital economy and increase their employability.”

 

Olivia Cosgrove, Head of Social Impact at Alison, said, “At Alison, our mission has always been to make education accessible for everyone, everywhere. This partnership with RLabs and Yoma embodies that mission of bringing free, high-quality learning directly into the hands of young people across Africa. Together, we’re helping enrich youth potential, foster independence, and create bridges from learning to earning that will shape brighter futures for generations to come.”

Building a Sustainable Learning Future

Looking ahead, Alison and RLabs plan to expand the integration across more African countries, connecting millions more learners to trusted learning, verified skills, and employment pathways. Both organisations will continue to collaborate with UNICEF, Generation Unlimited, and other partners to strengthen the digital infrastructure for youth empowerment, scaling an ecosystem where education and opportunity are free, accessible, and life-changing.

UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.

Multimedia/Resource Links:

• Free Employability Skills Courses on Alison

• Learn more about Yoma.world

• Read Alison’s Social Impact Initiative

RLabs (Reconstructed Living Lab): Founded in 2009 in Cape Town, RLabs is a global movement for community-driven innovation. Operating in over 240 countries, it equips underserved communities with digital tools and entrepreneurial support to unlock sustainable livelihoods.To date, RLabs’ programmes have reached tens of millions of people, supported thousands of entrepreneurs, and earned global recognition, including honours from the Google Impact Awards and the Schwab Foundation’s Social Innovator of the Year award.

Ends

Resources

Alison's webinar page is available for anyone who wants to view upcoming sessions and register for free. Learners can also explore free Certificate and Diploma courses, while organisations can learn more about the Free LMS for team training.

About Alison

Alison is a global leader in free online learning and skills development. With over 50 million registered Learners across 193 countries (as of October 2025), Alison empowers individuals, communities, and organisations to upskill quickly and effectively – at zero cost.

The Alison platform provides immediate access to over 6,000 free, CPD-accredited courses, covering essential areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, Project Management, Business Operations, Healthcare and Sustainability. Courses are created by a mix of independent experts and global leaders, including IBM, Stanford and Microsoft.

For organisations, Alison offers a Free Learning Management System (LMS) that enables unlimited Learners to access thousands of courses with no upfront cost. A premium version with advanced analytics and customisation is also available. Alison's offering includes a full suite of assessments and psychometric tools, including a Workplace Personality Assessment, Mental Health & Wellbeing Assessment, English Language Proficiency Test, as well as Numerical, Verbal, and Abstract Reasoning tests.

To further support career development, Learners also gain access to a Career Guide, a Resumé Builder, and the ability to study offline through the Alison App.

In 2026, Alison will launch a Global Recruitment Service to directly connect skilled, motivated Learners with hiring employers. The platform is also expanding its reach with multilingual versions, starting with complete Spanish, French, and Hindi offerings — reaffirming its mission to make education accessible to anyone, anywhere.

Founded in 2007, Alison pioneered the concept of free, large-scale online learning and is recognised as the world's first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform. Today, its mission continues: to break down barriers to learning, helping people gain skills, build confidence, and improve their lives — no matter where they live or what they earn.

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