Based in Ireland, Alison (Advance Learning Interactive Systems Online) is a for-profit social enterprise that offers some 500 free online courses in basic education and workplace skills—essentially a community college curriculum—that can lead to global training certificates and diplomas for its 2 million students around the world. (For example, Alison offers certification at no charge for a competing course to the European Computer Driving License, a basic requirement for any IT job in Europe, which otherwise can cost as much as $500 per course.) English language, computer skills, and business management curricula are especially popular. Explains Feerick, “For individuals, access to our courses is free. When an organization is involved, we charge. Advertising also brings in revenue.”
