GALWAY, IRELAND – 2026-01-08
In 2025, Alison welcomed more than 8.5 million new Learners to join its growing global community across 193 countries. The rise points to a broader shift in how people approach career development, with continuous learning becoming essential to remain employable and move forward at work.
Why Work Is Changing Faster Than Skills Can Keep Up
Across regions and industries, work is being reshaped by several pressures at once, including technological change, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts, geoeconomic fragmentation, and the green transition. Together, these forces are accelerating how often roles change and how quickly skills become outdated, weakening the idea of a single, stable career path.
Organisations are modernising workflows while managing tighter budgets, adjusting supply chains in response to geopolitical pressures, and building new capabilities to meet climate and regulatory demands. In this environment, adaptability has become a practical requirement – not just for individuals navigating job changes, but also for employers and industries trying to remain productive, compliant, and competitive.
Why Millions Are Turning to Flexible Learning Now
As skills requirements shift more rapidly, learning is becoming less about long-term aspiration and more about staying current. The World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of workers’ core skills will change by 2030, while employers increasingly rely on ongoing training rather than periodic retraining cycles. Fast-moving areas such as AI illustrate how quickly expectations are evolving, with evidence linking practical capability to productivity and progression.
Against this backdrop, more than 8.5 million new people starting their learning journey on Alison in 2025 reflects a growing need for flexible learning. The milestone is particularly significant given that many adults still face time and cost barriers. For employers, it signals a workforce that is increasingly self-directed, and for individuals, it represents a first step towards staying employable and confident in a labour market defined by constant change.
Keeping Learning Open, Practical, and Free
This growth reinforces Alison’s mission to remove cost barriers to skills development by ensuring the choice to learn is not limited by disposable income, fixed enrolment windows, or proximity to institutions. By offering thousands of free, self-paced courses alongside practical career resources, including psychometric assessments and career planning support, Alison enables people to build skills on their own terms. The platform is designed to support Learners who balance real-life constraints such as demanding workloads, family responsibilities, and unpredictable schedules, while still developing capabilities that translate into confidence, mobility, and real-world opportunities.
Ends
Resources
Alison offers free courses to help build practical skills, refresh existing knowledge, or explore new career paths. Learners can access courses on desktop or via the Alison App on Android and iOS. More about Alison, including platform updates and milestones, is available on the Alison Blog.
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 Numeracy, 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.
