The surging demand for skills training in a rapidly changing global economy

With more than 175 million users, Coursera is the largest online learning platform in the world. It currently offers more than 16,000 courses in collaboration with 370+ partners. Students can also earn a distinct credential from the platform – a Specialization – with more than 1,000 such qualifications currently on offer alongside a more limited number of fully online degrees in computer science, data science, business, and more.

That scale of operations provides Coursera with an interesting perspective on global skills development trends, many of which are reflected in the recently released 2025 Global Skills Report.

Among its key findings, the report highlights the importance of micro-credentials for building and maintaining an agile workforce. "By 2030, an estimated 92 million jobs will be displaced, while 170 million new ones will be created—a net gain of 78 million roles," says the report. "Eighty-five percent of employers say they need to upskill their workforce just to keep pace, and 70% plan to hire talent with new capabilities in areas like data science, cloud computing, and GenAI. This transformation means micro-credentials are more vital than ever for establishing skills and career readiness."

Just over nine in ten employers (91%) say that employees with micro credentials demonstrate better command of core competencies. A similar proportion of employees (94%) with micro credentials say the qualifications have accelerated their career development and allowed them to be more competitive in a quickly changing labour market.

Coursera reports that those patterns are playing out within its own enrolment base with "positive growth" in Professional Certificate enrolments in all global regions, including a 37% increase in North America (the highest globally) and 36% growth in the Middle East and North Africa year-over-year.

The report highlights as well the surging demand in some quickly expanding and evolving fields of work, notably Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity.

The report says of the former: "In 2023, early adopters flocked to GenAI, with approximately one person per minute enrolling in a GenAI course on Coursera – a rate that rose to eight per minute in 2024. Since then, GenAI has continued to see exceptional growth, with global enrolment in GenAI courses surging 195% year-over-year—maintaining its position as one of the most rapidly growing skill domains on our platform. To date, Coursera has recorded over 8 million GenAI enrolments, with 12 learners per minute signing up for GenAI content in 2025 across our catalog of nearly 700 GenAI courses."

Employer surveys over that same period highlight the competitive advantage for candidates with GenAI skills, with labour market demand for roles in AI technology expected to expand by another 40% within the next four years. "Mastering AI fundamentals – from prompt engineering to large
language model (LLM) applications – is essential to remaining competitive in today’s rapidly evolving economy," concludes the report.

Following growing worldwide concerns around data security and data protection, a similar pattern is playing out across Coursera's Cybersecurity catalogue. Year-over-year growth in Cybersecurity courses on the platform reached 106% in Latin America, 20% in Europe, and 14% in Asia Pacific in 2025. But the report nevertheless identifies a significant and widespread labour market gap in this area: "Globally, nearly five million additional cybersecurity professionals are needed, and
two-thirds of employers cite skill gaps as a barrier to adopting emerging technology. Security
Management Specialist ranks among the top five fastest-growing roles, yet less than half of organizations feel 'highly prepared' to defend against AI-driven cyber threats."

Skills training alongside degrees

"Two-thirds of employers regard skill shortages as a major barrier to business growth," notes the report, "and in countries like Germany, unfilled vacancies cost an estimated US$339 billion (1.3% of GDP)."

The vast majority of employers surveyed by Coursera say that they have adopted or are exploring skills-based hiring – an approach that focuses on skills qualifications in combination with traditional degrees.

Those broad patterns carry with them some important implications for international educators including the need to demonstrate career linkages and outcomes at every level of study, the opportunity to combine more traditional qualifications with alternate credentials (including micro credentials), and the potential of combining more conventional modes of delivery on campus with remote learning or transnational education in order to support graduates in continuing skills training.

For additional background, please see:

• "Are employers recognising alternative credentials in hiring decisions?"
• "New study highlights the expanding landscape of microcredentials"
• "The growing importance of non-degree credentials"