Coursera offers lessons so that workers are not blindsided by AI taking over their jobs

Coursera offers more classes and degrees so that the global job market is not affected by the advent of generative AI and remote work.

As companies embrace generative AI to improve customer offerings and productivity, they will also create unprecedented demand for reskilling – with up to 49% of workers Half or more of their assignments exposed large language models.

“Today, we’re excited to announce several new content offerings, platform innovations powered by ChatGPT, and expanded immersive learning experiences to better serve our learners and educators around the world,” Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera, said in a blog post.

To meet the growing demand for AI skills in the workforce, Coursera is increasing the selection of AI-related courses, including ChatGPT Teach-Out (University of Michigan) and AI for Good Major (DeepLearning.AI).

If people leverage generative AI, they can create more paths to personalized and interactive learning and stay ahead of the AI ​​job killer.

The company is also launching Coursera Hiring Solutions to help connect learners to entry-level digital jobs around the world.

The company is adding online degrees with eight new programs in high-demand areas such as computer science, data science, and business administration. Offered by leading universities like Illinois Tech, UC Boulder, Ball State University, and SPJIMR, these additions add to Coursera’s catalog to the more than 50 bachelor’s and master’s degrees available on the platform.

Many of these programs will offer accessible pathways – including admission based on performance with no prerequisites to serving students with or without a relevant background. With pricing under $20,000, all new grades offer exceptional affordability and accessibility, especially suitable for working adults.

To help learners prepare for in-demand jobs, we’re launching two IBM entry-level Professional Certificates in Front End Development and IT Project Management, designed specifically for learners without a certification or industry experience, and the Spark AR Developer Advanced Professional Certificate from Meta for intermediate or advanced learners.

The company is also expanding immersive learning on the platform with several virtual reality course experiences for learners. These include courses from Duke University, Peking University, University of Michigan, and University of Washington covering a range of skills such as public speaking, leadership, human physiology, mobility, language learning, and healthcare practitioner training.

Online learning has evolved from a passive experience of watching videos to active participation through collaborative projects, quizzes, and assessments. Coursera today announced two ChatGPT-powered tools to make learning more interactive and teaching more effective on Coursera.

Coursera trainer

Coursera Coach gives learners access to a virtual coach, powered by generative AI, who can answer questions and share personal feedback. The instructor will be able to provide quick video summaries and lectures, such as a recommended clip, to help learners better understand a particular concept. Over time, the coach will support the learners with career guidance and interview preparation. Coursera will begin rolling out Coach to its learners in the coming months.

Course building with the help of artificial intelligence

Based on a few simple prompts from a human author, the course builder will use AI to quickly automatically create course content, such as the overall course structure, descriptions, marks, readings, assignments, glossaries, and suggestions for general content already relevant on Coursera that can be included. This tool will be available in beta to select educator partners later this year.

Coursera is also widely deploying machine learning-assisted translation to make learning on Coursera more accessible for learners around the world. Over the coming months, thousands of course readings, lecture video translations, quizzes, assessments, peer review tips, and discussion prompts will be translated across more than 2,000 courses from English into Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Thai, and Indonesian.

As of the first quarter of 2023, there are more than 35 million learners enrolled on Coursera in countries with these seven languages ​​as an official language.

Coursera Hiring Solutions to connect learners with jobs

Broad-ranging connectivity, online learning, and remote employment opportunities open up new ways for skilled individuals to participate in the global economy, regardless of their location or prior experience. Increasingly, employers are considering skills-based hiring to address talent shortages and enhance the diversity of their workplaces. However, validating a candidate’s skill remains challenging, especially for entry-level roles, when the job starter or transferee lacks a college degree or previous relevant work experience.

Today, the company launched Coursera Hiring Solutions (Beta), a skills-based recruiting service that matches industry-trained, job-ready talent to companies filling entry-level digital roles. With Coursera Hiring Solutions, job seekers can develop the skills and credentials they need for entry-level digital jobs – and they can use their skills profile to showcase their job readiness to employers with credentials, assessments, projects, and more.

Recruiters can use a talent dashboard to view pre-qualified, entry-level talent in one place, with skills and credential filters to identify candidates who meet their unique sourcing requirements. They can also broadly validate a candidate’s skills proficiency through assessments aligned with the job.

The company has already launched the solution in India for learners and a select number of employers, with plans to expand into the US in the coming months.

The pandemic has driven the adoption of online learning and remote working on an unprecedented scale, Magioncalda said, creating new opportunities for talent around the world.

“Generative AI reminds us once again that continuous change will force everyone to constantly learn and adapt,” he said. “Together with our educator partners, we are committed to helping learners and institutions transform change and disruption into more equal opportunities for all.”