By : Bakinam Khaled

Coursera, Inc. (NYSE: COUR), one of the largest online learning platforms in the world, today announced the launch of Career Academy, a new career training academy to prepare learners - even those with no university degree or prior work experience - for in-demand jobs with entry-level Professional Certificates from the world's leading companies including Google, IBM, and Meta. With Career Academy, higher education institutions, governments, and businesses can upskill and reskill entire populations of students, workers, and employees for new economy careers at unprecedented speed and scale.

The launch comes at a pivotal time for Egypt, as the country continues its efforts to prepare its workforce for the digital economy. Recently, the Egyptian government has allocated more than EGP1.1 billion to meet soaring demand for digital skills, with more than 180,000 individuals trained under The Future Work is Digital (FWD) initiative, reflecting the country’s true commitment to preparing its workforce for the digital future.

Higher education institutions can help attract and retain students by offering industry-recognized certifications and skills development that helps graduates enter in-demand careers. Universities and colleges including Alamein International University (AIU) have been piloting Career Academy to give students the opportunity to develop job-relevant skills, build a portfolio of hands-on projects, and earn industry credentials to help them land good jobs.

Prof. Dr. Essam Ahmed ElKordi, President of Alamein International University, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Coursera to offer Career Academy, which helps us deliver on our mission to prepare future leaders and qualified human cadres for the local, regional, and international labor market. Through this partnership, we will be able to align our educational efforts with fast-changing labor market demands, offering our students industry-recognized certifications from the world’s leading companies and hands-on learning with real-world industry tools. Students can explore potential career paths, and then prepare for in-demand entry-level roles.”

Learners enrolled in an institution’s Career Academy can:

●    Earn entry-level Professional Certificates from industry leaders including Google, IBM, and Meta to prepare for 18 in-demand careers like Data Analyst, UX Designer, Application Developer, and Social Media Marketer, among others. Each certificate is designed for learners without prior industry experience to complete in 6 to 8 months on average (3-10 hours per week), fully online.

●    Get real-world experience with Guided Projects to develop skills in under 2 hours and stand out to employers during interviews and on-the-job. With hands-on learning and interactive assessments, learners apply essential skills by working with real-world industry tools. For example, an aspiring Data Analyst can practice SQL, Python, and Tableau, while UX Designers can build projects using Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud.

●    Explore the right career path with an overview of common job titles, skill requirements, and average regionalized salary (where available). Learners have the flexibility to learn at their own pace fully online across web and mobile.

“Access to a variety of career-focused credentials, which offer clear paths to entry-level digital jobs, will be key to addressing skills gaps and accelerating economic recovery,” said Anthony Tattersall, VP of EMEA at Coursera. “Through Career Academy, we are helping a great number of learners learn the skills needed to enter these high-demand, well-paying roles, empowering the next generation of Egyptian talent to thrive in the digital workforce.”

To learn more about Career Academy, visit https://www.coursera.org/business/career-academy. To learn more about Entry-level Professional Certificates, visit coursera.org/certificates/launch-your-career.