In a year marked by the covid-19 pandemic, which imposed strict social distance rules in several countries around the globe, all segments of the economy were affected in some way, including the e-Learning market.
While some sectors have suffered, such as physical commerce, tourism and events, others have seen their businesses prosper.
In this article, we gather data from the main global reports on how the distance learning market was impacted and what are the forecasts for the coming years.
E-Learning market in 2020: growth and forecasts for the next years
According to research released by Arizton Advisory & intelligence, the size of the online course market is expected to reach $ 200 billion in 2020, growing at a CARG of 14% during the forecast period.
By 2026, this number is expected to reach an impressive $ 375 billion mark.
This means that the global e-learning market presents significant growth opportunities in the next five years, good news for entrepreneurs and for those looking for a new and affordable income option.
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Another excellent news for course creators is that while the growth curve is uniform in terms of number of users, the same is not true for the revenues: the average cost of creating and delivering content is experiencing a steady decline.
The advent of cloud infrastructure, SaaS, creation of open content and rapid expansion of the target audience, allowed e-learning providers to lower investment costs and offer content at a competitive price.
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At the same time, the increase in Internet use in emerging economies is another factor that will have a positive impact on the growth of the e-Learning market.
Impact of the pandemic on the e-Learning market
The global blockade of educational institutions, corporations and government offices has caused major disruptions in student learning and education.
According to the World Economic Forum, about 1.2 billion children are out of classrooms, with schools closed globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, learning management systems, like Coursify.me, are helping classes to connect remotely, communicate efficiently and stay organized.
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Large-scale national efforts to leverage technology to support distance education, remote and online learning during the pandemic are emerging and evolving rapidly.
At the same time, the outbreak of COVID-19 undoubtedly opened up opportunities for the growth of the distance education segment, further boosting the industry’s demand for e-learning solutions.
With the closure of schools and universities, the increase in the search for virtual teaching platforms was marked, resulting in a peak of growth in the e-Learning market.
Classpert, a great search engine for online courses in the world, registered a 37% increase in searches to its website during the months of March and June this year, compared to the same period in 2019.
The subjects that aroused the greatest interest are focused on Computer Science, Health and Wellness and Business, with qualifications from the most general to the most technical.
This growth trend had been occurring since the beginning of 2020, but it was during the pandemic that the number soared. At Google, interest in the topic grew 130%.
Another factor that contributed to this scenario was that many companies adopted the home office, generating the need to promote more training and online conferences.
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Meanwhile, the blow felt in many sectors of the economy resulted in an increase in the rate of layoffs, which forced many professionals to seek to learn new skills and another source of income. In all cases, the e-Learning market appeared as a good opportunity.
“Teachers have come to see online courses as a way of entrepreneurship,” says Felipe Bernardes, founding partner of Classpert.
Demand may decrease in the post-quarantine period, especially by elementary and high school students and higher education; however, it is anticipated that e-Learning market will continue to witness a steady growth.
E-Learning market in 2020: highlights and segmentation
The Arizton Advisory & intelligence report pointed out some highlights regarding e-Learning market in the world in 2020 :
- With increasing digitization, the public and private sectors are carrying out ambitious plans for online tutoring and delivery of digital content.
- Is expected that the segment will witness an absolute growth of 201% due to the increased effectiveness of the provision of content, aggregation and mode of interaction between end users.
- The instructor-led segment is likely to see incremental growth of $ 72 billion, per account of the high inclination towards personalized education and instructor-led training.
The report also includes a segmented market analysis, which topics we will see next:
Delivery mode
Academic content delivery holds the largest share of the E-learning market.
Very advantageous for students and teachers, distance learning eliminates the need to travel, reaches students in remote locations and is economical for students and professionals, facilitating its application. This mode of education costs 30-70% less than on-campus courses.
The LMS that allow for easy content creation, test material and information exchange between groups in the academic and corporate world will capture much of this public, due to the rapid proliferation of smartphones and the development of interactive learning platforms.
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Teaching mode
The individualized learning (student has access to all course materials and conducts his learning on his own) will grow at a faster pace, followed by instructor-led modules.
The growing preference for continuous learning and the expansion of new career opportunities, is leading companies to use this technology to provide access to training anywhere in the world.
Europe, Russia and the United Kingdom have emerged as the biggest consumers of virtual learning in the past decade. Currently, however, the United States holds the position of the largest e-Learning market in the world, with the potential to radically influence the prospects of the global online course market.
In developing countries, distance learning with an instructor is expected to be the future of digital learning, as it offers flexibility and savings for students and teachers.
Function
The online training segment is expected to witness high growth in the Asia Pacific region (APAC).
Exam training, such as GMAT, TOEFL and IELTS, is a great market opportunity in the region, with a shortage of test resources and the presence of a large segment of students.
Another important factor that is driving the adoption of virtual learning in the region is aggressive government spending with the intention of renewing conventional models of education.
– Blended learning: a combination of online and face-to-face learning
Investment in training, which includes professionals, government and academics, was estimated at $ 113 billion in 2019, with a 72% share of revenues in the global e-learning market.
Testing, on the other hand, was the fastest growing segment, with a market size of more than $ 40 billion, mainly comprising professional testing administration and a number of exclusive and common admission tests around the world.
End-users
The corporate online education market is driven primarily by the growing emphasis on improving and retaining talent.
Globalization is demanding a different set of functional and language skills for the critical workforce, as companies expand their business presence in all regions.
Thus, the corporate training market represents an excellent investment opportunity for instructors.
In the UK, for example, most organizations allow collaboration and knowledge transfer between remote teams, enhancement of functional skills and knowledge sharing across domains, and training for beginning employees.
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Regarding the academic world, the higher education segment is experiencing a high demand for digital courses, content, educational materials and paid subscriptions for global online education platforms.
The advent of mass open online courses (MOOC) has witnessed an unprecedented boost among students from universities and international schools. Europe has a well-established market for e-learning in higher education.
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Geography
The e-Learning market is driven by technological infrastructure, a wide range of innovative learning and training solutions, and a high awareness of distance learning in relation to conventional offline learning models.
With the growing trend of using online courses and learning materials as a practical substitute for regular classroom teaching, the market is experiencing tremendous growth.
This is driving the popularity and acceptance of digital solutions. The average disposable income of the population, the rapid proliferation of smartphones and innovations in the development of interactive learning platforms are the main factors that should drive the growth of the market.
Suppliers
Participation in the global e-learning market is relatively fragmented. Setting the right price to capture the potential consumer is a strategic challenge for course creators.
As there are few safeguards to protect intellectual property, especially in terms of content copyrights, suppliers must innovate and always offer more engaging content. This will allow them to better cope with the price-based competition that arises as a result of increasing competition.
Because of a large number of course creators and in the face of rapidly evolving learning preferences, it is imperative that suppliers focus not only on customer acquisition, but also on retention.
While freemium offers with attractive short-term subscription prices can help you reach a large customer base, continued investments in product development can help you engage and retain the public.
E-Learning market in Latin America
The eLearning market in Latin America is expected to reach more than US $ 10 billion by 2025, due to the development of educational institutions that raise literacy levels in the regions.
In countries like Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, is noted public investment in the development of educational platforms for students.
Latin America e-learning industry, by country, 2025 (USD Million)
According to the Brazilian Association for Distance Education (Abed), in a study released in late 2019, there are currently 9 million students enrolled in distance learning in Brazil.
With a billionaire potential, the country is growing at a fast pace, discovering the potential of online education for instructors and students.
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E-Learning platform, Coursify.me is a Learning Management System dynamic and ready to serve you.
With numerous resources that facilitate online teaching and learning, it has integration with content platforms, such as YouTube and Vimeo. In addition, the user can upload videos, texts, images, audios and any other material hosted on Dropbox or on the computer itself.
All of this in an easy and intuitive way, being accessible to everyone.
Serving schools, businesses and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is the ideal solution for those who want to create, sell and advertise courses on the internet.
To learn more, visit our website, test the platform, and enter the eLearning market right now.