E-learning market projected to hit massive $500bn valuation

The e-learning market is in an undeniable growth phase.

In fact, as shown by data in the latest ResearchAndMarkets.com report on the global e-learning market, by 2027 the sector will be worth almost $500 billion up from $250 billion in 2020.

While the overwhelming majority of HR and learning professionals will know that this growth will be in part to meet growing employee demand  — in early 2022 LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning report found that this was driving a 94% increase in the need to hire learning specialists as companies turned to L&D to help retain talent — COVID-19, expansion in key markets, and new technologies are all playing their role.

In fact, it is over the COVID-19 crisis, as many employers moved to remote or hybrid work, that e-learning market growth was revised and it is now projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 10% a year until 2027.

Interestingly, the report finds that augmented and virtual technologies will play a noticeable role in market growth, as well as the expansion of academic e-learning provision which is a segment expected to grow at a rate of 10% a year until 2027.

For e-learning firms interested in where in the world is growing fastest: China, the world’s second-largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of $118.6 billion by the year 2027, with a 12% compound annual growth rate.

In addition, the German e-learning market is expected to grow at 9.7% CAGR with Canada expected to grow at 8.6% CAGR.

The report noted: “The global market for e-learning is estimated to be worth $499.1 Billion by 2027.”

E-learning delivers benefits for employers

This rocketing growth will likely not surprise people practitioners, as the closure of workplaces during Covid created an immediate need for learning that could be accessed digitally.

Yet is the continued value of learning by workers, which many have concluded is a differentiating factor in talent attraction and retention in a continuing hard-to-hire market, that also seems to be driving this year-on-year growth.

And, according to research by learning technology startup StuDocu, it could be due to the benefits that employers also see.

According to their research, 42% of companies that use e-learning generate more income and it also drives more efficient development.

And with many companies desperate to get into the future of learning right now — improving their use of technology (many still don’t), using cutting-edge technology, and accessing learning data — there are many obvious factors to underpin continued e-learning market growth.

In fact, many organizations will want to access what Richard Hess, the immersive experience lead at Nestlé, says is a learning environment (underpinned by e-learning technology) “that is more impactful than in a traditional training environment.”

In a difficult talent market and with an uncertain business outlook, no HR or learning leader could deny wanting that.