Accenture launches learning platform - Accenture LearnVantage

Accenture has launched Accenture LearnVantage, a technology learning and training services for its clients. The company will invest $1 billion in Accenture LearnVantage over three years, while also agreeing to acquire educational platform Udacity. The service will help clients re-skill and upskill in the areas of technology, data and AI to fill gaps created by advances in technologies and offer personalised learning in areas like AI and data science.

“We are passionate about helping our clients become ‘talent creators’—with people at the center of their reinvention using technology, data and AI—and a critical part of that is investing in industry-specific training and technology skills development,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture. “We are scaling Accenture’s deep capabilities as a world-class learning organization to help our clients meet their business growth objectives and enable their people to develop the relevant skills they need to make the most of the opportunities that technological change is bringing.”

Accenture has helped many enterprises upskill their workforces for business reinvention, including biopharmaceutical company Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada.

Accenture has invested to create an AI-native learning platform that seamlessly integrates with an organization’s existing learning platforms. With the help of an AI recommendation engine, the platform curates the best learning content from Accenture and third-party providers to offer a personalized learning journey that aligns with priority areas of learning.

Accenture LearnVantage will offer tailored technology learning programs; specialized, predesigned technology academies; ecosystem learning certification services; and managed services for a client’s own learning capabilities. LearnVantage also will offer Nanodegree programs, certified online programs designed to provide users with hands-on experience and industry-relevant skills in specialized fields.

The acquisition of Udacity will bring to Accenture the company’s capabilities in integrating proprietary content, expert services and scalable learning technology and aligns with Accenture’s long-standing approach to learning through formal training, learning by doing and coaching by experts. Udacity provides localized course offerings in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Korean and Spanish. Udacity’s more than 230 professionals will join the Accenture LearnVantage business. Accenture LearnVantage’s full set of services will be available later this year following the closing of the acquisition.

Accenture LearnVantage will work with technology ecosystem partners, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft, to provide generative AI content, industry-relevant technology training and cloud certifications for their joint clients. It will also work with additional world-class learning partners, including Pluralsight, Coursera, Workera and Skillsoft.

“The rapid rise of generative AI has grown our clients’ need for training and upskilling their people in cloud, data and AI as they build their digital core, which is essential for reinvention,” said Kishore Durg, Global Lead of Accenture LearnVantage. “Accenture LearnVantage will help our clients not only advance their business goals but also help their people build the skills they will need for the next waves of technology change.”