1Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the Promise of Bridging the Skills GapMay 20202In 2008, learning researchers Stephen Downes and George Siemens developed a course entitled Connectivism and Connectivity Knowledge and referred to it as a Massive Open Online Course or MOOC /muk/. The intention was to take advantage of the possibility of a wider participation through the use of online tools and to provide a richer learning environment than traditional tools would allow. The course was attended by 25 students on the campus of the University of Manitoba and a further 2,300 from around the world participated online during its initial course launch. A number of universities such as Stanford, Harvard, and MIT started offering MOOCs, which led to the launch of some of the most popular MOOC platforms including Udacity, Coursera, and edX.* MOOC data does not include China as the metrics are either not available, inadequate, or cannot be validated The number of courses and microcredentials continue to increase annually. By the end of 2019, 13,500 courses were announced or launched, with around 2,500 courses or 18.5% added in 2019 alone. About 170 microcredentials were also added last year, bringing the total to 820. In contrast, online degrees fell in 2019, with only 11 online degrees launched compared to 30 announced in 2018. This could be attributed to low enrolment turnout for MOOC-based degrees.Background and Current State of MOOCMOOC OverviewCourses are the general term for contents offered by MOOC platforms and providers. These contents do not typically offer official credentials or degrees other than a completion certificate which could be free or paid. Microcredentials are short, low-cost online courses that provide learners with a digital certification or a 'digital badge' when complete. These are certification-style qualification which may or may not be an alternative to certain university credits. This makes microcredentials a viable option to bridge knowledge or skills gap for people who want to further pursue a traditional degree or to progress in the workplace. Online degrees are academic degrees achieved through online, distance learning platforms. These degrees are usually paralleled to a bachelors degree, but could sometimes be equated to a high school diploma or a masters degree.900+ Universities13.5kCourses820Micro-credentials50MOOC-based DegreesMOOC Universities and Offerings in 2019*MOOCs are distance-learning courses run by universities that are easily accessible and completely online. MOOCs provide students the option of studying a subject in depth without the constraints of a traditional university course. MOOCs are by nature free, or almost free, unlike traditional education.More than 900 universities launched their MOOCs as of December 2019, offering 13,500 courses, 820 microcredentials, and 50 MOOC-based degrees. In 2019 alone, providers launched over 2,500 courses, 170 microcredentials, and 11 online degrees.3Over the last four years, MOOCs enrolment grew by 214%, from 35 million students in 2015 to 110 million in 2019. Despite the record number of students, the annual growth of the number of MOOC students slowed down since 2015. MOOC students only grew by about 9% YoY in 2019 from 101 million to 110 million. Experts interpreted this as MOOCs reaching maturity instead of a downturn in popularity. The platforms are serving a larger and steadier learner base. Existing students need not to create new accounts to enrol in different courses, therefore do not count as new students.3558811012015 2016 2017 2018 2019Global MOOC Students Growth (in millions)*66%40%25%9%1018158110In terms of subjects, the distribution of courses remained relatively the same over the last five years. Technology and business and management courses are the two most popular subjects since 2015, accounting for nearly 40% of the course offerings in 2019. These courses are considered as the easiest to monetise due to the perceived importance of paid certificates in these subjects. At the same time, most students of these subjects are considered as life-long learners. These life-long learners are usually individuals that are: between the age of 25 and 40, may be way beyond their college years, and are taking these courses with the goal of achieving professional and career growth. 16.80% 19.30%18.50%18.20% 19.70%17.18%17.40% 19.90%20.40%19.80%10.78%9.82%10.60%11.50%11.00%11.27%10.37%10.00%9.48%9.20%9.41% 9.82%9.47%9.44%8.90%9.36%9.26%8.50%8.63%8.10%8.27%7.64%7.18%7.20%7.40%6.73%6.43%5.47%5.02%5.20%6.11%6.32% 7.08%7.03% 7.80%4.09%3.64%3.30%3.10%2.90%2015 2016 2017 2018 2019Business & Management Technology Social SciencesScience Humanities EducationHealth & Medicine Art & Design EngineeringMathematicsMOOC Course Distribution by Subject, 2015-2019MOOC Market Trends4Class Central, an online resource and aggregator of MOOC courses, came up with a list of the 100 best MOOC courses as of 2019. The list was based on nearly 60,000 user reviews on different MOOC platforms. Technology and business courses are some of the most popular courses among MOOC platforms. Similarly, these two subjects have some of the highest rated courses based on user ratings. As of 2019, 23 of the top 100 courses were technology-related while 16 are business courses. This may indicate that the MOOC approach could be an effective learning instrument for students in these subjects. This could also attest to the popularity of these subjects as majority of students enrolled in or showed interest in these courses.Among the best rated are MOOC courses designed to develop technical skills such as data and digital courses. Most of these technology courses involve some form of programming for varied purposes such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and data analytics.Most Popular Technology TopicsAmong MOOCs in 2019 Technology, 23Business, 16Humanities, 16Sciences, 14Personal Development, 11Health & Medicine, 10Engineering, 5Language, 5Class Centrals Top 100 MOOC Coursesby Subject in 2019MOOC Market TrendsMOOC Market ForecastThe global MOOC market size is expected to grow from USD 3.9 billion in 2018 to USD 20.8 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 40.1% during the forecast period. Corporates are increasingly adopting the MOOC as a part of their employee engagement and development programme. They implement MOOC platforms for various purposes, such as training and development, professional certification, and professional courses for developing their employees strategic thinking abilities and improve the production and brand value of the company. In terms of content, the courses that may have the largest CAGR among MOOCs are education and training courses designed for teachers, educators, professors, and trainers. North America is projected to hold the largest market size during the forecast period, owing to a large presence of many solution vendors in the US.5WorkforceReadinessThe Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), also known as Industry 4.0, encompasses technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, 3D printing, and cloud computing. The 4IR ushers in an era of new possibilities for businesses in terms of their capabilities, scale, and decision-making. As businesses take advantage of new innovations, the workforce evolves along with new functions emerging and other roles becoming obsolete. The emergence of new roles and functions, aggravated by rapid technology advances and tight competition among businesses, resulted in a global shortage of 4IR-ready professionals. In a 2018 report on the 4IR, Deloitte outlined four skill categories needed to be developed to thrive in the 4IR. Workforce readiness, soft skills, and entrepreneurship are skills that are highly transferrable from one industry, employer, or role to another. Technical skills, requires targeted training and demands industry-specific expertise. Input from the industry is needed to create opportunities for industry-driven demand analysis, work-based learning, and talent-need projections to redefine the employment pipeline.Skill Categories Need for the 4IRSource: Deloittes Preparing tomorrows workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Soft SkillsEntrepreneur-shipTechnicalSkillsThe Role of MOOCs in the Fourth Industrial RevolutionThe WEF also estimated that more than half (54%) of all employees will require significant reskilling by 2022. This is a massive number of employees that requires scalable, cost-efficient training and education. In-house and external training or classes can be scalable to a certain degree. These methods, which can either be employer or individually funded, can be conducted in large groups and can reach a large number of learners. However, these kinds of events are quite costly. Typically, an employer can only afford to send a handful of employees to such trainings or classes. The same deterrent goes for individuals wanting to pursue traditional education which costs a fortune. Meanwhile, other methods of knowledge and skill sharing, such as mentoring or one-to-one coaching is quite difficult to scale.Considering the scalability and cost of a method to reskill and upskill a workforce, some consider online education platforms, such as MOOCs to tick all the boxes. MOOCs are mostly free, created by industry experts, accessible, and has a wide audience reach.The Skills Gapas a result of the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms may emerge globally by 2022. As a short-term solution, employers had to pay a premium in acquiring talent with the right skills and experience. However, the skills that employers bore the cost for may not be as needed after a few years due to the rapid technological advancements. Hence, as new roles emerge and skills requirements change, the size of the existing pool of skilled workers will no longer be enough to meet demand.According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), at least 133 million new roles will be generated6Limited education pathsLimited training optionsComplexity of digital toolsAlternative Education Paths: MOOC, Learning Communities, BootcampsIncreasing population of educated but underemployed workforceTech Labour ShortageTech Labour BottleneckContrary to the notion that the skills gap is due to low number of people graduating from universities, the talent shortage is also heavily driven by educated individuals who do not posses the skills demanded by the industry. This causes a bottleneck that prevents those who are qualified for digital roles to fill the gap due to the misalignment of their university-acquired skills with those that potential employers actually need. The constriction of talent advancement is worsened by the growing complexity of tools. For instance, the technology utilities used by a student at the university may not be as widely-used among employers in favour of a more advanced but a more complicated tools. This bottleneck can be alleviated through the use of alternative education paths, including MOOC, to complement, not replace, the traditional education an individual already has. The emergence and growth of these alternative educational paths support the idea that there is a growing demand for more efficient and accessible training alternatives. These alternatives, nevertheless, still have obstacles they need to overcome in gaining legitimacy amongst a larger audience and proving their effectiveness in translating education into jobs. But as they progress, they ease the tech talent bottleneck and make it easier for the underemployed to migrate into the tech workforce, resulting in a diminished tech talent shortage.The Technology Workforce Bottleneck7A recent academic study examined the use of MOOC in narrowing the skills gap and upskilling employees. While the research is focused on Australia, the findings have a broader relevance. The study reviewed literature related to the subject and narrowed the number of articles, from an initial 219 to just 19 reports. There are three main themes that emerged in the research.MOOCs Promise of Bridging the Skills GapMOOC: Bridging the GapMOOCs could provide flexibilityThe need for flexible training and upskilling methods is a recurring theme among the studies. MOOCs are described as flexible, not only in time and location, but for their ability to deliver professional development and upskilling in bulk and faster than traditional methods. The benefits of this modern approach are identified as being particularly relevant to people who have existing jobs and family commitments. Flexible delivery also allows employers to provide updated content to meet the needs of their industries. MOOCs also help learners gain greater access to contemporary views, up-to-date trends and practices, to enhance their professional development. MOOC delivery allows professionals to balance their personal development goals and their work commitment.MOOCs could address rapid changes in skills demandMOOCs are well-suited to keep up with the fast-changing workplace demands. The nature of MOOCs allows it to break down new skills or technologies to smaller and more consumable portions for the learner. It also allows for incremental acquisition of capabilities which ensures job security as jobs and occupations evolve. In line with this, the demographic of MOOC participants is reported to be shifting to the post-university workforce. Individuals with traditional university degrees and significant professional experience take advantage of MOOCs to upskill, reskill, and assemble a diverse portfolio of microcredentials. At the same time, as professional standards change, MOOCs can be used to keep staff up-to-speed with new competencies and address high turnover and staff shortages where specialised training is urgently needed.MOOCs could deliver needed credentialsLastly, MOOCs can provide credentials which can be used as indirect substitute for traditional academic achievements to a certain degree. The study cited the difference between the educational system in the US and Australia. In the US, credits earned through MOOCs and other online platforms are accepted by a number of universities. Meanwhile, no educational council in Australia has laid out their guidelines for accrediting MOOCs. This leaves employers in the dark in terms of the value of MOOC credentials. The same dilemma is echoed globally. The value of MOOC credentials may be different from one industry or geography to another. A survey of human resources managers showed that the lack of accreditation and academic legitimacy would be a barrier to making hiring or promotion decisions. 8Some experts argued that MOOCs are like the “holy grail” of mass upskilling to address skills shortage. It showed a lot of promise since it launched in 2008. However, more than a decade after it was first introduced, a number of industry experts expressed doubts over its capability to bridge the gap.Data from courses taught on