Adults go online for courses to help job prospects

AROUND one in six adults have done, or are intending to take, an online course as the programmes become more popular with the public and employers.

Many are signing up for “moocs” – massive open online courses – in a bid to further their careers, while for others it is a way of pursuing a personal interest, according to research.

The study, by Futurelearn, the Open University and Parthenon-EY, also reveals that employers are increasingly using the courses to differentiate between job applicants. And it shows that graduates would like to have studied for at least part of their degree through online modules.

Overall, 15 per cent of those surveyed for the research said they have either taken a short online course, or intend to do so.

This suggests that doing such a course is becoming a mainstream activity for UK consumers, the study concluded.

It adds: “For the majority, short online courses are a means to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive job market.

“For a significant minority, they are done out of pure interest in learning more about the world which surrounds them.”

Some 332 the 485 potential learners questioned already had a degree, of which around half (47 per cent) said they would have preferred to take at least part of their degree as a series of online modules.

The study, which also surveyed 510 employers, found that about a third said it is more difficult to differentiate between candidates than it was three years ago.

Nearly half said short courses are a differentiating factor between applicants.