Caso di studio
Industria
Technology
Sede aziendale
Tampere, Finland
Numero di dipendenti
30
BearIT Gets Professionals Back to Work and Fills the Tech Skills Gap
Udemy promuove i risultati aziendali
Dettagli del caso di studio
Founded in response to Finland’s unemployment crisis, BearIT helps IT professionals across the country upskill in the latest technologies to find work quickly — while also supporting its own workforce of developers and consultants.
By moving its Learning and Development (L&D) program to Udemy Business Pro, BearIT now benefits from Udemy paths and thousands of hard and soft skills training courses, allowing it to scale its operations and help thousands of citizens gain professional employment.
Manual processes and in-person L&D
For many IT professionals in Finland, the economic shock of the 2008 financial crisis created huge instability in the technology sector, in some cases, putting tens of thousands out of work overnight. As the sector recovered, the country had countless highly-skilled unemployed professionals needing additional support to deal with an ever-changing technology landscape.
This is where BearIT came in. The company’s founder established it not just as an outsourced IT services provider but also to upskill experienced IT professionals, offering them employment with BearIT or helping them find work elsewhere.
“Finland had thousands of unemployed experienced IT professionals who couldn’t maintain their skills — particularly as cloud technology became a mainstay,” says Teemu Karhu, CEO and Founder at BearIT. “I knew these people were familiar with the industry and its processes, but I needed a more efficient and effective way to upskill them in modern technologies.”
BearIT used classroom-based retraining courses that, while serving an important purpose, couldn’t provide the right scale or keep pace with the latest technologies. In addition, Teemu couldn’t find suitable tutors to offer more in-person training, restricting the company’s development.
What’s more, the Finnish government was interested in what Teemu and his colleagues were trying to achieve and commissioned a six-month pilot.
To deliver its new government project, resource for its own needs, and help more professionals gain employment, BearIT needed a scalable online learning solution that could offer custom training programs without requiring any manual course creation.
CEO and Founder
$285K saved and 90% learner employability
Following a comprehensive platform assessment process, BearIT chose Udemy Business for its scale and diversity. “We trialed university-based courses which were too academic, and platforms like Pluralsight simply didn’t update their content regularly enough,” says Teemu. “Udemy Business set itself apart by offering a much wider range of courses — it opened our minds to more technologies.”
Udemy Paths for faster progression without the admin
After selecting Udemy Business as its chosen online learning platform, Teemu faced another problem: how to create customized L&D programs for a much larger cohort of learners. Keen to take advantage of Udemy Paths capabilities, BearIT added Udemy Pro to each of its Udemy Business licences — gaining access to immersive learning content including skills assessments, hands-on labs created by expert instructors, and virtual technical environments. It means that each learner can evaluate their skills, receive course suggestions, and actively practise what they’ve learned in a real-world scenario.
Udemy Paths also remove the manual work associated with building customized L&D programs bespoke for individuals or certain job roles. “One of the biggest values of Udemy Business Pro for us is the Udemy Paths,” says Teemu. “Each Path is tailored using a competency mapping tool, allowing each individual to be directed into the right program. We’ve had around 2,000 people use the platform so far. Udemy has been critical in achieving this scale — it simply wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”
A company recognized for its social purpose
Since increasing the number of people it helps upskill and gain employment, BearIT has become the first and only technology company in Finland to be awarded the Finnish Labor Union’s Corporate Enterprise label. The award recognizes companies that use profits to solve a social or environmental problem. And when you consider it can cost up to $29K to support one unemployed person in Finland annually, the economics stack up.
What’s more, BearIT’s work has gained the attention of several other organizations in the region suffering the effects of the global IT professional shortage — looking to BearIT for trained IT professionals through the company’s training program.
Digitized L&D designed to weather any storm
With its L&D program fully digitized as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, BearIT seamlessly transitioned to hybrid and remote working, enabling its employees and learners to continue studying as normal. “As COVID-19 hit, our L&D remained unaffected; we could react very quickly,” says Teemu. “We expect to double our revenue next year — Udemy Business Pro has a large part to play in this.”
By taking advantage of dashboard metrics in the Udemy platform, Teemu and his team can now follow each learner’s progress in detail. This allows BearIT to easily map its L&D program to individual targets and follow each learner’s progress.
And the results speak for themselves. Using Udemy Business and Udemy Business Pro, BearIT has saved more than $285,000 in enrolled courses and boasts 90% of its learning cohort going on to find professional work. “Udemy has had a huge impact on our company; it’s given us scalability and the nuance to make our L&D more relevant,” says Teemu. “The platform improves every process and helps everyone focus on what matters most.”
CEO and Founder
Platform scalability for rapid growth
In moving its L&D program to an online learning solution, BearIT has freed many of its team to focus on growing the company’s services. For example, the company recently secured a contract to digitize the Finnish government’s unemployment services — something that would have been impossible otherwise.
As the company goes from strength to strength, helping its employees and countless IT professionals boost their skills through targeted learning, Teemu is rightly proud of the company’s achievements: “The social impact of what we do constantly motivates us,” says Teemu. “And the range of Udemy’s platform and all its details make our jobs easier.”
CEO and Founder
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