Learn In raises $3.5 million

Learn In, “the first upskilling-as-a-service startup,” has raised $3.5 million in seed funding from Album, GSV, Village Global, Firework Ventures, and angel investor Michael Levinthal.

Learn In came to life in March 2020 by popular learning platform Degreed cofounders David Blake and Eric Sharp, along with Taylor Blake and Yael Gilboa Kaufmann, with the mission to transform the modern workforce. The startup makes it easy for companies to offer employees sabbaticals, during which time they can acquire the new skills that are essential within an evolving workplace. Learn In delivers companies and their employees “the very best” in online, new-age, low-cost training programs, as well as traditional degree options particularly focused on digital skills and hard-to-fill roles such as data science and software engineering.

Learn In wants to help companies avoid the costly practice of firing and rehiring. The hiring costs of a mid-level software engineer can be north of $30,000, but reskilling an internal employee to do the same job can save a company as much as $116,000 over three years, per person. And data from several studies shows that companies can save at least 33% by allocating time and money to internal talent development, particularly for hard-to-fill roles.

“In less than six weeks, we’ve gone from historic unemployment lows and unprecedented talent shortages to the highest levels of weekly unemployment on record, with more than 16 million people out of work in the US. Learn In provides a better option to layoffs or furloughs for the long-term health of workers, companies, and the economy amid these volatile conditions.” – David Blake, co-founder and CEO of Learn In.

“Supporting people, and providing hope, is a priority right now. Keeping people employed is key. We need to quickly equip people with the skills that remain in-demand. Learning sabbaticals can be a tool for both our short-term and our long-term employment priorities. Companies get more skilled employees while managing payroll costs; employees get invested in during this moment of turbulence. Learning sabbaticals can help more companies train and retain their employees right now.” – Arne Duncan, Former US Secretary of Education.

“Innovative companies have offered sabbaticals and part-time work as alternatives to layoffs in the past, but never in a situation quite like this. Similarly, companies have offered tuition assistance to help support employees engaging in learning or finishing a university undergraduate or graduate program. Learn In enables both companies and employees to benefit from what could be considered a lull in ‘normal’ work so that each is in a stronger position when the pandemic ends. Companies need a highly trained workforce that is capable of embracing the demands of the future. This is our best chance for developing that workforce.” – Learn In cofounder Yael Gilboa Kaufmann.