The business of last mile training (upskilling & reskilling) | Gordon McRae (General Assembly, Multiverse)
The business of last mile training (upskilling & reskilling) | Gordon McRae (General Assembly, Multiverse)
Understanding tech bootcamps, apprenticeships, and hire-train-deploy programs.
Hey 👋 Akis here from Qurioos! Every month I share the latest insights from the world of learning & AI. Join 1,100+ subscribers to get access to every post.
In this episode, I interviewed Gordon McRae, ex-Head of Learning at General Assembly and Multiverse, co-founder of UX Collective, edtech advisor, and an absolute expert in bootcamps, apprenticeships, and last-mile training providers. He also writes the best newsletter I’ve found in this space: The View.
What you’ll learn
The market size and types of providers.
The key players across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and APAC.
The merger & acquisition trends in this niche.
Where the opportunities for growth are.
💎 What are last-mile training providers
They emerged in the last 10 years or so, and they are a bridge between university and employment. They also act as an alternative to university, and their sole focus is getting someone a job at the end of the program.
Bootcamps: 8-12 week programs that teach typically (but not exclusively) digital skills such as web development/coding, data analysis, cyber security, and other similar programs.
Apprenticeships: On-the-job training programs funded either through related government grants or by employers themselves via the related levy funds.
Hire-train-deploy: Training groups of people in specific skills and then contracting those learners out to employers for a fixed period of time such as 2-3 years. Depending on the nature of the relationship with employers, these organizations may train (re-skill/upskill) also the existing employees of their employer partners.
☁️ What do they offer
Gordon shared in his newsletter the following table which summarizes the types of programs that are offered by the different providers:
🏷️ Who are the learner profiles
Career changers: 25-45yo who have worked for 2-10 yrs in some industry and are looking to shift to a digital/tech career.
School leavers: Just graduated from university, choosing to do a bootcamp instead of a master’s or Ph.D. program as a fast track into employment.
Upskilling: Entrepreneurs or professionals that need to upskill themselves in order to launch a digital/tech team or a project where they need to understand what’s happening.
🤝 Who is paying for the programs
For most of the last decade the bootcamp market grew through self-pay, so individuals pay for a program themselves. This model is coming to an end or will evolve into something else in the US/Europe as the market has matured. During the same period hire-train-deploy providers, generated revenue by contracting leaners to companies, and bootcamps are now looking at B2B as well for growth.
Revature: “Get paid to train. No exit fees. No commitment bond.”
FDM Group: The following shows the typical hire-train-deploy flow.
💰 What’s the market size
There is limited data and most of the available data is focused on the ~600 bootcamp providers that various reports are tracking. The bootcamp market is estimated at $500m - $750m globally in Q1 2023, but forecasts vary depending on which forward-looking report you check.
🏁 Who are the key bootcamp players
💡 I'm linking to their Linkedin company pages so you can check team size and funding (if any).US players (most are the global leaders):
🇺🇸 Bloom Institute of Technology (ex-Lambda School)
🇺🇸 Thinkful
🇺🇸 Coding Dojo
🇺🇸 Springboard
European players:
🇺🇦 GIOS (Global Innovative Online School) (Math/Kids)
🇫🇷 Le Wagon
🇫🇷 COLORI (Kids)
🇫🇷 Simplon.co
🇬🇧 Decoded
🇬🇧 Encode Club (Web3)
🇬🇧 MEL Science (Seince/Kids)
🇬🇧 ProjectSet
🇩🇪 codary | We're hiring! (Kids)
🇩🇪 Maphi (Math/Kids)
🇳🇱 Growth Tribe
🇳🇱 JetLearn (Kids)
🇪🇸 Ironhack
🇪🇸 WoWplay
🇭🇺 Codecool
🇮🇹 EPICODE
🇵🇱 Skriware (Kids)
Non-for profit players
🇪🇺 MigraCode Europe groups 9 non-profit bootcamps that focus on supporting and educating vulnerable groups such as refugees and migrants.
Find more players
💡 Mergers & acquisitions so far
According to CourseReport, 33 acquisitions between Jun. 2014 and Aug. 2022. Here is a snapshot showcasing some of the most notable ones:
🔮 Challenges and where to look for growth
💡 Click to watch the relevant part of the conversation with Gordon.(11:32) Build B2B employer relationships and use recruitment fees
(12:53) Leverage government funding through the apprenticeship levy
(13:16) Research new topic areas beyond software development, analytics, etc.
(15:37) Finding the right instructors for unlocking growth
(17:49) Revenue-sharing with universities (Trilogy, 2U, HyperionDev, and FourthRev)
(20:36) Create products for new untapped audiences that fit the bootcamp model
(23:17) Moving from offering just “literacy” products to “mastery” products
(26:11) Where to find data on current employer needs (Local hiring, Reports)
(30:51) Overview of trends that will impact growth in this space
(32:22) Key areas of growth from the Burning Glass Report (Link to the report)
(33:30) APAC, LATAM, and Africa are massive growth areas (Kibo School)
If you find this newsletter valuable, consider sharing it with friends, or subscribing if you aren’t already.
See you at the next one,
Akis 👋