3 Reasons eLearning is Growing in the Middle East

• 3 min read

What you need to know about eLearning and training across the Middle East

The massive growth in eLearning in recent years has, geographically, been tied to North America and the European Union. But just as Middle East states and cities (think the United Arab Emirates and Dubai) tend to find an economic opportunity and rapidly develop a presence within it, things have been no different in the realm of eLearning.

With that, let’s look at three reasons eLearning is bound to only grow in the Middle East:

1. The best employees want better training

Like elsewhere in the world, employees seek good learning opportunities. In the Middle East, a recent study by Bayt.com (that’s the region’s biggest employment site,) found that an overwhelming percentage (83%) of employees were willing to leave their current employers in the interest of, get this, better training opportunities.

Employees don’t view their careers as having value when they don’t see opportunities for progression within their roles. And they won’t believe that their own employers believe in their capacity for progression if they aren’t afforded the right training and development opportunities. UAE employers are recognizing this, and it is only a matter of time before economically successful nations across the region begin to get the message as well.

2. ME leadership increasingly gets the value of training

Increasingly known for a more progressive mindset among its neighbours, the UAE is boosting investment in employee education, particularly in the IT sector. Once focused on improving literacy rates (to great success, reaching 90% in recent years,) UAE leadership has recently made IT and eLearning, two natural bedfellows, central to its initiatives.

3. With massive market growth comes serious training investment

As we reported a few years back, the eLearning market in the Middle East used to sit around $450 million. That value is poised to reach $570 million in 2016, and we’re looking at a potentially 9% annual growth rate through the same year. The UAE itself also receives the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) after Turkey in all west Asia, with $13 billion attracted in 2015 alone.

While national economies can be surprised by unique growth numbers, smart ones don’t sustain those numbers without the right level of investment in the fundamentals of what got them there in the first place. It may be a prognostication, but considering the recent meteoric growth in the region, and the UAE’s apparent awareness of the value of experience, training, and retention in terms of cultivating a valuable workforce that can help cultivate future business.

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