#TheFuturein5 Episode 32: What LinkedIn’s Acquisition of Lynda Means for Talent Management

LinkedIn, the professional social networking site, just bought Lynda for $1.5 billion. For those of your not familiar with Lynda, it is a platform that provides online courses similar to AccountAcademy, Coursera, and Udemy. Basically, you can access thousands of courses on all sorts of different topics; and, pretty much, learn any skill that you want. Not too long ago, I did a podcast interview with the chief human resources officer at LinkedIn, Pat Wadors, who is also speaking at our Future of Work Forum on April 29th in San Francisco. We had a long conversation about the future of HR, and it is very interesting to see this latest development. A lot of people are speculating about what this means — why did LinkedIn buy Lynda? There are some really great posts that have been written about this, but I wanted to share my insights. I think this is huge move — a “genius” move. We join LinkedIn to connect with others, to find jobs or to recruit. In this episode of the Future in Five I talk about LinkedIn as the professional social networking site, and its role to employers and employees. I talk about the “skills gap.” Could this acquisition be the bridge that allows LinkedIn to close that gap? So, out of curiosity, have you ever taken a course through Lynda? Do you use LinkedIn for professional networking? Would you find it valuable if LinkedIn offered you courses that help you become a better candidate for that job? I think the next 12–18 months are going to be very interesting to watch. Tune in and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Jacob is an author, speaker, and futurist. You can learn more by visiting TheFutureOrganization.com

You can also subscribe to Jacob’s newsletter to get weekly content on the future of work and the first 30 pages of his new book, The Future of Work