The coming together of Degreed and Pathgather supercharges organizations’ ability to deliver on the learner promise: learning not just for the sake of itself but to build competencies and skills that matter.
As an analyst, I always look for breakthroughs that are groundbreaking in the industry and also reshape the ways organizations think and act forever. Degreed and Pathgather coming together is one of those breakthroughs.
Learning’s rapid evolution is driven by learners who want to be inspired, empowered and in control of their learning. The have their own vision, mission and strategy for how and what they learn. Learners want to know that as they progress in their learning, they will have an equal opportunity to advance in their careers, increase earnings and build their own unique set of credentials. Degreed plus Pathgather is the new way forward for learners.
The coming together of Degreed and Pathgather supercharges organizations’ ability to deliver on the learner promise: learning not just for the sake of itself but to build competencies and skills that matter.
Degreed and Pathgather provide a new and refreshing opportunity for organizations to make a memorable and measurable impact on improving — and setting the bar for — what a great learning experience is supposed to be.
“This combination makes us the unequivocal leader in learning experience platforms,” said Chris McCarthy, CEO of Degreed. “Corporate learning budgets are shifting fast and LXPs have emerged as the new operating system for employees’ training and development. Pathgather and Degreed defined this market. Now, together, we have the products, expertise, relationships and war chest we need to accelerate innovation and dramatically accelerate our growth.”
This is a combination that should make you sit up and pay attention. The transaction clearly joins together two powerful experts in the arena of learning experience platforms – both pioneers in the space. It also uniquely positions Degreed as the leader in the learning experience platforms market, with a combined client base of more than 200 organizations, over four million licensed users and nearly $100 million in funding.
Eric Duffy, CEO of Pathgather, said “Joining forces with Degreed plugs us into the biggest and most vibrant community of innovative learning and HR executives in the world. We’re excited to tap into Degreed’s experience, insights and resources.”
This is just the beginning of a movement that has been set in permanent motion to transform how organizations look at learning and improving individual and organizational performance.
What should we look forward to, based on this company combination?
Degreed has set an aggressive agenda to expand their resources and organizational capabilities to accelerate the impact their platform has on clients and learners. Look for the following to be key milestones for the two organizations:
- Sustaining the lead with best-in-class learner experience
- Expanding access to more and better learning content
- Improving administration, content management and reporting capabilities
- Accelerating the use of data science and machine learning
- Continued investment in proprietary skill rating and certification technologies
This is really great news for organizations and learners for two reasons. First, Degreed and Pathgather will continue to offer their industry-leading approach and we should eagerly look forward to what’s in their pipeline. Second, their efforts help focus the offerings of all learning providers on what’s most important: improving the learner experience.
Degreed said, “The future is certain.” I think it is, too. Learner experience platforms are here to stay and are now the standard for how all learning technology must function.
– Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal HCM Analyst, Brandon Hall Group
