“Free Online Learning Could Transform Chinese Economy” Says CEO of World’s First Free Open Learning Platform

Galway, Ireland, June 10, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Ahead of his talk at the International Conference and Expo of Education Industry in Dalian, China next week, Mike Feerick, Founder and CEO of ALISON, has stated that “ubiquitous and highly scalable free online learning could transform the Chinese economy, upskilling more workers than ever before across industries, from manufacturing to agriculture, helping to narrow the urban and rural divide, and help make the Chinese economy ever more competitive.” Founded in 2007, ALISON is the global leader in free online certified learning for the workplace.

Mr Feerick stated, “China is one of the world’s largest economies and is increasingly successful on the world stage, however, to expand from an export-led economy to a knowledge-based economy means a massive demand for up-skilled labour. Upskilling such a large population can only be achieved by harnessing the power of free online learning and government can play a leading role in bringing about this opportunity.”

Mr Feerick has recently returned from India, where ALISON has just reached 1 million learners, however ALISON’s number of learners in China is measured in tens of thousands rather than millions. “ALISON is most popular in China for its free English language resources, with its business and IT courses also in demand. Despite China’s size, most of the world’s knowledge is published in the English language, and as the world’s premier language for international trade & commerce, any aspiring Chinese business person must learn it - and why not learn it for free on ALISON?”

The ALISON founder also recommended three policies that the Chinese government should implement to radically propel online learning for all within China. “Firstly, the government could mandate that free online informal learning becomes an integral part of any hiring decisions across public and semi-state recruitment. It would comprehensively deliver the message that free online lifelong learning is important, relevant and valued.”

Secondly, “through economic or tax incentives, Governments could encourage private industry, from large corporations to small businesses, to follow suit and integrate free online learning into their hiring and employment practices across their organisations.”

Thirdly, the Government could encourage businesses to “create basic level online courses for training purposes that will make industry less reliant on others, including government, for its workforce training needs, and allow individuals to become more competitive, enabling them to make better choices in what they work at, and where they work.”

Feerick concluded: “Universities and colleges, almost without exception, provide education and training that is too expensive. ALISON’s mission is to drive the costs of education and skills training to zero, thereby increasing access and equity of education.”

Speaking about Mr Feerick’s upcoming talk, Ms. Cici Gao, spokesperson for the Organising Commission of ICEE-2016 said that “we are exciting to welcome Mike Feerick, a global pioneer in free learning to China and look forward to hearing his views on how China can engage in this new world of free certified learning.”

Mr Feerick has been invited to China to speak at the BIT’s 1st Annual International Conference and Expo of Education Industry being held in, Dalian, China June 10th – 12th.