Democratising Online Education: ReSkills

“Our choice to diversify our products and user outreach programs have helped us to go far, and we are confident these will continue to keep us going.”

ReSkills is a global e-learning platform for the leaders and creators of tomorrow. It offers a variety of practical and impactful learning services carefully designed to fulfil learners’ needs and requirements. The company focuses on affordable career learning to complement academic learning for adult learners, through global coaches in different languages. ReSkills has two headquarters located in Malaysia and Dubai.

Currently, ReSkills serves over 600,000 users and has over 450 coaches.

The Silicon Review reached out to Reskills’s Kuala Lumpur headquarters and spoke with Jin Tan, who founded the company. Here’s what he said.

Interview Highlights

Q. How does ReSkills transform student learning?

Many other education providers treat student learning as a passive, mostly one-way affair. Students are merely given a video to watch and then take a generic assessment afterward. ReSkills reshapes this process by treating learning as a two-way, interactive, and practical process, with the main goal of answering the student’s educational needs. This can be seen through its revolutionary ReSkills OnLive platform, which allows students to learn online directly from experienced coaches via live video sessions. On this platform, students are also given access to more holistic, hands-on learning activities such as role-playing sessions. Our syllabus is geared towards adult learners, especially those just joining the working world, or those who want to upskill themselves for a new industry.

The live nature of the platform also allows students to directly ask coaches questions. Learning, therefore, is transformed from merely sitting and listening, into a more interactive and lively affair. ReSkills also realizes that there are many learning paths, and different students may learn at different paces, or through different styles. To handle this, the platform offers various educational products, each of which is specially curated to handle a different niche in the educational market. Students who enjoy more auditory styles of learning can try ReSkills’s podcasts, while more kinetic or practical learners may enjoy ReSkills Special programs or attend an OnStage learning session.

We also have a focus on sustainability as per the United Nations Goals on Sustainable Development and believe in education being accessible and affordable to everyone. We offer a wide array of enhanced educational services at only $12 a year, or $1 a month.

Q. Given ReSkills is a global OnLive learning platform, how uniquely does it address the diverse needs of adult learners?

At ReSkills diversity and inclusion are highly important, and we strive to offer classes that suit the needs of as many people as possible. Many of our classes are also conducted in different languages, and by coaches from all around the region. This adds a layer of local context to our educational content, which can be useful when applying for a job in a particular area.

We, at ReSkills, also do our best to curate our learning syllabus to offer a good mix of classes each month and ensure there are always classes for both new and more experienced learners. Apart from that, there is also a Deaf Learning Department to conduct classes for those with hearing disabilities. Our coaches are also specially briefed to recognize the different and unique needs of students and are encouraged to take them into account when teaching and giving assessments.

Q. What are the various courses ReSkills offers to local and global students?

Through our ReSkills OnLive platform, we offer a variety of micro-courses for both local and global students. Topics can range from more specialized, technical courses (fundamentals of digital marketing, coding, storyboarding for video, etc.) to soft skills (personal grooming, negotiation, personal finance, etc.) and even personal development (goal achievement, workplace efficiency, language improvement skills, etc.).

Every student who completes a course receives a micro-certificate. These micro-certificates require a shorter study duration compared to traditional diplomas and degrees and are designed to provide learners with the knowledge, skills, and competencies for focused areas of study. Since these credentials are generally focused on specific learning areas, they can be obtained much more quickly.

We aim to provide courses that are relevant to today’s modern, rapid-paced business environment, and which give the most value to adult students. All our courses are accredited by international bodies such as Accredited CPD & Training, Quality License Scheme, and the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning. These high-value certifications are recognized worldwide and are a great way for learners to enhance their portfolios.

Q. What new endeavors is ReSkills currently undertaking?

ReSkills is currently working on several outreach programs. These are aimed to help us get to know our users better and be more aware of their learning needs and preferences. Our goal is to enhance customer loyalty and improve our service, ultimately being the optimum spot for online educational development.

We will also be examining and potentially revamping some of our existing ReSkills courses and products, to better suit the needs of adult students. Apart from that, we are working hard to form collaborations with many other companies and players in the market.

More importantly, new technologies such as augmented reality interaction and metaverse learning will be potential game-changers for the field of education, and we look forward to updating and improving our current systems in light of these advances.

Q. No doubt ReSkills is charting new territories in this segment. Given how frequently circumstances change, what plans for transformation are you pursuing to remain relevant now and in the future?

Currently, I am looking into streamlining my company (and workforce) into a more efficient, improved version of itself. I am also looking into a more long-term focused approach to company growth, where the focus is shifted to small gains—consistently gained over a set amount of time. I believe transformation does not always need to be drastic or overnight: slow but consistent transformations are safer, reliable, and easier to attain.

I recently read an article that in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, companies are now placing greater emphasis on skills rather than academic qualifications in their search for digital talent. Technical skills such as data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital marketing, and software development are now widely in demand in the hiring market. I find this a very interesting development and am focusing on ReSkills to be able to address this increased demand through our classes.

There are also plans towards a focus on premium accounts, increased user outreach, and increased revenue. Apart from just having educational sessions, we also look to have social nights and enjoyable outings to build a stronger bond between us and our users. At ReSkills, we constantly re-examine and re-evaluate our content, to determine our educational focus and approach for the years to come. Finally, we also have plans to create more of a presence at live and physical events (such as education fairs), in addition to affirming our social media presence. With the world re-opening after the worst part of the pandemic, new opportunities are greatly abounding, and the time is right to transform ourselves and tackle this brave new world.

Q. How is the industry you serve currently evolving? And where does ReSkills stand at the moment relative to other participants in the industry?

The EdTech industry is evolving rapidly, and we constantly have to be aware of developments made in this sector. As mentioned in earlier answers, developments in AR technology and metaverse learning, just to name a few, are about to change the educational landscape forever, and we intend to keep in tune with that.

I believe that ReSkills currently stands at the forefront of the industry, relative to other participants. I believe we got a head start, by starting early and weathering through this pandemic. Our OnLive Learning classes is also a unique selling point (USP). Our choice to diversify our products and user outreach programs have helped us to go far, and we are confident these will continue to keep us going. In just over a year, we have grown to over 600,000 users, with over 450 coaches. I do not believe any other participant in this industry has been able to recreate what we have done at this same scale or reach any of the achievements we have had.

Jin Tan | Founder

Jin Tan is the principal partner at TBV Capital, a securities commission licensed venture capital fund in Malaysia, focusing on empowering startups across Asia. He serves as the National Business & Economic Affairs Commission Chairman at JCI Malaysia, an international youth empowerment organization. In 2020, he set up ReSkills Global, an online educational platform aimed at making education affordable and accessible to everyone.  

“With the world re-opening after the worst part of the pandemic, new opportunities are greatly abounding, and the time is right to transform ourselves and tackle this brave new world.”