Udemy announced an expansion of its corporate learning platform on Thursday, unveiling Udemy Business Pro as a way for companies to further enhance their employees' technical skills.

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Udemy said the Business Pro platform will offer employers new features like Udemy Paths, skills assessments, workspaces, and hands-on labs across critical skills in information technology, software development and data & analytics.

Instructors with Udemy helped design the Business Pro tool to be an "end-to-end learning experience" that helps employees keep up with evolving industry demands through pre-curated Udemy Paths and risk-free practice environments.

Udemy Business president Greg Brown said their customers are experiencing major workplace changes, especially when it comes to upskilling and role development.

"We believe the pandemic has served as a catalyst for the already rapid shift to online learning, and Udemy Business Pro is the next iteration in supporting that shift," Brown said. "Udemy Business Pro will bring personalized, practical, and hands-on learning to essential technical roles, which we believe will ultimately improve productivity and help organizations build technical teams ready for the challenges of tomorrow."

The company noted that Udemy Business Pro offers customers access to "results-based, engaging learning, including content recommendations, skill assessments," and more.  

Multiple companies explained that it is difficult to find programs that help employees grow and expand their skill base. 

Maziar Refahi, head of data science at Thermo Fisher, said his company has seen increased productivity through learning paths that guide people to relevant courses for video instruction, labs for hands-on practice and assessments to identify any remaining skill gaps.

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Refahi added that Udemy Business Pro has been helpful in solving critical skills gaps in data science, cloud computing, DevOps and IT. 

"Corporate training and education is complex and requires many features and learning options. Udemy Business Pro is a great example of bringing together interactive labs, skills assessment, and other advanced features with the Udemy marketplace," said Josh Bersin, a global industry analyst. 

The announcement comes after Udemy rival Coursera launched its own educational content tool for business leaders -- named the Leadership Academy -- through itsCoursera for Business platform last month.