Learn In Raises $3.5 Million to Help Companies Upskill Employees and Avoid Layoffs
Degreed co-founders launch new company to help organizations offer and manage learning sabbaticals in order to develop workforce of the future
Learn In, a new company that pairs education, development and training for employees with company sabbaticals, launched with $3.5 million in seed funding from Album, GSV, and Firework Ventures – a new future of work focused-fund. Village Global and angel-investor Michael Levinthal also participated in the round.
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“In less than six weeks, we’ve gone from historic unemployment lows and unprecedented talent shortages to the highest levels of weekly unemployment on record, with more than 16 million people out of work in the U.S.”
Learn In was co-founded by popular learning platform Degreed co-founders David Blake and Eric Sharp, along with Taylor Blake and Yael Gilboa Kaufmann, with the mission to transform the modern workforce. With it’s comprehensive upskilling-as-a-service platform, Learn In makes it easy for companies to offer employees sabbaticals, during which time they can acquire the new skills that are essential within an evolving workplace.
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The Learn In model provides a particularly useful and humane alternative to the layoffs and furloughs now occurring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of sitting idle at home, employees are given the opportunity to use this time productively to refresh and upgrade their skill sets before rejoining their employers post-pandemic with a new professional trajectory. At the same time, learning sabbaticals (learn ins) help companies train and retain employees immediately while creating a long-term competitive advantage.
“In less than six weeks, we’ve gone from historic unemployment lows and unprecedented talent shortages to the highest levels of weekly unemployment on record, with more than 16 million people out of work in the U.S.,” said David Blake, co-founder and CEO of Learn In. “Learn In provides a better option to layoffs or furloughs for the long-term health of workers, companies, and the economy amid these volatile conditions.”
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