An Online 'Skills of the Future' Platform

Our solution is to create an online platform designed for young people which teaches the vital skills required to thrive in the workforce of the future. The platform can be scaled by adding further learning material and new languages so that more people have access to potentially life changing knowledge.

Currently, only a minority of young people are sufficiently developing the skill set required to succeed in the future workplace. This is because many well-resourced schools and under resourced schools alike struggle to adequately teach their students these skills. And if the young person is out of school, it can be even more difficult to find effective and affordable ways to learn those skills. Our online platform addresses this problem, as it provides schools and young people a one stop solution which is highly affordable and effective as it will incorporate modern educational technology and educational theory.

It is evident that e-learning is an effective way for individuals to learn. $107 billion was spent on e-learning worldwide in 2015. In 2025, it is expected that the e-learning market will be worth $325 billion. LinkedIn’s $1.5 billion acquisition of Lynda in 2015 also suggests that major players believe that online learning will continue to grow in prominence.

To test whether e-learning would be effective teaching soft skills, we developed a Minimal Viable Product in the form of a Study Skills e-course. The e-course currently has over 1200 learners, 191 paying students and an average 4.5/5 star rating.

Our solution will have a significant impact, as it will enable young persons to develop their skill set more effectively in less time. Quality of learning materials across schools will also increase while becoming more equitable, as we intend for the platform to be accessible to everyone.

Any adolescents or young adults with access to a smart device will directly benefit from the online platform. Schools and parents will also benefit as they can divert their resources to other priorities.

The online platform will be deployed to our target audience through any electronic device with web browser or app capabilities. 

Track user registrations and usage on our websites analytics page - 50,000 people worldwide use our online platform

Track reviews on the online platform and requesting testimony in communications - Obtain 1,000 written testimonies from young persons who benefit from the online platform

Track how many educational organisations obtain bulk access to the online platform for their students - Have 20 educational organisations subscribe to the online platform

Our solution is innovative because it aims to provide significantly greater social impact than what physical learning can provide with relatively less resources. Our solution is novel because we aim to stretch the boundaries of what educational technology can provide by maximising the number of people we serve while constantly implementing technologies which creates a more personalized experience. We are different to other solutions such as LinkedIn and Udemy in that we are creating a platform specialised and dedicated to young people. We will implement methods which educational research suggests is the most effective way for young people to learn.

Our technology meets the values of human-centred technology because it enables us to constantly seek feedback from those whom we wish to serve. We will closely monitor comments, emails, analytics and ask the community questions to find how we can best serve their needs. We also aim to fully incorporate peer to peer learning so that we can learn from each other and create a wealth of knowledge which the community will always be the main contributor. Through this, we aim to create a fully personalized learning experience that meets the unique needs of every individual. 

Our online platform will be deployed through the internet and mobile applications. The platform will be accessible to the communities we’re targeting because it can be used on any electronic device which has access to the internet.

The platform will also be affordable and sustainable by catering to a large audience. Because operating costs are inelastic regardless of how many people use the platform, we will aim to get as many communities as possible to sign up. This way we can minimize the price we charge to make it more affordable for under-served communities. 

Currently, our team consists of 4 people. All of us are tertiary students who either hold part-time jobs and/or receive welfare benefits. This enables us to financially self-sustain ourselves indefinitely while we pilot, grow and scale our solution part-time. We are also fortunate to have relatively little personal expenditure as we are welcome to live in our family homes indefinitely. Due to this, we’re able to devote all revenue generated to growing ReadyMe.

As we pilot and grow our solution, we will sell access to the platform to individuals for approximately $9 and to educational institutions in bulk at a discounted price.  

Initially, we will upload our content to third party e-learning marketplaces such as Udemy, Skillshare and OfCourse to generate further revenue and to increase awareness of our platform. This way we can generate more revenue which will all be used to further develop our solution.

The primary factor which is limiting our solutions ability to succeed would be our lack of subject and business matter expertise. As a young team, we have limited experience related to business management and teaching.

Another limiting factor is the amount of time we can devote during the university semester teaching periods.

Our other limiting factor would be lack of resources. Currently we rely on our universities E-learning studio to record talking head videos which has limited availability. We also use consumer grade video equipment which makes it difficult to create high quality outputs and can be inefficient.

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We are applying for Solve because we wish to make a significant contribution to the prosperity of people worldwide. Each of us on our team adheres to the philosophy of Effective Altruism, and we believe that with the support of the Solve community, our solution can create a major social impact relative to the resources required to make it. We intend to take full advantage of the opportunities provided to us by Solve. We all have a Growth Mindset and will constantly request feedback, expertise and mentorship so that we can become more effective changemakers.

We currently don't have official business partners. We do however receive in-kind support from the Foundation for Young Australians (free co-working space) and the Melbourne Accelerator Program (free mentoring & networking).

Udemy, Lynda (LinkedIn), OfCourse, Skillshare, Alison, Franklyn Scholar, Elevate & Gloo.