DUBAI: The international online learning market will grow to $325 billion by 2025, according to a recent study conducted by the research firm Research and Markets.

They project that the e-learning industry will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.2 per cent over the next eight years, with the Middle Eastern market fast gaining traction in light of the rising popularity of smart learning in this part of the world.

Earlier this year, research on the Middle East by e-learning company Docebo found that the region’s online education sector reached $570 million in 2016.

This represents an increase of 26 per cent from $450 million a few years ago, and Docebo predicts that the Middle East e-learning market will grow at an annual rate of 9 per cent in the short term.

So what is e-learning, and what is driving its rapid growth?

Online learning, or e-learning as it is often referred to, is typically defined as education conducted via electronic media, typically taking place over the internet.

According to Research and Market’s study, many experts agree that the global e-learning industry is expanding because of continuing technological innovations, the high demand for skilled labour in the jobs market, and the need to constantly self-improve in order to advance one’s career, among other factors.

In the Middle East, a 2016 study by Bayt.com, a job website found that a substantial percentage (83 per cent) of employees were willing to leave their current employers in order to receive better training opportunities.

Experts point to this demand for new skills as an indication of e-learning’s potential in the region.

Furthermore, the online education sector in the UAE received a huge boost in 2012 when His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai launched a Dh1 billion e-learning initiative for state schools.

The project, titled Mohammad Bin Rashid Initiative for Smart Learning, is an integrated e-learning platform, which involves teachers, students, administrators as well as parents through an online network, enhancing the learning experience for children in the UAE.

Nidal Abou Zaki, Managing Director of Orient Planet Group, a PR agency which operates an online academy offering marketing, PR and communications courses, said: “Online learning is definitely maturing and becoming more popular across the globe … With the increasing need for professionals with contemporary skills, many are now enrolling in globally recognised online courses that enable them to study at their own pace and at their most convenient time. These courses allow them to grow professionally, advance in their career, and be more competitive.”

The Orion Planet Academy, launched in 2014 as a joint venture between Orion Planet Group and the Irish Academy of Public Relations, offers online marketing, PR, journalism, English grammar, and event management courses taught by industry practitioners.