Wake County library cardholders now have access to a new free online learning program.
The program, Udemy, has thousands of on-demand video courses for career and personal development. The more than 25,000 online video courses are led by experts in over 75 fields including cloud computing, data science, design, development, finance. accounting, human resources, IT operations, leadership/management, marketing, office productivity, personal development, project management and sales.
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“All folks have the opportunity, not only for job engagement or for a specific skillset, it’s also just if you’re curious to learn about a different work or trade that is available for you as well,” said Theresa Theall, the senior library manager for collection development services at Wake County Public Libraries.
Theall said Udemy’s catalogue is constantly changing. Courses are added and removed weekly as new skills and demands emerge in each field.
“There are lots of places that one can go to learn, if you just go straight to YouTube, yes, full of videos.” said Theall. “It’s important to note that (Udemy’s courses) really have been vetted as quality education.”
There is also special content for those learning the English language. More than 7,000 courses are available featuring more than 12 languages taught by native speakers of those languages. For courses not offered in the learner’s preferred language, captions are available in more than 25 different languages.
“The accessibility is really important as well, because it really does reflect the wide languages that are spoken here in Wake County,” said Theall. “One could, in just an electrician’s course, listen to it in English but then show captions in Spanish. So, it’s a really accessible way for folks to be able to get the information they need in the languages that they’re conversant in.”
One of the goals set by Wake County commissioners is “lifelong learning,” something the library system says is achieved in the new partnership.
“It really does break down barriers for folks,” said Theall. “This is tax dollars at work.”
To start using Udemy, Wake County residents should sign up for a free library card online. You can use your library log-in information to access Udemy.