How Siemens Upskills at Scale, Using Coursera to Gain a Competitive Advantage
- Industry:
Technology
- Location:
Germany
- Size:
240,000 Employees
- Topics:
AI, Learning Accessibility, Data Analytics
Overview:
Siemens AG is a multinational technology company focused on industrial automation, distributed energy resources, rail transport, and healthcare.
The organization began as a small telegraph company in 1847 and now operates in 190 countries, with headquarters in Berlin and Munich, Germany. Through nearly two centuries of unprecedented technological change, Siemens has efficiently adapted their operations to grow globally and remain at the forefront of the industry.
Siemens collaborates with Coursera to enhance and broaden the existing learning opportunities available to their international workforce. Siemens uses Coursera as part of an evolving education ecosystem to build skills, strengthen long-term retention, prepare employees for leadership roles, and give the organization a competitive edge.
The Challenge:
Siemens has long offered face-to-face learning to 240,000 employees at their German headquarters and offices in major cities worldwide. Emerging business-critical areas such as AI, sustainability, and leadership required faster and broader upskilling—a challenge that Siemens' existing learning model couldn’t meet alone. The company's training framework was robust, but only offered e-learning opportunities in a few business areas, limiting their ability to educate at scale.
“Instructor-based learning can only cover a certain scope. The market is shifting fast, and so are the skills that the market demands,” says Jenny Lin, Global Head of Learning & Growth, Siemens. “We didn’t have access to the most up-to-date learning content that reflected the market and our business needs.”
Siemens had also developed a new talent strategy that improved skills development opportunities to nurture early-career employees and future leaders. With these opportunities, employees would prepare for pivotal roles and equip themselves with the tools and knowledge to drive business transformation.
Siemens needed to bring education online at scale, strengthen their content catalog to meet emerging market demands, and deliver on their ambitious talent strategy.
“Essentially, we had to disrupt our own learning model to offer a learning solution to our entire workforce population,” says Lisa Lang, Head of Talent & Organization, Americas, Siemens. “That’s where Coursera comes in.”
The Solution:
Weaving Coursera into an in-house learning ecosystem
To overcome the challenges of limited scalability, outdated content, and a geographically dispersed workforce, Siemens and Infosys have jointly developed the learning experience platform (LXP) “My Learning World” based on Infosys Wingspan technology. Using APIs, the team integrated content on Coursera into the LXP and curated courses so employees could easily find the most relevant ones. They also added a skills management feature within the LXP, so employees can identify skills gaps and receive content recommendations.
“Coursera is the main backbone for learning content,” says Lin. “We’re creating a learning ecosystem that connects learners and leaders to in-demand skills. Coursera offers a very flexible model that can grow with us in terms of scalability and innovation.”
Siemens has leveraged their new digitalized ecosystem to expand their strong learning model and distribute content to employees worldwide, all while reflecting the high standards for quality at Siemens. “Historically, the learning content we’ve offered has been very high quality,” says Lang. “What we like about Coursera is the quality of the curriculum and the content.”
Equal access for all motivated employees
In addition to high-quality content, Siemens uses Coursera to deliver engaging learning that excites employees. “You might think that, nowadays, everyone is looking for a four-minute-long micro-learning video, but that’s not the case,” says Lin. “Our people actively search for serious learning content, and they come to the platform with a clear purpose to upskill. Hour-long courses are the preferred format, which matches the content Coursera offers.”
Through the updated LXP, Siemens has centralized content in multiple languages, increasing international accessibility and equity within the organization. “The partnership with Coursera allows us to offer everyone equal access to learning content,” says Lang.
Business Impact:
Through their partnership with Coursera, Siemens can continuously update their course catalog and offer top-tier educational content to all employees, regardless of location. The team has noted strong adoption in key areas that align with the organization’s business goals, including AI, machine learning, data, analytics, project management, and leadership.
“We’ve seen a major impact with Coursera in our more technical roles,” says Lang. “In the US, AI and data and analytics content accounts for 30 percent of our usage. Leadership development is a close second, with about 18 percent of our usage on that topic.”
In particular, Siemens continues to build vital knowledge in generative AI (GenAI). The company used Coursera as part of a foundational GenAI learning module, in which over 35,000 employees participated and logged 229,420 learning hours. Siemens also tested the Course Builder tool from Coursera to determine how the company can use it to advance their AI Essentials program.
"Coursera has been one of the main sources of learning recommendations we have curated for our people as part of our AI Essentials program. The 'GenAI for Everyone' and 'AI for Everyone' courses from Coursera are the top two courses consumed," says Lin. "In FY24, our people have spent 46 percent more learning hours on the topic of data analytics and AI as compared to FY23."
In 2024, Siemens employees increased their learning hours by 32 percent compared to the previous year. The organization saw a 27 percent increase in learners using Coursera, with more than 9,000 employees participating in courses throughout the year. Siemens also achieved an 88 percent license utilization rate, contributing to a 553 percent ROI on licenses. Plus, Siemens has a 53 percent higher retention rate among team members who use the learning platform.
“Coursera allows us to democratize access to learning and reach our large global audience with content in different languages presented the way that individuals like to learn,” says Lin. “We see continued growth in the number of users on the platform, which indicates that the content matches the learning needs of our people.”
Impact Snapshot
35,000+
employees participated in the foundational GenAI learning module
229,420
learning hours were logged by employees in the GenAI module
46%
more learning hours on data analytics & AI in FY24 compared to FY23
Moving Forward:
By building on these results, Siemens is strategically positioned to further expand and deepen their learning and development approach with Coursera. The organization plans to strengthen existing partnerships with universities and institutions, aligning their content catalog more closely with university curricula to improve recruitment and prepare early-career employees for opportunities in an ever-evolving job market.
Siemens also plans to leverage AI further by creating content for individual employees at scale. Instead of simply using AI assistants to answer questions about the LXP, the team will expand their use to provide recommendations and offer specialized coaching and guidance around building tailored learning paths.
“We’ve established a close strategic partnership with Coursera where our requirements are taken seriously and we can influence the roadmap,” says Lin. “We plan on maintaining an even longer partnership with Coursera on our upskilling journey.”