Unlocking skills with LinkedIn Learning
05 Mar 2026
Colleagues using LinkedIn Learning to build digital confidence, boost teaching, and shape their own development
All colleagues and students have access to LinkedIn Learning, an online platform bringing together thousands of short, expert‑led lessons on everything from digital confidence and AI to leadership, wellbeing, project management, creativity and teaching practice. This is brilliant tool to help you develop skills and understanding in areas of professional and personal development interest.
Learners at our university are already watching an average of 494 hours of content each month, and have embraced the platform creatively. For example, academics have developed more than 90 tailored learning paths to support their teaching, resulting in more efficient use of software used on their courses.
A key aim of the recent pilot was to address gaps in digital skills provision and enhance development opportunities for both colleagues and students. We recently announced our sector first collaboration with Microsoft to roll out Copilot access to all colleagues and students; LinkedIn learning is a great tool to learn best-practice and how to use Copilot most effectively in your work.
This is just one example of how we’re delivering the Digital Inside and Out leap from our strategy to 2035, through inclusive, practical and people-led digitisation.
More information about the pilot
Launched in September 2024 through the Flexible Learning Digital Skills workstream, the pilot involved over 20 academic and professional services teams to set up and learn from local pilots that embedded LinkedIn Learning into real development needs. Examples of these are included in the case studies within the ITL ‘Supporting student digital capabilities’ resource. These projects brought a range of benefits, from improving induction to supporting Widening Participation students as part of Manchester Access Programme.
Talent Development have greatly expanded their use of the platform, their hybrid programmes, seeing both increased participation and meaningful cost savings. Although generating financial savings and cost avoidance wasn’t the core aim of the pilot, it realised these to a higher amount than the cost of the pilot. Overall, LinkedIn Learning has proven to be a scalable, and strategically aligned tool that supports digital transformation, employability, teaching innovation, and colleagues' development across the University.
Many thanks to all the students and colleagues who contributed to the colleague’s success of this pilot. It was a truly collaborative piece of work involving teams from across the University.
- Carlene Barton, Digital Learning Manager
- Nick Savage, Systems and Digital Skills Manager, Talent Development
- Jane Mooney, Professor of Educational Development & Digital Capability