Learnit Acquires AcademyX to Bolster In-Person and Online Talent Development

Learnit, a talent development provider with a track record spanning more than two decades, announced plans on March 3 to acquire AcademyX. The latter company also specializes in professional development and digital skills training. Details of the deal were not disclosed.

Learnit specializes in professional and technical training for both individuals and organizations. They have a wide offering of courses for Microsoft Office and Adobe software in addition to related IT options. They also teach numerous soft skills, with focuses on building professional relationships, working with virtual teams, and the finer points of emotional intelligence.

Learnit Acquires AcademyX

To deliver this training, Learnit offers instruction at clients’ work spaces, virtually, and in their own San Francisco office space.

AcademyX, meanwhile, has many similar offerings in areas where the two entities formerly competed, like Microsoft and Adobe skills. But they also offer more in-depth coding classes that include and exceed languages used by full stack web developers. Also like Learnit, they offer their courses online and at their own brick-and-mortar locations throughout California.

“For 25 years, Learnit has upskilled organizations of all sizes and industries as well as ambitious individuals looking to advance their careers. As our customers are working to stay at the forefront of their own digital transformations, we are expanding our suite of products and services to stay at the cutting edge of technology training,” said Learnit CEO Damon Lembi, in a statement. “Between a strong synergy in corporate values and complementary product offerings, AcademyX is the ideal addition to the Learnit brand. We look forward to welcoming new team members and to learning from their two decades of success in the L&D space.”

As of the acquisition, AcademyX serves over 650 businesses with their training services. These will now migrate into Learnit’s portfolio. AcademyX CEO Stephen Fraga will oversee this transition in an advisory capacity. Following the transition, Learnit will serve a client base numbering over 2,000 businesses and organizations, some of which include Kaiser Permanente, Visa, Oracle, and Netflix.

Two Tried and Tested Talent Developers

While many other coding bootcamps and technical training providers specializing in digital skills are just a few years old, both Learnit and AcademyX have been in the game for decades.

Learnit was founded back in 1995 after San Francisco businessman Walter Lembi struggled to find adequate Excel training. In partnership with his son, current CEO Damien Lembi, the two launched Learnit and began expanding their digital skill training offerings.

AcademyX, on the other hand, just celebrated its 20th anniversary. They launched in San Francisco in January of 2000.

These companies opened at a time when no one had ever heard of a skills gap and even the term ‘talent management’ was in its infancy.

It was first coined in a 1998 article published in McKinsey Quarterly. The authors surveyed 77 large companies, many of which described being “chronically talent-short across the board.”

In the years since, talent development and management has grown into a $170 billion industry in North America by some measures.

“AcademyX has been providing high-quality technical training to prepare people to thrive professionally for 20 years. Today’s modern workplace has evolved and success now also requires possessing excellent soft skills,” said AcademyX Founder and CEO Stephen Fraga, in a statement. “Learnit is a clear leader in the soft skills space and partnering with them is a win-win for our customer bases. By integrating AcademyX’s portfolio, Learnit now offers the full package – a comprehensive offering unmatched in scope and quality across both technical and soft skills training.”

Featured Image: Hardik Pandya, Unsplash.