With an unpredictable year just gone and uncertainty on the horizon, many people are asking what the landscape of education will look like for providers and learners in 2023.

With education providers working with students to learn the skills they need to boost their pay packets and professional potential, how can learners and providers stay one step ahead of the curve? Read on to find out what trends will be making an impact on the EdTech industry in 2023.

Subscription learning has been a growing trend for some time and could be a cost-effective way for students to gain regular access to education without the need for many different one-off payments. 

A study from Barclaycard found that British people spent £620 a year on subscriptions, whilst a survey from PwC found that Australian households spent $4500 a year on various subscription services. Consumers are keen to keep their subscriptions locked in, and this could be a trend that spills over into the education sector.

There are many pros to learners opting for a subscription learning model. Learners can get constant access to valuable courses without making large, up-front financial commitments. Furthermore, subscription learning suits a gamification model, which can be used to entice students to take on more courses or set up learning goals to work towards.

As large companies buy up valuable office real estate, some have questioned whether the work-from-home trend will continue. However, with studies finding that working from home can boost wellbeing and increase productivity, it’s likely that a hybrid model may emerge as a natural compromise. 

This trend could also be reflected when it comes to the education sector. For employees receiving in-work training, having a balance between in-person and online learning could be the ideal mix going forward. 

Providers looking to entice learners to enrol in their courses may find that a blended approach can appeal to those who want to get the best benefits from both in-person and online learning.

ChatGPT caused an uproar in 2023 when it was revealed that students were relying on it to write AI-generated essays that were indistinguishable from ones written by real people. However, rather than becoming an enemy of education providers, AI tools like this could have a positive impact. 

Most notably, ChatGPT is a great shortcut for teachers who are short on time. A teacher interviewed by Education Week described how they could generate multiple examples of paragraphs written in different tones using ChatGPT in order to show students how to vary their writing depending on the audience and intent. 

Meanwhile, FE News pointed out how neurodivergent students can use ChatGPT to reword or rearticulate questions or texts to make them easier to understand. This is ideal for providers who use online learning, as it can act as a constant answer to questions or solve any confusion around tasks for distance learners who might not have 24/7 access to a teacher or tutor.

AI can also be used to auto-generate closed captions, which can help students engage and understand content in an online setting. With a variety of new note-taking AIs hitting the market, both learners and teachers can quickly search for specific information in seconds out of an hour-long lecture or learning session. 

The main takeaway when it comes to AI is that it’s a fast-growing area that will affect every industry and business, and education is no exception to that rule. For providers who want to stay ahead of the curve, understanding how they can use AI to their advantage is vital.

Although countries like Australia may dodge a recession, large nations like the US and the UK are predicted to have economic downturns in 2023. This means that students might look to education as a way to boost their salaries in a cost of living crisis, with learning giving them a chance to step up to higher salaries or new, higher-paying jobs in the next 12 months. 

Learners in the UK will be looking to give their employers more reasons to boost their pay in order to keep up with their salaries in the face of huge drops in real wage growth, whilst those looking to take advantage of record numbers of vacancies will want to give their CVs a boost in order to find the most lucrative work possible.

Worldwide rises in inflation mean that providers around the globe will need to show learners how they can help them access inflation-busting wage rises and job roles and give learners a clear idea of the job outcomes they can expect from courses. Putting a focus on practical, effective courses that are focused on specific career outcomes might be music to the ears of learners in and out of work.

Providers who want to make the most out of the next 12 months and engage learners in new and interesting ways have plenty of ways to do it.

Keeping an eye on the trends set out in this article can help you to be one step ahead of the biggest learning trends and connect with more learners in 2023.