How can what you learn transform who you become?

I still have vivid memories of my graduation from the University of Prince Edward Island, on the eastern coast of Canada. I was in my cap and gown, thinking about my future. No longer would I have to worry about exams or textbooks. With my learning behind me, I was ready to take on the corporate world.

But, of course, my learning wasn’t over. What I didn’t know, is that, even with a world-class business education, the knowledge I gained wasn’t enough for me to coast through the entirety of my career.

That day marked only the beginning of the training and personal growth I would need to help clients navigate unprecedented disruption, and to lead and bring out the best in a team.

Years later, when I became EY’s Global Vice Chair of Talent, I realized this was part of a greater learning challenge we all face. As the world saw rapid change, our education and training programs struggled to keep pace, and to provide us with much-needed skills for the future.

Upskilling has never been more important than it is right now. It’s key to our resilience and adaptability in an ever-changing, uncertain world.

Upskilling has never been more important than it is right now. It’s key to our resilience and adaptability in an ever-changing, uncertain world. And, for the first time, thanks to emerging technology – we’ve built the scale and agile learning environment to begin meeting demand.

There’s no question that the last few months changed learning forever. The World Economic Forum reports that COVID-19 pulled more than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries from the classroom. Many of them were abruptly launched into a new virtual learning reality. Organizations, too, as continuity and innovation were often vital to our ongoing, collective recovery. At EY, we saw a 40% uplift in our online learning resources in just a matter of weeks.

Even before the global pandemic took hold, the shift was underway. Online education was projected to be worth $350 billion by 2025, driven by organizations and academic institutions undergoing the digital transformation process.

What’s unfolding now is a democratization of the learning process – reaching more people in more ways, from apps and video conferencing tools to virtual tutoring and online learning software.

At EY, we just introduced a virtual, corporate MBA that’s available to all our people in more than 150 countries – entirely free of charge. Offered by Hult International Business School, the MBA marks the first time a triple-accredited, leading business school has provided a learning curriculum custom-built by an employer. So, we know it’s highly relevant to what our people and our clients need.

Our people will learn future-focused skills like AI, Blockchain, Robotic Process Automation, along with mindset topics like diversity, purpose and inspiration. And, the program is flexible, so they can learn at their own pace – whether it takes them six months or six years to complete.

The launch of the EY Tech MBA couldn’t have come at a better time – just as virtual learning has been catapulted into the mainstream. The designation is part of our wider strategy enabling our people to build the careers they want, in a way that suits them – something we call It’s Yours To Build. In other words, an exceptional and transformative experience won’t just happen because you’re at EY, but we’ll give you all the tools to make it happen.

Today, we have a unique opportunity, through a blend of virtual and traditional learning, to create new, hybrid experiences across new media with the potential for more innovation, more diversity of thought and more collaboration across borders and communities.

We’ll see more organizations like EY begin to cultivate cultures of learning, as we explore the potential of virtual learning and how technology enables us to become curators of our own destiny.

So, for today’s grads, the question is not whether you can leverage your degree throughout your career, but instead: can you find a place that will make an ongoing learning the foundation of your career experience?

Trent Henry is EY’s Global Vice Chair of Talent. He resides in Toronto, Canada.