Looking back on 2025, GenAI skills remain a major focus for learners worldwide — but this year, we also saw a powerful surge in foundational workforce skills like project management, leadership, and data literacy.
As AI rapidly transforms everything we know, what unites us across universities and industries is how we can help the world’s learners master the right skills they need to grow their careers.
2026 year in review: Platform growth and learner demand
This year, 22 million new learners joined Coursera — nearly 82,000 people every day. A typical day saw 150,000 enrollments, 14 enrollments every minute in GenAI courses, and the launch of 10 new pieces of content. Coursera reached:
- 191 million students worldwide
recorded 5.4 million GenAI enrollments, almost twice as many as the previous year, and 41.8 million enrollments, a 14% rise year over year.
We now offer 12,000+ courses, Specializations, and certificates, with 2,750+ new pieces of content added this year from our 375+ university and industry partners like Anthropic, Cambridge University, Harvard Business Publishing, Pearson, and UC Santa Barbara.
*Data as of September 30, 2025
Most popular courses in 2025
Learners continue to balance technical upskilling with broad professional readiness. In 2025, learners sought out technical skills like Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere, AI For Everyone and Python for Data Science, AI & Development, and paired them with foundational skills like English for Career Development, The Science of Well-Being, Excel Skills for Business: Essentials, and Foundations of Project Management.
Most popular courses in 2025 from industry partners
- Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere (Google)
- AI For Everyone (DeepLearning.AI)
- NEW! Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics (IBM)
- NEW! Introduction to AI (Google)
- Python for Data Science, AI & Development (IBM)
- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) (IBM)
Most popular courses in 2025 from university partners
- Supervised Machine Learning: Regression and Classification (Stanford University)
- English for Career Development (University of Pennsylvania)
- Financial Markets (Yale University)
- Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) (University of Michigan)
- First Step Korean (Yonsei University)
- Excel Skills for Business: Essentials (Macquarie University)
Universities remain the go-to for rigor, foundational literacy, and interdisciplinary problem-solving that anchor growth, while industry partners accelerate innovation by bringing emerging tools and real-world workflows into the learning experience.
Micro-credentials: Scaled trust from both ecosystems
Micro-credentials, such as Professional Certificates and Specializations, are reshaping the way people learn and work. These focused learning pathways are becoming a trusted signal of job-readiness, with 96% of employers saying that micro-credentials strengthen a candidate’s job application. Entry-level employees with micro-credentials report tangible career benefits: 28% received a pay increase and 89% built or strengthened their soft skills, especially critical thinking (72%) and problem solving (72%).
Rising demand for these credentials is reflected across the platform.
New Professional Certificates from
New Specializations from
As learners look for pathways to good jobs, and companies seek job-ready talent, micro-credentials are proving to be a critical bridge between education and employment.
Fastest growing skills for 2026
Every course, certification, and GenAI innovation is rooted in the same fundamental force that propels advancement: skills. They are the link between opportunity and learning, and they are changing more quickly than ever. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2030, almost four out of ten basic skills will change, with technology capabilities like artificial intelligence and fundamental skills growing at the fastest rate.
These are not only upcoming trends. Every day, we witness these changes taking place on Coursera as students all over the world develop the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace of the future. These are the most important talents to acquire in 2026, according to millions of recent enrollments.
AI is changing jobs in every industry, but long-term career mobility still requires resilient, human-centered abilities. Students are
AI and Tech Skills
- Advanced prompting
- AI agents
- Human-AI collaboration
- AI app creation
- AI-assisted design
Non-AI Foundations With Sustained Growth
- Business
- Data Science
- Tech
Human Skills
- Personal Development
- Collaboration
- Arts and Humanities
As the pace of change accelerates, learning remains a powerful engine of opportunity. Universities provide the rigor that builds lasting skills, while industry partners bring the tools that prepare learners for what’s next. Together, they create flexible pathways and trusted credentials that strengthen confidence, employability, and momentum — delivering the right learning at the right time.
