LinkedIn and Lynda aim to close a skills gap - Queenie Wong, Mercury News

In a move aimed at narrowing a skills gap faced by many workers, the business-oriented social network LinkedIn purchased Lynda for $1.5 billion earlier this year. By using LinkedIn’s information about working professionals and businesses to link employees to the right online courses, the companies are bidding to help solve problems that have made it tough for employers to fill jobs — in a way that e-learning and employment experts say hasn’t been done before. “LinkedIn is kind of a uniquely positioned company because their whole focus is on professional skills and for professionals finding jobs,” said David Guralnick, president of the International E-Learning Association and Kaleidoscope Learning. About 38 percent of employers had trouble filling jobs in 2015, with lack of skills and experience listed as among the top reasons why, according to a survey this year by the ManpowerGroup, a human resource consulting firm. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/20150809/linkedin-and-lynda-aim-to-close-a-skills-gap