The Skilling Imperative: Building Workforce Readiness

Q: How would you define Platzi’s position within the EdTech ecosystem, particularly in Latin America?

A: Platzi is the largest Spanish-speaking online education platform in Latin America, specializing on professional and technology skills, such as AI, cybersecurity, programming, and web development, data science, alongside soft skills such as effective communication, leadership, public speaking.  It also has an incredibly good English Academy, its all-in -one subscription for learning English from absolute beginner (A1) to advanced (C1). Our courses are industry-led, taught by professionals from firms like Google Cloud, AWS, Uber, Rappi, BBVA, etc. Its goal is to help people get better jobs and grow their careers through continuous, practical learning led by industry experts. Our key advantage is a deep understanding of Latin America’s challenges and ambitions. We don’t just adapt content—we create and update it based on global realities and local needs. Platzi was also recognized as the #40  EdTech company in the world by TIME magazine’s Higher Education in 2024.

Q: What makes Platzi’s learning model different from other online education platforms?

A: For starters, people actually finish our courses—70 % completion rates aren’t common in online education. Industry average completion rates are 5% to 10%. We keep lessons short, including hands-on projects and real exams, and it works. Our content moves fast too—we have 17 schools (like AI, Cybersecurity, Web Dev, Cloud) and publish about 20 new courses a month, so we are always in sync with what the industry needs. Another significant difference: we’re industry first, not academia first. Our instructors are professionals from companies like AWS, Google Cloud, Rappi, and BBVA. They are teaching what they do daily and updating content constantly.

Students don’t just earn internal badges—they earn credentials that companies recognize. And this has real impact: 77 % of job seekers on Platzi land a job in tech, and companies that train with us see a 60 % boost in productivity within months.
We’re also built for Latin America—all our content is in Spanish, but includes an English Academy, which helps break the language barrier that limits salaries here. 70 % of our ‘grads’ doubled their income in the first year. We produce and curate all our courses in-house with a standardized format and proven methodology that ensure quality, engagement and knowledge retention.

Q: How does Platzi support learners beyond course content, particularly regarding entrepreneurship and international partnerships?

A: Platzi maintains strong connections with Latin America’s startup ecosystem, providing mentorship through our Startup School to foster long-term venture growth. Platzi was the first Latin American startup to join Y Combinator, and Freddy Vega has since mentored dozens of others to follow suit. Today, Platzi alumni are behind 9 out of 10 startups in the region, with over 150 raising more than $1 million each. More than a platform, Platzi is a thriving community where students, alumni, and founders grow together through collaboration and shared purpose.

Additionally, we have strategic partnerships that expand access to accredited learning and certification. For instance, through our alliance with DeVry University, students can pursue US-accredited courses at reduced costs. In language education, our ETS Educational Testing Service official partnership gives every English-Academy graduate discount on the TOEFL iBT exam. 

Q: How does Platzi balance its B2B and B2C models?

A: Platzi operates two models, one focused on students and the other focused on companies. On the B2C side, we support over 6 million individual learners. On the B2B side, we partner with 5,000 companies to “upskill” their workforce. My focus is on expanding the B2B segment in Mexico by helping organizations design and implement tailored learning strategies that align with their talent and business goals. This dual approach allows us to maximize impact at both the individual and organizational level.

Q: How do you collaborate with companies to design learning paths that align with critical roles and business objectives?

A: We engage directly with HR and business leaders to understand their talent needs. With 1,700 courses organized into 17 specialty schools -including AI, cybersecurity, leadership, communication, and startups, English-, we create customized learning paths based on role requirements and strategic goals. Our content is designed to be practical, outcome-driven, and directly aligned with the competencies that companies are prioritizing.

Q: What skills are currently most in demand from your corporate clients?

A: Today, the highest demand is for skills in AI, cybersecurity, English, and soft skills such as leadership and effective communication. Companies recognize that technical skills alone are insufficient; team members must also be able to articulate ideas, lead projects, and collaborate effectively. This blend of hard and soft skills is what organizations are actively seeking to develop.

Q: Beyond competitiveness, how does upskilling affect talent retention?

A: Upskilling is a powerful retention tool. When employees feel they are learning and growing, their engagement and loyalty to the company increases. Retention is not about limiting mobility, but about fostering an environment where people choose to stay. In today’s market, if organizations do not invest in developing their talent, others will. Employees with a career plan and a personalized learning path show 32% lower turnover.

Q: How does Platzi monitor learning outcomes, leverage AI, and ensure certification value for employers?

A: Platzi provides enterprise clients with dashboards that track learner engagement, course completion, and assessment performance, requiring a 90% passing score for certification. Our monthly transferable licensing model allows companies to reassign unused licenses efficiently, adapting to workforce changes while recommending a minimum three-month engagement for measurable results. 

AI enhances the platform through real-time Q&A, auto-generated subtitles, and summaries, improving comprehension and engagement. Behavioral analytics enable rapid course updates, allowing us to launch new content on emerging technologies within  a week instead of months. Our certifications are increasingly recognized by employers, particularly in tech sectors, as credible proof of skills and complement traditional degrees. We are also partnering with universities to accredit courses for academic credit in strategic industries, further confirming our credentials.

Q: How is Platzi closing educational gaps for sectors and roles with limited access to digital infrastructure?

A: We designed Platzi to be fully mobile-compatible, understanding that not all workers have access to computers. Our app allows users to download courses and access content offline, making it ideal for workers in transportation, manufacturing, or other field-based roles. For companies with large operational workforces, this feature ensures scalable, flexible learning. Moreover, when clients have specific content needs, we develop customized courses or co-produce them with in-house experts, always aligned to our quality and engagement standards.

Q: How does Platzi support companies in co-creating or hosting private, customized training content?

A: Platzi developed Platzi Learn to turn that internal knowledge into effective courses—in record time. Most companies have valuable documents, manuals, and processes that are hard to teach. Platzi offers companies the ability to create exclusive training content for internal use. We either produce it ourselves or train company experts to create engaging, platform-compatible material. These private courses are hosted on our platform with restricted access, enabling firms to educate their workforce on proprietary or regulatory topics or tailored content for compliance training.  We build products that cut down unnecessary meeting time by turning it into educational content. With All-Hands by Platzi, companies are replacing internal meetings with clear, automated learning experiences.

Q: Could you elaborate on Platzi’s academic and governmental partnerships and their impact on closing educational and labor market gaps in Mexico?

A: We are actively forming partnerships with academic institutions and public-sector entities to expand access to education and certification. By integrating our content into official evaluation frameworks, we enable learners, particularly those without formal degrees, to earn recognized credentials. This approach democratizes education by providing accelerated, skills-based alternatives that certify knowledge and improve employment opportunities, addressing key challenges of educational equity and workforce readiness in Mexico.

Q: What are Platzi’s key expansion goals in Mexico, and how is the company addressing barriers to access such as gender and generational gaps?

A: Our primary goal is to strengthen Platzi Business across strategic industries, including banking, telecommunications, infrastructure, media, retail, by expanding tailored upskilling programs that meet evolving sector needs.

Additionally, we are extending support to foundations and NGOs by adapting pricing and solutions to reach learners from under-resourced backgrounds. Equity is central to our mission; through scholarship programs, we support over 5,000 learners in acquiring employability skills. We focus on closing gender gaps in STEM by creating accessible pathways for women and collaborate with organizations serving older generations to promote inclusive, lifelong learning.

Q: What role does regional expansion and government collaboration play in your strategy?

A: Strengthening our presence in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey is a top priority. However, we are also responding to increasing demand from other states, including Veracruz and Chiapas. Beyond geographical growth, we are actively pursuing partnerships with state governments and public universities to co-develop certification programs. These alliances enable us to offer joint credentials that are more widely recognized and create a scalable impact on workforce development.

We are prioritizing partnerships with certification bodies recognized by national authorities to align our training with formal evaluation frameworks. This enables individuals without degrees to complete targeted learning, pass official assessments, and obtain credentials that improve job prospects and career mobility. We are also collaborating with sector-specific associations and major employers to scale impact. One key initiative includes a state-level partnership to deliver English training to thousands of University and College students, advancing our mission to close educational gaps, boost job opportunities and give access to better paying jobs. Fluency in English increases earning potential by up to 50%.

Q: Beyond corporate clients, how does Platzi engage with the broader learning community in Mexico?

A: Platzi organizes large-scale events like Platzi Conf, held annually in Bogotá and Mexico City. The last edition in Mexico brought together over 4,000 in-person attendees and 30,000 virtual participants. It is a unique experience that connects learners, founders, technologists, and educators in a highly dynamic format. Attendees come from across Latin America, and the sense of community is exceptional. It is more than a conference; it is a celebration of knowledge, innovation, and opportunity. Platzi also has a Platzi Live session every week with its student community. It is broadcast live every Thursday with Freddy Vega and is designed to keep Platzi users up to date with the latest trends and news from the digital world. It features mini themed segments on tech, entrepreneurship, English, crypto, current events, and more. 

Q: How does Freddy Vega’s leadership and personal journey shape the company’s mission and how you in your role complement him?

A: Freddy Vega is not only the Co-Founder and CEO of Platzi, but also a powerful figure in the edtech space. His personal story, growing up in Colombia in a low-income household, discovering his passion for technology through a secondhand calculator, and turning it into a global platform, is incredibly inspiring. His journey fuels our mission to democratize access to high-quality education and turn Latin America into a technological powerhouse. Freddy connects deeply with the younger generation and brings an intuitive understanding of tech trends, while I contribute with my experience across industries and nonprofit sectors to build strategic alliances. It is a complementary leadership model focused on both growth and impact.

Q: What advice would you give to business leaders who have not yet embraced digital education or continuous learning as a strategic priority?

A: Not investing in digital upskilling is no longer just a missed opportunity; it is a competitive risk. Companies that neglect talent development, particularly in areas like AI and cybersecurity, risk falling behind or being overtaken by more agile players. Continuous learning should be seen as a strategic investment that drives innovation and long-term sustainability. At Platzi, we have seen how executive-level engagement, such as AI programs for leadership teams, can cascade knowledge throughout the organization and lead to tangible business outcomes, from operational improvements to product innovation.

At Platzi, we’ve created the “Leadership in the Age of AI” program for CEOs, senior executives, and heads of key departments. To date, 450 leaders have completed the program. We also organize AI hackathons where directors and employees put their new skills into practice, designing and implementing high-impact projects within their companies.

Platzi is an online education platform on a mission to develop Latin American talent in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and English, among other areas.