O’Reilly Launches Three New Learning Academies Targeting Soft Skills…

Event summary

O’Reilly launched three new academies: Manager Academy, Soft Skills Academy, and Data Literacy Academy on April 23, 2026.
The academies offer expert-curated multiformat tracks blending book chapters, course sections, and audio clips.
Completion badges are shareable and verifiable with no admin setup required.
O’Reilly plans to add five more academies later in 2026: Security, AI Agents for Everyone, Software Architecture, Project Management, and Data Engineering.

The big picture

O’Reilly’s new academies address the growing demand for soft skills and management training as AI-driven automation displaces routine tasks. According to McKinsey Global Institute, demand for social and emotional skills will grow by up to 24% by 2030. This strategic move positions O’Reilly to capture a larger share of the workforce retraining market.

What we're watching

Market Differentiation: How O’Reilly’s focus on soft skills and management training will differentiate it from traditional learning platforms.
Adoption Pace: The pace at which organizations adopt these academies to retrain their workforce amid AI-driven automation.
Content Expansion: Whether O’Reilly can sustain the quality and relevance of its content as it expands into new academy areas.