LinkedIn is piloting a 14-week programme to teach employees how to start businesses, as the company argues that AI is changing the skills employers value. The pilot offers a practical, degree-free route to building a portfolio of work, but LinkedIn has not said when it might open to the public or what it would cost.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
The Academy of Economic Opportunity began in September with 30 LinkedIn employees, according to Fortune. Students meet three times a week for simulated work including handling public-relations crises, making hiring decisions and pitching investors. A forthcoming session is due to cover building an app from scratch.
LinkedIn chief product officer Hari Srinivasan told Fortune the company hopes to scale the programme internationally and make it affordable to people outside LinkedIn. He said there is no current participation prerequisite. The company has not announced public enrolment dates or pricing.
The AI connection is more than a passing mention: Fortune says LinkedIn’s 2026 labour-market report found US job postings requiring AI-literacy skills rose 70% year on year. Srinivasan argues that AI is also making it easier for employers to assess candidates’ work, such as portfolios, code and products, rather than relying on degrees as a shortcut for judging talent.
Why it matters
This is a small pilot, not yet a new public route into work. But it shows LinkedIn responding to a labour market where technology skills and demonstrable work may matter more, while offering entrepreneurship as another path to economic independence. The practical test will be whether the programme reaches people beyond LinkedIn staff, and whether employers really value what graduates can show over traditional credentials.
Our read
A course on pitching investors and building an app is more concrete than another promise to “prepare people for the future”. Still, a 30-person employee pilot is a long way from affordable, accessible training at scale. The missing details are the ones that turn an appealing idea into a usable opportunity: who gets in, what it costs and what participants can do afterwards.
What to watch
- Whether LinkedIn announces public enrolment, eligibility and pricing.
- Whether the pilot expands beyond employees or to other countries.
- What participants build, and whether employers recognise that work in hiring.
- Whether the programme teaches practical AI skills as well as entrepreneurship. Fortune’s account of LinkedIn’s pilot
Discussion spark: If employers increasingly judge candidates by portfolios and practical skills, should companies such as LinkedIn provide training themselves, or should that responsibility remain with schools and public institutions?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (12 October 2026, 21:31 UTC)
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