No matter what line of work you are in, the chances are at some point, you will need to brush up on certain skills. A new online professional training platform aims to improve access to high quality training from Luxembourg.
As a cybersecurity professional, staying abreast of the latest developments is critical for Elian Habra. But, when it comes to taking courses, time restrictions leave him with limited local training options. “I feel that Luxembourg needs work in terms of training because it’s a small city compared to Brussels, Paris, Berlin, or Frankfurt,” he says.
Helping improve people’s professional development and careers is at the heart of Prodeca, a platform Habra created with wife Rita. The Syrian couple launched the flexible solution in November 2022, when they began onboarding qualified instructors. Since then, a handful of flexible programmes have gone live covering topics from languages to sciences. They are now working with external developers to integrate a social networking element to the platform. “So not only can you learn but you can also meet other people who are learning the same things as you, exchange content and information, and help one other,” Habra explains.
“Luxembourg is a good incubator for this kind of project”
Elian Habra, Prodeca co-founder
The Prodeca model, which enables instructors to upload content using a specially created interface that students follow at their own pace by paying a fee, is not revolutionary. But what sets Prodeca apart from other online training platforms is that all courses are verified. And the benefits don’t stop at the Luxembourg border. Habra believes there is a strong market for verified online certified courses in his native Syria, for instance, as well as learners living in rural and remote locations. Nevertheless. “Luxembourg is a good incubator for this kind of project,” he says.
B2B training
Prodeca also wants to offer online and in-person tailored training courses designed for specific employers. “Let’s say there is a team in a company that needs a French course. We can design a French course for them and give access only for this team or company,” says Habra, adding: “We can add lessons to the course to meet their specific services if they want to learn to teach their employees how to speak on a specific topic.”
Prodeca is currently bootstrapped. “Tech is affordable right now. We’re trying to create something simple but immune at the same time,” Habra says, adding that he does not rule out fundraising “In the long term, if we want to make a big leap with the platform.”
