RECESSION-PROOF BUSINESS

The pandemic has made a huge impact on our social and economic reality and it will probably stay with us for a while. However, there will be first signs of improvement, and some governments are already announcing a loosening of the quarantine. If you're thinking about changes in your working life or major investments, this is the perfect time to look at the trends and changes that will shape the business reality in the coming months.

During crises, franchising usually starts to attract more interest. This is because, on the one hand, a full-time job loses one of its main assets - security and stability. On the other hand, the franchise allows you to take your fate into your own hands and, at the same time, to reduce the risk associated with running your own business. The financial crisis that spilled over the world a decade ago confirmed this hypothesis. When most of the world's economies struggled with shrinking GDP, the franchise market was growing - both in terms of the number of franchisers and franchise units. There is a good chance that this time many people will again look for their chance to open a company using a proven concept. If that happens, which business could prove to be particularly profitable in the post-crisis world?

TIME TO SEARCH FOR NEW SKILLS

The coronavirus has forced a large part of society to organize its life anew - both in the private and professional sphere. The Internet has become an antidote to isolation, to which many areas of human activity have moved - from work, through shopping, to entertainment. Many of us also successfully use the period of home quarantine to improve our qualifications by taking part in various online training courses. In remote lessons, we learn languages, practice yoga, and dance, and even sing and learn to play instruments. There is, however, an area of training that may become more popular than others nowadays. Namely, it is the professional training, aimed at improving our current qualifications or preparing us for completely new professions. Especially those requiring digital skills.

"The popularity of such training results from two factors. Firstly, the risk of losing a job is increasing and that is why many people are looking for a way to reskill. Secondly, we all see how fast the digitalization of companies is progressing. Of course, we would observe this phenomenon anyway, but nowadays this process is accelerating, because the coronavirus has forced companies to make their services available online. In order to handle these processes, you need IT specialists, which have already been missing on the market," explains Marcin Tchórzewski, CEO of Coders Lab, the largest IT school in the CEE region.

According to forecasts, the value of the global EdTech market (i.e. innovative educational companies) will exceed USD 250 billion in 2020. It is possible that the pandemic will even give the industry an additional boost to its development. This trend was also underlined in the recent publication by Forbes. The portal asked experts to name industries which are to become franchise hits in 2020.

Even though online training has increased dramatically through YouTube and many other offerings, the in-person tutoring, taking test and training industry thrives on person-to-person contact. Even with artificial intelligence, trainers who work with people one on one and in groups will still see a high demand for their services and their offerings. Pairing this with online options may have strong, long-term success – said John M. O'Connor from Career Pro Inc.

LICENSE TO EARN

It seems that joining an educational franchise chain offering vocational courses in programming could be a profitable decision these days. Coders Lab’s intensive courses in programming, testing, and Digital UX are strongly based on direct contact between the students and lecturers. During six weeks of training, the participants gain skills enabling them to start work as junior developers.

"The crucial thing about our courses is that no prior preparation or experience with IT is required to participate in Coders Lab courses. The effectiveness of the courses is evidenced by the fact that over 80% of graduates find new jobs within three months from the end of the course. We do our best to support them in the job searching process by enhancing their CVs, organizing webinars and coaching sessions with recruiters," says Marcin Tchórzewski.

Coders Lab was established in 2013 in Poland. It is the only coding school to offer an exclusive franchise license to entrepreneurs willing to start doing business in the education market. So far, Coders Lab's franchise branches have been established in Romania and Indonesia. The franchisor provides partners with regularly updated training materials, a ready-made website, dedicated LMS and a course management system. Franchisees benefit from proven marketing and sales know-how, which is conveyed during the training.

Want to open your coding school? Apply here!