Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn Corporation, explained that the company is focusing on providing just-in-time, always-on learning experiences to users; “(Learning) is something we’ve been hard at work now for some time and two numbers really capture why learning and development at LinkedIn have become one of our most important priorities.”

The first number, five million, is the number of net jobs the World Economic Forum expects to be displaced by the year 2020 as a result of the introduction of new technologies. The second is a figure revealed in the CNBC Global CFO Council Survey, which found that 78% of chief financial officers believe up to 25% of their workforce could be displaced by the year 2020.   

Weiner explained these figures triangulate a secular trend where technology will increasingly be displacing existing workers. “The idea that you can study a skill once and have a job for the rest of your life … those days are over. And so it’s increasingly important that we can provide a just-in-time, always-on learning experience so that people are training for the jobs that are and will be, and not just that once were.”

LinkedIn will be integrating Lynda, which teaches business, technology, and creative skills, with its own platform in a way that creates a “more personalised learning experience”. The company is also focusing on leveraging user identities and networks to bring to bear the best of this coursework, Weiner noted.

Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn’s VP of product, explained on the LinkedIn Official Blog that the company has also previewed a new look and feel for its desktop with the media. He described the new desktop design, which is expected to be rolled out soon, as cleaner and simpler. The largest redesign of the desktop version of LinkedIn so far, the site should now help users access jobs, information, and insights more intuitively.

Commenting on the LinkedIn messaging platform, Roslansky indicated: “Since our new mobile app was introduced last year and the rehaul of our messaging platform, we’ve seen a 240% increase in the number of messages sent, and half of our active members are using our messaging platform every week.”

“Today, we showed how we are building on this momentum and offering an even smarter messaging platform with the ability to message a connection wherever you may be on LinkedIn.”

News of these product upgrades followed an announcement by Weiner that the company will be tackling the ambitious task of mapping the world economy. In what sounds like a vision of the far-off future, LinkedIn wants to digitally represent every company, job, skill, and learning facility in the world.

Read Roslansky’s full blog post here.