ProBility Media Corp (OTCMKTS: PBYA) has completed its acquisition of Upstryve. ProBility is an educational company building the first online full-service training and career advancement brand for skilled trades. The company plans to change its name to Upstryve Inc.
Upstryve has seen growth since the COVID-19 pandemic
Upstryve is a top online tutor in vocational education. It is thought to be the only online tutoring marketplace nationwide that deals specifically with the industrial trade industry. The firm offers end-to-end tutoring for vocational training and advancements. It provides services to individuals and provides a corporate training platform for corporations and organisations.
The company has grown tremendously since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a change in the delivery of training. Upstryve was not the only company affected. The online tutoring market, in general, has seen a surge in growth. A severe shortage of skilled labour in vocational careers has also worked to the company’s advantage.
According to the President of ProBility Media Corp, Noah Davis, there is more focus on the traditional four-year education than vocational training. Because of this, there is a shortage of trade skills. Their goal is to address the issue by transforming the way trade skills are taught. They provide mentoring, tutoring and job placement for workers.
The new Upstryve company has 600 self-study books and 500 test prep courses. It also teaches more than 1000 virtual classes every year through One Exam Prep. Upstryve is to launch over 400 safety programs through North American Crane Bureau. Some of its clients will include Alcoa, IBM, Tesla and General Electric.
Upstryve will also specialise in recourse development, consulting and program management for clients like The University of Texas.
Investments in online tutoring platforms have gone up
There have been many recent investments in online tutoring platforms. GoStudent raised $244million in a Series C round valuing the company at $1.7 billion. Newsela, on the other hand, raised $100million for its replacement of textbooks platform in a Series D round that put their valuation at about #$1billion.
In the first six months of 2021, edtech companies in the US raised about $3.2billion in investment capital while only raising $2.2billion in the entire 2020.
