E-Learning Group

The E-Learning Group (ELG) is a German-language education group that sells flexible online continuing education to working professionals and to the companies that employ them. Its homepage describes the core business as "flexible Online-Weiterbildungen und berufsbegleitende Fernstudiengänge in Kooperation mit renommierten Hochschulen" (flexible online continuing education and part-time distance degree programs in cooperation with renowned universities). Participants study through ELG's digital learning platform independent of time and place, with personal support and exams that can be taken online. ELG has developed these programs since 2015 under the mission statement "Making People Smarter", and lists locations in Hamburg, Potsdam and Vienna (Wien).

For the directory, ELG matters in two ways. Companies can buy a course library for their staff through ELG GROW, a digital upskilling subscription, or commission training from ELG. Individual professionals can take continuing education courses or enroll in a distance MBA or degree through one of the universities in its network. That combination is why it is listed among training libraries and among business and marketing courses.

The group and its universities

The homepage gives the group's scale in a few figures: 3 locations, 2 universities of its own, 3 partner universities in its higher education network, more than 150 training and continuing education programs in the portfolio "Tendenz steigend" (and growing), more than 15000 continuing education customers trained, and more than 200 employees. The text adds that the partner network counts more than 15.000 continuing education customers, among them more than 10.000 MBA students.

ELG's two own private universities are the Deutsche Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften and the Brand University of Applied Sciences, which the homepage says give young professionals access to academic degrees. The heading of that section calls ELG "Die erfolgreichste Hochschulgruppe für postgraduale Weiterbildung im DACH-Raum" (the most successful university group for postgraduate continuing education in the German-speaking region), and elsewhere the page says companies have "die Nummer 1 für berufsbegleitende Aus- und Weiterbildung" (the number 1 for part-time training and continuing education) at their side. Both are the company's own claims.

The group describes its "DNA" as developing, marketing and running flexible study programs for people with work experience, naming the MBA and Executive MBA. Its focus topics are management, leadership, digitalization, computer science, sustainability, strategy, innovation, human resources, taxation, finance, marketing, media and business psychology. A separate study portal, fernstudium.study, is linked from the footer for the degree offering.

ELG GROW for companies

ELG GROW is the product most relevant to an L&D team. The homepage calls it "unserem digitalen Upskilling Abo" (our digital upskilling subscription) and says it gives a company access to ELG's full course library "schon für 1,99 € pro Mitarbeiter:in" (from 1.99 euros per employee). The listed terms are:

• "Die flexible Lösung (oder Ergänzung) für Ihre Personalentwicklung" (the flexible solution, or supplement, for your staff development);
• sustainable upskilling, 100 % online;
• soft and hard skills for the team;
• "ab 1,99 € pro Mitarbeiter pro Monat" (from 1.99 euros per employee per month).

The price is per employee per month and is a starting price. Under the heading "Let it Grow", ELG says it has newly released more than 40 micro-certificates that teach skills chosen for practical relevance.

The training areas on the homepage show what a company can cover: leadership and management, digitalization, marketing and sales, business psychology, project and process management, human resources and organization, strategy and innovation, sustainability, financial management and supply chain, with more behind a "show more" link.

How ELG pitches e-learning to employers

The homepage organizes its business case around specific HR problems. It offers training as a way to attract apprentices with unconventional entry routes and career prospects, to find and keep skilled staff through an attractive development environment, and to secure future skills through lifelong learning. It proposes rethinking the dual study model, which it says has combined academic training and work practice for over 50 years, with digital alternatives. Two further themes are putting sustainability goals into practice across a team and driving digitalization by giving staff the skills it requires.

Three arguments are listed for ELG's e-learning. Scalability: many employees can be trained at the same time. Individualization: e-learning can be adapted to a company's specific requirements and closes knowledge gaps precisely. Support and coaching: specially selected study coaches and support staff back the learning, and the page says they make sure professionals are "gezielt gefördert, nicht überfordert" (supported in a targeted way, not overwhelmed).

Custom work and customer feedback

ELG also produces courses to order, which the testimonials show. Martin Kerres, an advisor at GIZ GmbH, says ELG built an interactive e-learning course with GIZ on water management and climate change with a focus on developing and emerging countries, and calls the collaboration "immer hochprofessionell, zuverlässig" (always highly professional, reliable). Dr. Bernd Dobmann, partner and head of HR at Ecovis Deutschland, says the Deutsche Hochschule gave Ecovis staff a practical, flexible online study program focused on tax. Achim Sacher of Holzmann Medien says ELG produced a total of 97 learning videos for parts of the master craftsman exam (Meisterprüfung).

The site menu also has sections for private customers and for education providers, with pages on market opportunities, business principles and a "win-win situation" aimed at other education providers. The footer lists a section for awards, accreditations and certifications of the group, without naming them in the text.

Pricing and getting started

ELG GROW is the only product with a published price: from 1.99 euros per employee per month. For degree programs, custom courses and larger company programs, the homepage invites visitors to book an initial consultation online ("Erstgespräch vereinbaren"), which it says saves the back-and-forth of arranging appointments.

Who it suits

ELG suits companies in the German-speaking market that want a low-cost, per-employee course subscription with micro-certificates, and those that want to give staff a route to a part-time MBA or degree through an established university network. It also suits organizations that need a custom e-learning course or video series produced. Individual professionals who want a distance MBA or a career-oriented degree while working can enter through the group's universities.

The site and its offer are in German, so it fits German-speaking teams. Companies looking for an English-language global library, or a platform to sell their own courses, will need a different product.