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Scenario-based IT training provider Trainsignal has spent the last nearly 11 years becoming one of the leading destinations for online technical training. Launched in 2002 by Scott Skinger, the company served over 50,000 IT students by 2010 and this year launched a fully web-based training system, bidding adieu to DVDs for good.
Today, the company announced its acquisition by Pluralsight, a developer networked based in Layton, Utah. Following the close of the $23.6 million deal, TrainSignal will be folded into Pluralsight, retiring its name and setting up shop as the acquiring company’s Chicago hub. TrainSignal’s hundreds of online video courses will become a part of Pluralsight’s repertoire, while the former’s top talent will transition to head the latter’s growing IT division.
“This is the absolute best thing for TrainSignal, our customers and employees. This move allows us to join forces with Pluralsight and become an easy choice for CIOs/CTOs who are looking to train their developers and IT departments,” says CEO Skinger. “This move has effectively fast-forwarded our ability to grow our platform and content, making us even more valuable to our customers.”
In the coming months, Pluralsight and TrainSignal will combine their course offerings to total over 1,000 classes for IT training. Plus, with Skinger and Product Development Director Gary Eimerman overseeing Pluralsight’s IT division, Skinger says the union will change online IT training for good.
“What this means for the tech community is a more integrated and holistic training experience, which is increasingly important as technology continues to advance at a rapid pace and blur the lines between one specialty to the next,” he says.
In addition to Skinger and Eimerman, TrainSignal’s network of 65 full- and part-time instructors will stay on to produce content for Pluralsight, growing its authorship by half. Skinger says a full 100 TrainSignal employees will make the move to Pluralsight.
To Skinger, joining Pluralsight is a rational and important move for TrainSignal. As demands for tech- and IT-literate employees grows, Skinger envisions a mecca for IT and developer training.
“Pluralsight’s broad scope of disciplines will be invaluable to the technology community, as positions increasingly require cross knowledge,” Skinger says. “In fact, in many instances, continuous learning is becoming a more compelling credential than traditional academic backgrounds.”
