Is a Company a School?
“A company is not a school. But it can be the best school.”
While companies welcome the growth of their employees, that growth isn’t the end goal. Ultimately, companies seek to apply that developed skill set. Even in hiring, companies prefer candidates who are already equipped with practical abilities.
Yet, the best place to teach those skills isn’t school—it’s the company itself. Companies know exactly what capabilities their team members need, and they have a clear understanding of the processes and know-how required for the job.
Here’s where the gap forms: companies want to hire people whose abilities are already proven, but it’s difficult for people to acquire those skills before they’ve experienced working at a company. To address this clash, Fastcampus created an educational platform to help people learn the skills that industries demand. In December 2022, Fastcampus teamed up with one of the top design agencies, PlusX, to create “Plus X Share X,” an initiative showing that companies can be the best schools.
We Are Smarter Than Me
Fastcampus was born with the vision of being the best educational platform for career growth, a goal that has fueled its relentless drive—and in many ways, it’s already accomplished that dream. Yet, Fastcampus continues to push for even higher standards in education, always seeking better ways. The collaboration with PlusX emerged from this very mindset.
Given that the quality of education is directly linked to the expertise of the instructors, Fastcampus has always made an effort to secure the best. However, in certain fields, such as UI/UX design, individual expertise wasn’t enough—teamwork was key. While the public can easily recognize brands by their colors—purple for CU, yellow for Emart, red for 11st—they usually don’t know who designed the logos or developed the brand concept. Instead, they recognize the company behind the branding. Plus, since most projects are carried out by teams, it’s hard for an individual designer to claim a project as entirely their own. Even though Fastcampus had access to great individual professionals in the field, focusing solely on the instructor’s individual reputation wasn’t enough to achieve the desired impact.
The solution was simple: instead of partnering with individuals, Fastcampus decided to partner with the best design agency. And the answer to “which agency?” was clear—PlusX, the pioneer of integrated branding in Korea, was the top choice.
Just as Fastcampus aimed to provide the highest quality education, PlusX was at the perfect stage to collaborate, as it was also contemplating expanding into educational content. It was a match made in heaven.
*In a previous article, "Why PlusX Shares Its Secret Sauce," PlusX explained that they began this project because they believe sharing their expertise would not only uplift the entire industry but also inspire new ideas and insights for themselves.
Plus X Share X Is Just the Beginning
It took over a year for the two companies to exchange ideas and open their first course.
They built a standalone website dedicated solely to the Plus X Share X lecture series and promoted it through their own social media channels. The goal was to highlight the brand’s identity, not just the fact that the series was part of Fastcampus. Rather than featuring individual instructors, PlusX designed their courses to be led by entire departments—such as the UX team, UI team, and BX team. This was the perfect format to share their expertise on how they conduct their work as a team in real-world projects.
Given the efforts of two top-tier companies, Plus X Share X has been a hit since its launch, particularly among those seeking to land a job or transition into the design industry. But even this success is only the beginning. Plus X Share X has bigger ambitions ahead.
From the start, this collaboration was never meant to be a one-off project completed with the launch of the service. Rather, Plus X Share X marks the first step toward realizing Fastcampus’ long-term vision and setting the foundation for larger goals.
Fastcampus’ ultimate aim is to become an educational institution that can replace universities, where completing a Fastcampus course holds the same credibility as a college degree. To achieve this ambitious goal, partnerships with trusted industry leaders like PlusX are crucial to building trust in the Fastcampus brand.
“Coursera’s courses are widely recognized because they began with partnerships with prestigious universities like Stanford. Fastcampus’ goal this year, starting with Plus X Share X, is to collaborate with over ten of the top-tier agencies in Korea to create educational content that both the industry and students trust. We’ve already had promising conversations with a few well-known companies.”
Shin Hae-dong, CEO of Fastcampus
Plus X Share X signals the dawn of a new era. Fastcampus plans to expand these partnerships beyond the creative field, collaborating with leading companies across various industries. The notion that “a company is not a school” is shifting toward “a company can be the best school.”
✍️Key Takeaways
- As seen in the pre-Fastcampus adult job training market, there are often industries with enough demand but insufficient supply. Identifying and bridging such gaps can lead to a unique business opportunity.
- When individual efforts don’t deliver the desired impact, think outside the box—like partnering with an entire company to achieve better results.
- Collaborating with trusted, visionary business partners can be a solid foundation for long-term growth and success.
