Alison – the global online educator headquartered in Galway – has announced the appointment of former Minister for Training and Skills, Ciaran Cannon, as its new Vice-President of Global Affairs.

The appointment comes at a time that Alison founder and CEO Mike Feerick described this as ‘a crucial moment in the growth of Alison and our commitment to educating learners worldwide’.

The organisations is one of the world’s largest online educators with over 50 million learners across 193 countries, with a major focus on workplace skills and career development.

“In 2007 we welcomed our very first user to avail of 14 free courses. Today we’re supporting fifty million people with access to over 5,500 courses, and it’s our ambition to continue this exponential growth,” said Mike Feerick.

“With the advent of AI, our team at Alison now has the tools to greatly expand and develop our offering on a global scale. That’s where Ciaran comes in. He has the knowledge and experience of working at the highest level within government and building Ireland’s international reputation.

“Above all, he possesses a profound belief in the power of education, a hallmark of his time in politics. Using these qualities, he will actively promote Alison’s initiatives globally, highlighting our commitment to driving impactful change through learning,” he said.

Ciaran Cannon is a former Minister for Training and Skills who spearheaded the development of Ireland’s first Further Education and Training Strategy and a complete restructuring of Ireland’s FET delivery.

As a strong advocate for the use of technology in education, he founded Excited – The Digital Learning Movement, working closely with teachers, students, policy makers and industry leaders to promote the introduction of computer science as a subject in Irish schools.

He also championed the launch of EU Code Week in Ireland and the subsequent launch of Africa Code Week in Tanzania.

As a Minister for Diaspora and International Development at Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, he led the development of a new strategy for engaging with Ireland’s global diaspora network, and also a strategy for investing in vulnerable communities worldwide, with a major emphasis on the transformative power of education. In 2019 he was appointed a Global Champion for Education by UNICEF.

Ciaran Cannon said he first became aware of Alison over a decade ago when it collaborated with Irish teachers to develop a superb maths course for senior cycle students.

“What I saw back then was a company driven by an ambition to make education accessible to all, led by someone who was relentlessly focused on empowering people, no matter where they live in the world,” he said.

“The Ireland of my father and the Ireland of my son are two vastly different places, almost unrecognisable from each other, and education has been at the heart of that transformation.

“To be part of the Alison team in 2025 is a chance to drive that kind of transformation globally, and I’m deeply grateful to Mike for inviting me to join him and his team in this endeavour.

“It’s an exciting time, with powerful new tools at our disposal. We’re only getting started,” he added.

Driven by a strong ethos of education for all, Alison offers learners worldwide full and free access to over 5,500 courses, aptitude and psychometric testing, and dedicated learning pathways to success in over 1,000 different careers.

In addition, Alison supports employers by providing them with a free Learning Management System, allowing them to allocate courses to employees and track progress, thus expanding their company knowledge base and boosting staff morale.

Pictured: Founder and CEO of Alison Mike Feerick with Ciaran Cannon, newly appointed Vice-President of Global Affairs, Alison.