Case study
Industry
Telecom
Company HQ
Dublin, Ireland
Number of Employees
200
Office Locations
Ireland
Speed Fibre Group’s Partnership with Udemy Business Sparks 87% Growth in Workforce Learning
Udemy driving business outcomes
SPOTLIGHT
Case study details
Speed Fibre Group is a leader in the Irish telecommunications industry, committed to delivering cutting-edge technology and seamless communication services to individuals, businesses, and communities.
Marie Kearns joined as Group HR Director of the business five years ago and, passionate about Learning & Development, wanted to create an environment where all employees could upskill and reskill seamlessly without having to navigate lengthy approval or budget processes. She envisioned an interactive, multi-faceted learning platform that would cater to the diverse needs of the organization, from highly technical roles like network engineers to broader business roles such as project managers and accountants.
To bring this vision to life, Speed Fibre Group partnered with Udemy Business in 2024, providing employees with on-demand access to thousands of online courses. The impact has been significant, contributing to an impressive 92.2% score for the recruitment, retention, and progression pillar of the 2025 Investors in Diversity awards and solidifying the Group’s reputation as a leader in employee development.
Providing flexible, on-demand learning to hundreds of diverse employees nationwide
Speed Fibre Group is the home of telecommunications companies Enet and Magnet+. With a workforce of over 200 and offices in Limerick and Dublin, the team has employees in all regions of the country, including engineers, IT specialists, service delivery experts, project managers, carrier services professionals, sales operations, analysts, and support functions. Each of these people play a crucial role in designing, deploying, and maintaining Ireland’s connectivity infrastructure.
The Enet business operates and manages Ireland’s open-access fibre network, spanning 5,400km and delivering high-speed, scalable connectivity across 94 cities for over one million users nationwide. Magnet+ is Ireland’s largest connectivity provider, supplying Dedicated Internet Access, Business Broadband and Managed Services across the island of Ireland and beyond.
The Group proudly serves over 8,500 customers directly, with a wholesale network supporting more than one million people — including mobile phone users, students, residential broadband users, key public services, public sector workers, and employees in multinational organizations.
Network engineering requires deep technical expertise, and the Group’s specialists require bespoke training in key partner technologies to provide the services that are fundamental to its offering. This commitment occupies a significant portion of the group’s Learning and Development (L&D) budget, posing an interesting challenge for Marie Kearns, Speed Fibre Group’s HR Director. Her task: to deliver high quality skills training that supports the entire organization while staying within budget constraints.
“I needed a solution that could support a wide range of training needs — from interview training techniques and communications skills to Microsoft Excel and project management qualifications,” Kearns explains. “And I had to achieve all of that within my allocated budget.”
With this challenge in mind, Kearns began exploring what was available on the market, trialing various learning and development platforms. Ultimately, Udemy Business emerged as the clear choice.
“Udemy ticked all the boxes technically, offering the right mix of courses. And many of our engineers were already familiar with the platform,” she notes. “It was the logical conclusion to partner with them and by doing so, shifting our mindset to become a learning organization.”
Group HR Director, Speed Fibre Group
Unlimited learning at speed
Speed Fibre Group launched Udemy Business in January 2024, providing unlimited training and access to thousands of online courses for each of its employees.
With Udemy as the foundation of its L&D activities, the organization has been able to implement a top-down culture of learning which cascades from the executive level. Today, every employee has their own learning outcomes and objectives, which are fulfilled by two dedicated learning hours each month which can be facilitated by Udemy Business.
However, Kearns has found that this doesn’t limit when learning takes place, with many employees happy to go above and beyond their allocated time, and one in particular clocking 92 learning hours in a single year.
“Having Udemy significantly changed things for us,” she says. “It’s unlimited; you can do as much as you want. And the great thing is, employees access Udemy outside of working hours and explore courses that interest them. It’s a genuine employee benefit that supports personal growth and development.”
This eagerness of adoption didn’t entirely come as a surprise as, on paper, Udemy provided exactly what Speed Fibre Group’s employees were asking for.
“It wasn’t difficult to get people to use Udemy,” says Kearns. “It was exactly what they wanted. In the past, employees often requested training, but budget constraints meant we had to prioritize what was critical that year and where it happened. Now we can make it accessible to everyone.”
Fully customizable learning to connect employees to goals
One of the major benefits Speed Fibre Group has found in Udemy are its dedicated learning paths, which allow learning experiences to be tailored to the needs of individuals.
“We love that a manager can assign a particular course or path to an employee and provide the right mix of materials to get them where they need to be,” says Kearns.
This feature was particularly important in helping to upskill a team in Pune, India, who previously had limited access to learning resources. Using Udemy, Speed Fibre Group developed a structured learning path to support team members in advancing their network engineering qualifications. The learning paths also include communications skills, soft skills development, and technical training in areas such as CCNA, Optical Fibre Networks, and Artificial Intelligence to name a few. Not only does this enhance individual growth, it also strengthens the Group’s competitive positioning in the market.
“With Udemy, we can keep our technical engineers totally up to date on the latest technologies,” says Kearns. “This strengthens our position when going out to tender, but also empowers us to showcase our expertise through technology and industry certifications, demonstrating a skilled team of experts ready to support our clients effectively.”
The ability to build tailored courses has also helped the organization accelerate and standardize onboarding, as Kearns explains:
“The fact that you can upload your own content is brilliant. With Udemy, we can put all our induction training resources into a dedicated platform to help new hires get up to speed quickly. That makes onboarding faster and more consistent and means people don’t have to keep delivering that training to new joiners; it can be self-directed.”
Insights into activities and savings
Another essential feature for Speed Fibre Group is Udemy’s analytics, which help line managers keep track of where learning is taking place across the organization.
“The reporting is incredibly valuable to us,” Kearns says. “Learning and Development is a key focus in our monthly board review meetings. With Udemy we can easily track the total training hours captured each month, the number of hours completed by each company and department, and which courses are most popular. It provides the granular insights that demonstrate real progress.”
These insights also help to illustrate the ROI of Udemy, with clear savings already visible. Since 2023, all training has been conducted on Udemy, with the company covering the cost of external exams to achieve recognized qualifications. As a result, Speed Fibre Group estimates that learning and development costs have been reduced by 40-50%.
Group HR Director, Speed Fibre Group
A great place to work with learning at its heart
Udemy plays a key role in helping Speed Fibre Group’s teams stay at the top of their game. But beyond that, it’s seen among the workforce as a valuable employee benefit. And it’s one that has contributed to the organization being rewarded for its efforts in creating a learning culture and a great place to work.
“We’ve achieved a Great Place to Work accreditation this year and Udemy has definitely increased our employee satisfaction rating significantly — up to 92.2%,” says Kearns. “We’re also an Irish Investor in Diversity Silver Award winner, and a big focus for us is on EDI training. Just recently, in July 2025, we were awarded Best Workplace in the Medium Organisations category at the Diversity in Business Awards — a testament to our commitment to fostering a positive, inclusive, and empowering work environment. While we source targeted external courses for highly specialized training, we also leverage Udemy’s extensive library to bridge any gaps, ensuring our teams are equipped with the skills they need. This blended approach has contributed to us fostering a strong learning culture and being a great place to work”.
Both times Speed Fibre Group has entered the Investors in Diversity awards, access to training and learning and development has been measured. Between 2022 and 2025, its score improved from 87% to 92.2%. This is the type of benefit that can prove vital in a competitive employment market.
“As an SME, attracting and retaining top talent can be challenging as you’re competing with larger companies with greater resources,” Kearns says. “Our specialized teams are crucial to our success, so providing them with unlimited access to learning opportunities not only supports their career growth but also strengthens our competitive edge”.
Group HR Director, Speed Fibre Group
Connecting hundreds of new learners to the knowledge they need
Following the early success of Speed Fibre Group’s Udemy adoption, the organization now plans to extend its licenses to accommodate a new cohort. Its recent acquisition of BT Communications Ireland Ltd will expand the workforce, with all new members gaining access to Udemy Business for unlimited learning and development opportunities.
For Kearns, Udemy will continue to be a benefit to those employees, and the organization as a whole.
“Udemy is always something we mention when we’re advertising a role,” she says. “What people want most, apart from the basics, is professional development and we’re now in a great position to provide that.”
Group HR Director, Speed Fibre Group
Group HR Director, Speed Fibre Group
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