More and more people nowadays are taking to online learning rather than traditional learning at schools and colleges.
Sites like Shaw Academy offer a way to learn at your own pace and since the pandemic e-learning has become very popular.
With e-learning such a competitive niche with regards to training platforms, there are some well-established sites like Udemy, Coursera, and Edureka to compete with.
Shaw Academy really took off with reports that in 3 years leading up to November 2016 they were seeing as many as 400,000 students a month.
But, don’t get your credit card out just yet as I’m sure you will find this Shaw Academy review interesting reading.
So let’s dive in and see what Shaw Academy has to offer.
Price: As of this review, the First 4-weeks is free, then as of this review $49.99 a month but this could obviously change.
Recommended: No
Summary: There are so many e-learning platforms, some established, some good and some not so good.
It is not so difficult finding the right course because there is so much information available, especially on the websites themselves.
What you find with Shaw Academy is that they don’t have an abundance of courses to choose from like many of the other learning platforms.
As of this review, I believe there are just over 100 available courses and when you compare that with Udemy which have over 100,000 then why would anybody choose Shaw Academy?
I know at this stage you are probably just testing the water to see what there is out there, but have you ever considered affiliate marketing?
After all, Shaw Academy operates their business within the affiliate marketing business model and offer an affiliate program from which people can make money from.
Just something to maybe consider!
This is a proven business model that actually works, just take a look at these people who are still active in the same training platform.
Shaw Academy is an e-learning platform that was founded in Dublin, by James Egan and Adrian Murphy in 2013.
The platform has become popular with students in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa and India.
However, for me, it is somewhat lacking in the number of courses offered, and really not big enough to compete with most of the other e-learning platforms that are out there.
Udemy alone offers over 100,000 courses and around 7,000 free courses that cover anything you could possibly think of.
At Shaw Academy, the first 4-weeks are free followed by a monthly fee which can be paid periodically, although I don’t think you will benefit too much due to the number of courses they provide.
Just looking at their website, they state there are over 100 courses but as of this review, I found only 94 courses which is quite disappointing.
According to their Facebook page, they have quite a following of over 1 million likes and 12 million students.
I see this site as very niche and I don’t know about you but the 12 million students they declare on their website, I just can’t see it.
We have just proved that they weren’t been honest about how many courses they had on their site so why should we believe that.
Here’s a short promotional video that you might like to watch.
Who are the founders, James Egan and Adrian Murphy?
James Egan, with a master’s degree in commercial law and for a short period, was an analyst working for a couple of hedge funds.
Based on the knowledge he picked up in trading, he decided in 2012 to start an e-learning platform based around financial trading called the Academy of Financial Trading.
As of this review, this business is not operating and it looks like the courses have been moved over to Shaw Academy.
Adrian Murphy also graduated with a master’s degree in information systems.
It looks like he is no longer committed to Shaw Academy but did go off and establish a couple of successful businesses, Capserv and Fitness Data Science.
In 2017 Shaw Academ founded the company Phoenix, which was to cater for the increased numbers of students, but in 2017 they fell into financial difficulties, owing 5.7 million euros.
Who is Shaw Academy for?
To be honest Shaw Academy isn’t going to appeal to most people due to the limited number of courses they offer compared to most of the other e-learning sites.
However, online learning is becoming very popular in recent times, especially since this pandemic started and therefore I’m sure it would be worth a quick look.
Let’s take a look inside Shaw Academy
In the 7 short years Shaw Academy has been operating, I would have expected the course list to be a lot more extensive than what we are seeing here.
There used to run 2 lessons on Monday and Wednesday only, but now I understand those 2 lessons you can choose on days that best suit you.
Not sure I understand this and the only reason I can see why this would be so, is to ensure you don’t complete the course too quickly.
I see this as a red flag!
The whole point of learning online for me is to pick up wherever you left off and not to be restricted like they are doing at Shaw Academy.
After all, the courses are not live and should be available at all times, like Udemy where the courses you pay for are accessible for life or until it is taken down.
I personally think the learning structure is set this way to extend the amount of time it will take to complete the course beyond the FREE month.
Shaw Academy costs
The following types of premium membership…
When you signup for your first course the first 4-weeks are free.
Then you can pay either monthly which as of this review would be around 55 Euros or take advantage of the big discounts as can be seen above.
If you only want to take advantage of the 30-Day free membership then make sure you give enough time to cancel the membership as we are seeing many issues with this.
Resources, such as Toolkits and certification would have to be paid separately.
What others say about Shaw Academy
We are seeing many complaints on many levels which is unusual for an e-learning training platform.
The complaints below that came from TrustPilot seemed to have been resolved now!
It normally takes a lot for someone like Trustpilot to get involved and make a statement like the one above.
The above complaint whilst resolved comes from the Better Business Bureau and if you look at the bottom of that review, there are a further 3130 complaints.
That amount is something I have never come across on the BBB site before.
I did check a number of the 5-star review ratings on Trustpilot and many of them did look a little dubious, to say the least.
What We Like – Shaw Academy Review
Reviewing Shaw Academy has been an
eye-opener and one I would not recommend, in fact, there isn’t much I like about this company.
The First 4 weeks are free
The only problem we are seeing is that members are getting charged regardless of whether they are on the free period or not.
What We Don’t Like – Shaw Academy Review
Unfortunately, we found many more
negative issues than we did positive ones.
Not Accredited With The Better Business Bureau
What we found on the BBB were over 3000 complaints which are extremely unusual.
Members Having Money Taken Out Of Their Accounts
This seems to be a major problem amongst members and past members which can be seen through the number of complaints within the BBB.
Google Trending Over a 5 Year Period
Not as popular as you may have thought.
Its to be expected that Shaw Academy would pique interest around March 2020, which happens to be the start of the pandemic. It didn’t last long though.
Where Are The Courses?
For an eLearning training platform to compete at the top level, 94 courses are nowhere near enough.
Course Times
With the courses only available on 2 days throughout the week, I see this as a way to ensure the course extends beyond the free 4 week period which is when the fees would kick in. Of course, this is only my opinion
Even The BBC Watchdog Series Has Stepped In
The BBC watchdog series is a consumer tv program that highlights businesses where large amounts of customers have complained and here is the link to that webpage here.
How to Earn with the Shaw Academy
Yes, that is right, you can make some money by promoting Shaw Academy.
If this training platform is for you.
Then why not take advantage of their affiliate program where you could make between $5 and $15 for each new member who enrols on a course.
Affiliate marketing is a very prevalent business model that anybody can learn, and if you need some guidance, then you can check out an article that I wrote which explains it in more detail here.
Is Shaw Academy a Scam?
Shaw Academy is definitely not a scam
although there were a lot of issues that we did find whilst researching the company.
What is clearly evident is the lack of courses which means they aren’t able to compete with the other sites like Udemy which also means they don’t have courses to allow the student to improve on their knowledge.
Those students would eventually move on to the other popular sites to improve upon the skills they had learned at Shaw Academy anyway.
Shaw Academy – Final Analysis
I think you’ll agree there are more issues with Shaw Academy than you probably would have thought.
Prior to us researching this company it was just another eLearning platform with good reviews and a good student base but things started to unravel pretty quickly.
Money issues
Lack of number of courses
Many negative reviews from disgruntled members
Trying to persuade customers to delete or change reviews on Trustpilot
Google trends show that Shaw Academy is not as popular as many thought
If you are looking for a reputable eLearning platform there are many out there that allow you to progress your skills further such as Udemy or Coursera, of which I use both and would highly recommend.
Training that really delivers
We have mentioned affiliate marketing earlier and how popular it has become.
If you have an interest, a hobby or anything you have a passion for then why not turn it into a lucrative business?
Wealthy affiliate has been going since 2005 and with over 2 million members, taken many of them from complete beginners with absolutely no knowledge at all, through to become successful marketers.
I have been a member of that very same training platform now for the last 3 years.
Feel free to take a look at these success stories…
Ralph reached his goal of a six-figure business in 2018. Check his story here
Check out how Eddie earned over $9k in a month here
Hey Guys and Gals, great to meet you and hope you enjoyed this post. We created this site to help people like you avoid the pitfalls of making money online and hopefully steer you onto the right path. ENJOY!
View all posts by Mick
10 thoughts on “Shaw Academy Review – Comprehensive Review of Shaw Academies Online Learning Platform”
Hi Mick!
That is great I came across your website! This information is very useful for me – I recently thought about completing some course online to get a new skills for online business. I marked for myself the Udemy and Coursera as the best sources.
How does the Shaw academy charge money in the free period? Do they ask during sign – up to provide all payment details?
Thank you for sharing this post!
All the best,
Alex
Hey Alex, thanks for stopping by and commenting on what is Shaw Academy About.
Sometimes you can find it hard finding reviews about a company but with Shaw Academy, they are all over the place and many for the wrong reasons.
With regards to the 4-weeks free and members still getting charged, the credit card is given upfront which you shouldn’t have to.
A reputable company would not ask for those details until the free period was about to expire.
I am a member of a training platform that specializes in affiliate marketing, Wealthy Affiliate and they never ask for your credit card details when you join as a free member.
However, most companies operate that way because most people forget to cancel the membership which is a bit of a scam really.
Hi I’d like to add something to your review which I think people should know before they consider signing in even through your warning.
I would not recommend this platform at all, I have to agree. I, myself have signed up under the 4 weeks free promise and then paid for an access for a year without being informed that all the toolkits and certificates have to be paid separately, eventually throwing away around £200 for one course.
The way they tell you things and inform students about their system is very unclear, however it is definitely not a scam.
I do have to disagree with courses being only available two days a week. I could pick my courses whenever I wanted and even if you miss them, they stay in your member area as a recording which makes me wonder that maybe it works differently in different countries?
Anyway, thank you for reviewing them and I definitely agree that they are more trouble than worth.
Hi Silvie, thank you for stopping by and dedicating a little of your time to reading and commenting on this Shaw Academy review.
Thank you for telling us about your experience with Shaw Academy and that you agree with this review.
I use eLearning platforms like Udemy because with over 100,000 courses you are sure to find something that interests you, something that Shaw Academy is exempt from.
There just aren’t enough courses to choose from to even show the slightest bit of interest.
Accreditation shouldn’t be an issue…I have taken many courses in IT and was never asked for anything near to a certificate.
Businesses want to know that you can do the job not that you have a certificate. Granted, if it was a degree or a master then that’s a little different.
I have come across Shaw Academy before and have to say that I came to the same conclusion as you. The claims they make are just unbelievable. The warnings and reviews on TrustPilot are actually quite scary and the course content looks dodgy at best.
Udemy and Wealthy Affiliate are certainly far more reputable sources for online training.
Lawrence, thank you for stopping by and taking time to comment on the Shaw Academy review.
For TrustPilot to stick their neck out and make a statement like the one I highlighted you have to be really doing something bad, but it would appear Shaw Academy just aren’t bothered.
They say on their website that they have had 12 million members but I just can’t see it at all. Not with only 79 courses to choose from.
What, with the restrictions, money issues, massive number of complaints by past members.
Even the Better Business Bureau is showing over 3000 complaints and that is something I have not come across before.
Udemy and Coursera have a vast catalogue of courses which are stepped so you can start at the basics and work your way up, with Shaw Academy you can’t.
If you are looking for a training platform that specialises in something like affiliate marketing then Wealthy Affiliate are probably the best in their field and another I would highly recommend.
12 million students with only 79 courses is a big achievement. As of now, people are adapting themselves to more and more online learning rather than the traditional method of learning, Shaw academy proofs to be the best platform where you can learn all that you wish for and this online e-learning platform has a consistent growth over the years with 4,00,000 students a month. So let’s dive in and see what makes Shaw academy so different when compared to others. Here the first 4 weeks are free followed by a monthly fee which can be paid later which indeed is great because learners get an idea how it works and they can be fully prepared to complete the course with great enthusiasm.
Though it offers a limited number of courses yet online learning is very popular in recent times and I’m legit sure it would sustain. But as everything have some pros and cons even this e-learning has it because it restricts learning as courses run only on Monday and Wednesday. And unfortunately, there are more negative comments than positive ones. It has many issues like money deductions, lack of courses, negative reviews, persuade customers to delete negative comments. Fantastic your informaiton. Thanks a lot.
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Hi Mick!
That is great I came across your website! This information is very useful for me – I recently thought about completing some course online to get a new skills for online business. I marked for myself the Udemy and Coursera as the best sources.
How does the Shaw academy charge money in the free period? Do they ask during sign – up to provide all payment details?
Thank you for sharing this post!
All the best,
Alex
Hey Alex, thanks for stopping by and commenting on what is Shaw Academy About.
Sometimes you can find it hard finding reviews about a company but with Shaw Academy, they are all over the place and many for the wrong reasons.
With regards to the 4-weeks free and members still getting charged, the credit card is given upfront which you shouldn’t have to.
A reputable company would not ask for those details until the free period was about to expire.
I am a member of a training platform that specializes in affiliate marketing, Wealthy Affiliate and they never ask for your credit card details when you join as a free member.
However, most companies operate that way because most people forget to cancel the membership which is a bit of a scam really.
Once again thank you for your support
Hi I’d like to add something to your review which I think people should know before they consider signing in even through your warning.
I would not recommend this platform at all, I have to agree. I, myself have signed up under the 4 weeks free promise and then paid for an access for a year without being informed that all the toolkits and certificates have to be paid separately, eventually throwing away around £200 for one course.
The way they tell you things and inform students about their system is very unclear, however it is definitely not a scam.
I do have to disagree with courses being only available two days a week. I could pick my courses whenever I wanted and even if you miss them, they stay in your member area as a recording which makes me wonder that maybe it works differently in different countries?
Anyway, thank you for reviewing them and I definitely agree that they are more trouble than worth.
Hi Silvie, thank you for stopping by and dedicating a little of your time to reading and commenting on this Shaw Academy review.
Thank you for telling us about your experience with Shaw Academy and that you agree with this review.
I use eLearning platforms like Udemy because with over 100,000 courses you are sure to find something that interests you, something that Shaw Academy is exempt from.
There just aren’t enough courses to choose from to even show the slightest bit of interest.
Once again thank you for your support.
Udemy is definitely an awesome platform and everyone can choose!
Also, for a small price of a few pounds, you can have a truly interesting and helpful course.
The only con is that they don’t offer any accreditation as far as I know 🙁
Accreditation shouldn’t be an issue…I have taken many courses in IT and was never asked for anything near to a certificate.
Businesses want to know that you can do the job not that you have a certificate. Granted, if it was a degree or a master then that’s a little different.
Thank you for your support.
I have come across Shaw Academy before and have to say that I came to the same conclusion as you. The claims they make are just unbelievable. The warnings and reviews on TrustPilot are actually quite scary and the course content looks dodgy at best.
Udemy and Wealthy Affiliate are certainly far more reputable sources for online training.
Thanks for an honest and insightful review.
Lawrence, thank you for stopping by and taking time to comment on the Shaw Academy review.
For TrustPilot to stick their neck out and make a statement like the one I highlighted you have to be really doing something bad, but it would appear Shaw Academy just aren’t bothered.
They say on their website that they have had 12 million members but I just can’t see it at all. Not with only 79 courses to choose from.
What, with the restrictions, money issues, massive number of complaints by past members.
Even the Better Business Bureau is showing over 3000 complaints and that is something I have not come across before.
Udemy and Coursera have a vast catalogue of courses which are stepped so you can start at the basics and work your way up, with Shaw Academy you can’t.
If you are looking for a training platform that specialises in something like affiliate marketing then Wealthy Affiliate are probably the best in their field and another I would highly recommend.
12 million students with only 79 courses is a big achievement. As of now, people are adapting themselves to more and more online learning rather than the traditional method of learning, Shaw academy proofs to be the best platform where you can learn all that you wish for and this online e-learning platform has a consistent growth over the years with 4,00,000 students a month. So let’s dive in and see what makes Shaw academy so different when compared to others. Here the first 4 weeks are free followed by a monthly fee which can be paid later which indeed is great because learners get an idea how it works and they can be fully prepared to complete the course with great enthusiasm.
Though it offers a limited number of courses yet online learning is very popular in recent times and I’m legit sure it would sustain. But as everything have some pros and cons even this e-learning has it because it restricts learning as courses run only on Monday and Wednesday. And unfortunately, there are more negative comments than positive ones. It has many issues like money deductions, lack of courses, negative reviews, persuade customers to delete negative comments. Fantastic your informaiton. Thanks a lot.
Thank you, Samantha, for stopping by and commenting on this Shaw Academy review.