This article is about a company that is offering to make it easier for people to get into their learning for their tech due to a shortage in the field. This shows companies taking an interest in the learning of people not yet in their organization, even if it is benefiting them.
LAK 14 stands for Learning Analytics and Knowledge (Conference) 2014. This is the fourth year of the conference, and I think a lot of data can come from this site. See the "Live Blogs and Notes" page for more information about the conference via blogs written as it occurred.