In an effort to combat threats from companies such as Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc., Google Inc. is now formalizing learning at the Company’s GoogleEDU in an entirely new way.

The company’s two-year-old learning and leadership development program now relies on data analytics and other measures to ensure it is teaching employees what they need to know to keep profits coming in, according to an article reported by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday.

In 2011, Google offered more classes to more employees than ever before, with about a third of its 33,100-strong global workforce going through the in-house program reported the Journal. It cut classes that didn’t work and retooled others.

“What’s important is that it aligns with our overall business strategy,” said Karen May, Google’s vice president of leadership and talent, who played a big role in revamping of GoogleEDU.

Google earned $38 billion in annual revenue and hired 8,000 employees last year, marking the biggest annual head-count increase in its history according to the article.  The Company is also working on ways to improve the integration of new employees made up of managers and rank-and-file staff.

New managers and executives are offered special classes at the Company whereby they are provided with training necessary to deal with staff in a professional manner.