IBM and Pearson announced a global partnership to build new personalized learning products powered by AI for businesses, public organizations, and educational institutions.
Recent research from Pearson found that inefficient career transitions and skills mismatches will cost the US economy $1.1 trillion in lost earnings annually. Employers, educators, and learners need faster, more relevant ways to learn new skills as AI reshapes how people work and learn.
IBM and Pearson aim to address these needs with AI-powered learning tools, built using watsonx Orchestrate and watsonx Governance, which will be available globally. IBM will also help Pearson build a custom AI-powered learning platform - similar to IBM Consulting Advantage - that combines human expertise with AI assistants, agents, and assets. The platform will drive growth with new products and services, while transforming Pearson’s operations to enhance workflows, productivity, and data-driven decision-making.
As IBM’s primary strategic partner for customer upskilling and workforce transformation, IBM customers and its 270,000 employees will benefit from Pearson’s enterprise learning solutions. These include, Credly for digital credentialing, Faethm for strategic workforce planning, and Pearson Professional Assessments, which delivers IBM professional certification exams globally.
In addition, IBM and Pearson will explore the development of tools that will help verify the capabilities of AI agents, ensuring organizations can deploy them with confidence. This combines IBM’s expertise in building reliable, responsible AI with Pearson’s deep understanding of learning, skills development, and recognized credentials.
Omar Abbosh, CEO of Pearson
Technology is evolving faster than human skills can keep pace. To close this gap, learning must be embedded seamlessly into the flow of work. When people learn where work happens, it has an immediate impact on productivity and performance. Together with IBM, we’re building trusted AI-powered learning tools that will help people and organizations adapt, learn, and thrive in a world of constant change.
Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM
Whether you're leading a company or just graduating, everyone needs to build new skills for the AI era. IBM and Pearson are bringing AI-powered education to more organizations to help people learn faster. Together, we’re helping companies and their teams adapt to change and succeed, while helping Pearson transform its own internal operations.
