Cognizant & Pearson to Enhance AI Workforce Readiness

IT services company Cognizant is partnering with education company Pearson to accelerate early learning development, strengthen mid-career transitions, and equip the workforce with skills to succeed in the AI era.

Both companies stress the importance of building an AI-ready workforce

The two companies cited research done by each of them that reflects the need for developing an AI-ready workforce. 

• Pearson’s Lost in Transition research found that inefficiencies in career pathways cost the U.S. economy an estimated $1.1 trillion annually. 
• Cognizant, along with Oxford Economics, found that AI could potentially reshape up to 90 percent of existing jobs and drive as much as $1 trillion in annual growth for the U.S. economy by 2032.

Through this multi-year agreement, Cognizant will enhance Pearson’s platforms with generative and agentic AI, while helping Pearson enhance its products, including learner experiences and applications, through the implementation of cloud-native solutions with a microservices architecture, leveraging Cognizant Flowsource.

Cognizant will also utilize its Agent Foundry and Neuro SAM solutions to enhance Pearson’s agentic AI-driven critical business processes.

“We are excited to collaborate with Pearson to drive innovation within their own applications and across the education sector,” said Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S. “At Cognizant, we are committed to continuously investing in learning. This is exemplified through our research on AI-driven talent readiness and hiring trends, the expansion of our community skill initiative, Synapse, and the establishment of our Chennai Immersive Learning Center. In partnership with Pearson, we are dedicated to leveraging our expertise in AI and digital engineering to create transformative solutions designed to benefit learners and educators worldwide. This partnership underscores our shared vision to proactively shape a skilled workforce ready to thrive in the AI era.”

Workforce assessment and reskilling programs should see boost through new partnership

The collaboration aims to accelerate the development and availability of AI-powered learning, assessments, and workforce skill development programs.

Through the agreement, Pearson’s talent solutions – Credly, Faethm, and Talents Lens – will support digital credentials, workforce analytics, and cognitive assessments in Cognizant’s workforce development programs.

“AI is quickly redefining the skills we need in the workplace. This means that the most critical skill is learning,” said Omar Abbosh, CEO of Pearson. “This is especially urgent for early-career workers, who are already impacted and are just establishing themselves in today’s rapidly changing workforce. Together with Cognizant, we can help companies diagnose their skill needs, plan for the future, and execute new talent strategies. Importantly, we can help people at all stages of their careers thrive in this era where people will be working alongside teams of digital agents seamlessly.”

According to Pearson, the partnership will build on the organization’s strategy to develop 360-degree relationships, driving stronger outcomes for customers, delivering joint go-to-market initiatives, and fostering shared growth.

Earlier this year, Cognizant partnered with CrowdStrike to enhance enterprise cybersecurity. Learn more about how the partnership aims to deliver cybersecurity services powered by AI-powered solutions to streamline SecOps.