ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Pearson to acquire AI skills platform Workera in H2 2026.
- A recent Workera report in ZDNET pointed out gaps in AI upkilling.
- Together, the companies hope to develop the future of AI skills training.
Pearson, a global learning and assessment company, announced on September 29 that it has agreed to acquire Workera, the AI-native skills platform used by organizations such as ServiceNow, Accenture, and the United States Space Force to examine what their employees can do and where they may need to improve.
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The announcement comes less than a week after Workera’s 2026 State of Skills Intelligence Report was published on 23 September.
The report found that nearly 70% of workers use AI regularly, but nearly 60% don’t have time to qualify, suggesting that business leaders and labor professionals need to find more common ground on how to upskill for an AI-enabled world.
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Workera has already been targeted to help organizations fill their AI skills gaps, and a partnership with Pearson opens new horizons for AI upkilling and education, especially in the workplace.
In an exclusive interview with ZDNET last week, Workera CEO and founder Kian Katanforoosh shared details about Workera’s latest program, Ambient, an AI-native skills assessment tool currently being piloted, with over 10,000 applications on the waiting list, that aims to measure skills in the flow of work.
“If you manage to merge work and learning, you effectively help someone learn exponentially more than in the past. Today, with AI, we can bring learning closer to work, because AI understands unstructured data,” Katanforoosh told ZDNET.
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Pearson’s move to Workera demonstrates its desire to strengthen its enterprise offerings with adaptive skills training and assessments to meet the increasing demand for workforce upskilling in the AI era.
In the release, Pearson said Workera’s technology and talent will accelerate its “ability to help enterprises build the workforce they need for AI-driven transformation, reflecting Pearson’s continued investment in enterprise capabilities.”
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Workera’s technology is designed to give business leaders a live baseline of their capabilities, including AI fluency, targeted development, verified results, and better talent decisions across the board, according to the press release.
Pearson hopes his legacy in the education space can usher in a new era of AI skills training, with the help of Workera, founded in 2019.
“The combination of Workera’s talented workforce and technology, with Pearson’s expertise in learning and assessment, strengthens our ability to help enterprises close skills gaps faster and build a more agile and capable workforce,” said Vishaal Gupta, president of enterprise learning and skills at Pearson, in the release.
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Upon completion of the acquisition, expected in H2 2026, Workera will become part of the Pearson Enterprise Learning & Skills business unit, and Workera co-founder and CEO Kian Katanforoosh will join its leadership team.
“Together, we will bring Workera’s AI and Pearson’s deep expertise in learning and assessment to a common ambition: building the gold standard for workforce readiness and helping people achieve more than they thought possible,” Katanforoosh said in the release.