Pearson’s Workera deal targets a big workplace problem: No time to AI upskill

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Pearson will acquire the AI skills platform Workera in H2 2026.
• A recent Workera report in ZDNET indicated gaps in AI upskilling.
• Together, the firms hope to develop the future of AI skills training.

Pearson, a global learning and assessment company, announced on Sept. 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 verify 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 Sept. 23.

The report found that nearly 70% of workers use AI regularly, but almost 60% have no time to upskill, suggesting business leaders and working professionals need to find more common ground on how to upskill for an AI-enabled world.

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Workera was already aiming to help organizations fill their AI skills gaps, and a partnership with Pearson opens new horizons for AI upskilling 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 signups on the waitlist, which aims to measure skills in the flow of work. 

“If you manage to merge work and learning, you’re effectively helping someone learn exponentially more than in the past. Today, with AI, we’re able to bring learning closer to work because AI understands unstructured data,” Katanforoosh told ZDNET.

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Pearson’s move for Workera indicates 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 skilling.”

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Workera’s technology is designed to give business leaders a live baseline of their workforce’s capabilities, including AI fluency, targeted development, verified outcomes, and better talent decisions across the board, according to the press release.

Pearson hopes that its heritage in the education space can usher in a new era of AI skills training, with the help of Workera, founded in 2019.

“Combining 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 more agile and capable workforces,” Vishaal Gupta, president of enterprise learning and skills at Pearson, said in the release.

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Upon completion of the acquisition, anticipated in H2 2026, Workera will become part of Pearson’s Enterprise Learning & Skills business unit, and Workera co-founder and CEO Kian Katanforoosh will join its leadership team.

“Together, we’ll bring Workera’s AI and Pearson’s deep expertise in learning and assessment to a shared ambition: building the gold standard for workforce readiness and helping people achieve more than they thought possible,” Katanforoosh said in the release.

Kayla Solino is a ZDNET Editor based in New York City and New Jersey. She has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Alabama. Some of her past bylines include Inc., Fortune, and The Crimson White. In her spare time, she enjoys keeping up with all things Crimson Tide, binge-watching British Bake Off, and baking. See full bio