Pearson PLC

Pearson and Namibox formally signed a strategic cooperation memorandum during the 48th WorldSkills Competition, launching the third phase of their collaboration following their 2018 strategic cooperation and the 2020 joint launch of the Pearson Teaching Box. The first products from the partnership will launch in Greater China and subsequently expand globally, with the initial phase expected to cover millions of learners. Pearson, a global lifelong learning company and a strategic investor in Namibox, provides English assessment standards and instructional systems validated over a century, while Namibox contributes local learning data and scenario-based delivery capabilities built on learning behavior data from tens of millions of users in China. Namibox Founder and CEO Xu Jin said Pearson has a century-spanning system of premium global education resources and a highly influential English learning product matrix, while Namibox excels at using digital technology to transform high-quality content into vivid learning experiences better tailored to local users. The global AI education market was valued at approximately US$7.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach about US$42.5 billion by 2030, a CAGR of over 41%, while China's GenAI plus education products and services market reached RMB 344.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach RMB 891 billion by 2028, a CAGR of over 37%.

Pearson is exploring building a platform to verify and credential AI agents themselves, certifying that the systems are fit to do real work inside businesses, Chief Technology Officer Dave Treat told Investing.com. Treat said the education group wants to extend its assessment heritage, long built around testing people, to the fast-emerging question of whether an AI agent is ready, safe and fit for purpose before it is let loose on a company's work, adding that Pearson is exploring a verification framework and credentialling platform to do exactly that. The comments follow news last week that the company has acquired ITS, a Baltimore-based assessment technology company, in a move to strengthen its assessment and verification capabilities. Treat also detailed internal AI gains, saying AI authoring, editorial and translation tools had reduced content editing times by at least 40%, lowered translation costs by nearly a third and cut content alignment costs by a quarter, while AI-enabled support had reduced the volume of queries handled by human agents by around 40%. On revenue, he pointed to multi-year agreements with leading technology companies that lock in revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars with existing customers and add incremental, cumulative revenue commitments to Pearson through to 2030, and said Inclusive Access grew 20% in the first half of 2026 and now accounts for 50% of Pearson's U.S. core courseware business.

Pearson and Illinois Institute of Technology have announced a partnership to explore employability pathways, industry-aligned credentials, and AI-enabled workforce solutions. The collaboration combines Pearson's global expertise in learning and assessment with Illinois Tech's strengths in technology education and career-focused programs. Key areas of focus include curriculum development, healthcare education, and dual enrollment opportunities for high school students. The organizations will also evaluate workforce credentialing and lifelong learning programs, aiming to connect learners with in-demand skills and career success.

Pearson delivered a 14% underlying increase in adjusted operating profit to £226 million for the first half of 2026, driven by operating leverage and cost efficiencies. Group underlying revenue grew 4%, supported by a 19% surge in Virtual Learning and 7% growth in Enterprise Learning & Skills, while Assessments & Qualifications revenue rose 2% in the first half, returning to a 5% growth rate in the second quarter. Adjusted earnings per share climbed 19% at constant exchange rates to 28.9p, and the company declared a 5% higher interim dividend of 8.2p per share. CEO Omar Abbosh highlighted a new global certification agreement with a leading AI lab and progress on AI self-service adoption, which now handles 40% of customer interactions. Pearson reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted operating profit of £640 million to £685 million with mid-single-digit underlying revenue growth, while noting a more cautious outlook for English Language Learning due to tough migration policies.

A joint study by Cognizant and Pearson reveals that 94% of HR leaders expect artificial intelligence to generate new entry-level roles within five years. The survey of 750 HR professionals across the US, UK, and India found that 96% believe entry-level positions will evolve into supervising or managing AI systems, while 60% say their learning and development programs cannot keep pace with AI-driven job transformation. Nearly seven in ten respondents now value broad, interdisciplinary backgrounds over specialized degrees for early-career talent, and 97% say soft skills matter more than ever. The findings highlight a growing disconnect between the skills organizations need and those they currently have, with 64% struggling to find the right talent as AI rapidly changes skill requirements.

Pearson has named the champions of the 24th annual Certiport 2026 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship, held in Nashville, Tennessee, with 140 finalists competing across Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. First-place winners include Scott Chamberlain in Word (Microsoft 365 Apps), Ethan Strayer in Excel (Microsoft 365 Apps), Rebecca Sutherlin in PowerPoint (Microsoft 365 Apps), Reid Chapman in Word (Office 2019), Paul Hudson in Excel (Office 2019), and Amar Azar in PowerPoint (Office 2019). The six champions will advance to the Certiport 2026 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Anaheim, California, from July 27 to 30, where they will compete against more than 100 international finalists for the world title and a $3,000 prize. Laura Peterson, Managing Director of Professional Assessments at Pearson, said the certification and competition experience provide students with a valuable credential and prepare them for an AI-driven economy. Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Global Skilling Jeana Jorgensen added that the event demonstrates how student talent, digital skills, and certification combine to ready participants for the modern workforce.