British Education firm and publisher, Pearson is repositioning itself as an AI-powered learning company as artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes jobs and skills worldwide, global chief executive, Omar Abbosh, told ET in an exclusive interview.
Rather than eliminating work, AI is fundamentally redesigning how jobs are done, forcing companies and workers to rethink how quickly they learn new skills, Abbosh said. “AI is not wiping out jobs. It is changing every job,” he said. “The half-life of skills is shrinking fast. Learning speed is now the most important skill anyone can have.”
He explained that while coding will not disappear, the role of coders will change significantly. Engineers will increasingly become AI managers, architects and problem solvers who guide intelligent systems rather than write every line of code themselves. Entry-level IT roles will continue to exist, but in forms very different from today.
“People will still start their careers in tech, but what they do on day one will look radically different from five years ago,” Abbosh said.
India is emerging as a central pillar of Pearson’s global strategy, both as a high-growth market and as the company’s innovation backbone. The company is expanding partnerships with Indian state governments, including Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, to build large-scale digital learning and skilling programmes. Recently, the company signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government focused on AI skilling initiatives.
“India is not just a market for us. It is where we are building a lot of our future learning platforms,” Abbosh said. “We are shifting more product development here because solutions have to be designed locally to work at Indian price points and scale.”
Vishaal Gupta, president for enterprise learning and skills at Pearson and chair of Pearson India, said the company’s largest innovation centre outside the US is now based in India, employing thousands of engineers and product specialists.
“India plays a dual role for Pearson, as a growth engine and as a global technology hub,” Gupta said. “Much of the digital learning infrastructure we build for the world now comes from our teams here.”
A major advantage for the company is its massive skills credential ecosystem. The company operates the world’s largest digital credential platform, Credly, which has issued more than 140 million verified skill badges globally. These credentials are used by major corporations, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM and Salesforce to certify workforce skills. The platform also allows Pearson to track emerging skills demand across industries in real time.
“This gives us a live view of where the world’s skills are moving,” Abbosh said. “We can see which capabilities are growing, which are declining, and where the gaps are forming.”
Abbosh said this data is becoming increasingly valuable as CEOs struggle to prepare their workforces for AI-led disruption. “Almost every CEO I speak to knows AI is critical, but they don’t know how to reskill millions of people fast enough,” he said. “That is the gap Pearson is stepping into.”
Instead of acting as a consulting firm, Pearson is building technology platforms, assessments and structured learning systems that enterprises can use to train employees continuously.
In India, the company is also aligning closely with regulatory and data protection requirements. It has localised data storage using Indian hyperscale cloud providers to comply with the country’s data protection law and strengthen cybersecurity controls.
“Trust is foundational in education,” Abbosh said. “Data security and privacy are not optional. They are core to how we operate.”
Looking ahead, Abbosh said Pearson’s transformation will continue to centre on digital learning, AI-powered tools and skills verification, while staying rooted in learning science to ensure real cognitive outcomes.
“Our goal is not just to digitise education,” he said. “It is to help people gain the skills they need to thrive in a world where technology is changing faster than ever before.”
Rather than eliminating work, AI is fundamentally redesigning how jobs are done, forcing companies and workers to rethink how quickly they learn new skills, Abbosh said. “AI is not wiping out jobs. It is changing every job,” he said. “The half-life of skills is shrinking fast. Learning speed is now the most important skill anyone can have.”
He explained that while coding will not disappear, the role of coders will change significantly. Engineers will increasingly become AI managers, architects and problem solvers who guide intelligent systems rather than write every line of code themselves. Entry-level IT roles will continue to exist, but in forms very different from today.
“People will still start their careers in tech, but what they do on day one will look radically different from five years ago,” Abbosh said.
India is emerging as a central pillar of Pearson’s global strategy, both as a high-growth market and as the company’s innovation backbone. The company is expanding partnerships with Indian state governments, including Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, to build large-scale digital learning and skilling programmes. Recently, the company signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government focused on AI skilling initiatives.
“India is not just a market for us. It is where we are building a lot of our future learning platforms,” Abbosh said. “We are shifting more product development here because solutions have to be designed locally to work at Indian price points and scale.”
Vishaal Gupta, president for enterprise learning and skills at Pearson and chair of Pearson India, said the company’s largest innovation centre outside the US is now based in India, employing thousands of engineers and product specialists.
“India plays a dual role for Pearson, as a growth engine and as a global technology hub,” Gupta said. “Much of the digital learning infrastructure we build for the world now comes from our teams here.”
A major advantage for the company is its massive skills credential ecosystem. The company operates the world’s largest digital credential platform, Credly, which has issued more than 140 million verified skill badges globally. These credentials are used by major corporations, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM and Salesforce to certify workforce skills. The platform also allows Pearson to track emerging skills demand across industries in real time.
“This gives us a live view of where the world’s skills are moving,” Abbosh said. “We can see which capabilities are growing, which are declining, and where the gaps are forming.”
Abbosh said this data is becoming increasingly valuable as CEOs struggle to prepare their workforces for AI-led disruption. “Almost every CEO I speak to knows AI is critical, but they don’t know how to reskill millions of people fast enough,” he said. “That is the gap Pearson is stepping into.”
Instead of acting as a consulting firm, Pearson is building technology platforms, assessments and structured learning systems that enterprises can use to train employees continuously.
In India, the company is also aligning closely with regulatory and data protection requirements. It has localised data storage using Indian hyperscale cloud providers to comply with the country’s data protection law and strengthen cybersecurity controls.
“Trust is foundational in education,” Abbosh said. “Data security and privacy are not optional. They are core to how we operate.”
Looking ahead, Abbosh said Pearson’s transformation will continue to centre on digital learning, AI-powered tools and skills verification, while staying rooted in learning science to ensure real cognitive outcomes.
“Our goal is not just to digitise education,” he said. “It is to help people gain the skills they need to thrive in a world where technology is changing faster than ever before.”
