QS Quacquarelli Symonds and IBM have announced a new collaboration designed to help learners make more informed connections between their career ambitions, the skills employers need, and relevant learning opportunities. Through the initiative, QS will power the IBM SkillsBuild Career Navigator experience through its 1Mentor platform, connecting QS career and labour-market insights with IBM SkillsBuild learning.
The collaboration was announced during the 25th annual QS Back to School Summit in New York City, which convened leaders from higher education, business, government, investment and technology to examine the forces reshaping education, work and global talent.
In an official press release, the Quacquarelli Symonds stated that the scheme will allow learners to explore career pathways aligned with their goals, identify the skills required to pursue them, and receive personalised recommendations for relevant IBM SkillsBuild courses and learning pathways.
According to official information, select IBM SkillsBuild courses will also be integrated into the broader QS 1Mentor ecosystem, enabling 1Mentor users to discover relevant skill based courses and credentials as part of their personalised learning recommendations.
"Together, these integrations will connect career exploration more directly with opportunities to build relevant skills," the official press release noted.
As per official information, QS draws on an analysis of more than one billion job postings and over 365 million alumni profiles to identify changing employer demand and map skills to career pathways. By connecting this intelligence with learning opportunities available through IBM SkillsBuild, the collaboration will help learners move from understanding where opportunity is emerging to taking practical steps towards it, the official announcement noted.
Lydia Logan, Vice President, Global Education and Workforce Development at IBM, said: "As career pathways change, learners need clear ways to understand which skills are in demand and how to develop them."
According to Quacquarelli Symonds, rapid advances in AI and technology are reshaping jobs, skills requirements, and career pathways. Recent QS analysis of more than 1,800 jobs found that many of the roles expected to grow through 2030 are also among the most likely to be augmented by AI. The findings point to the growing importance of AI and emerging technology skills as career pathways evolve.
Nunzio Quacquarelli, President and Founder of QS, said in a statement: "By combining QS career intelligence with IBM SkillsBuild learning, we can help people see not only where opportunity is emerging, but also the practical steps they can take to reach it."
According to official information, IBM SkillsBuild is a free education programme that provides access to technology and workplace skills training, digital credentials and career resources.
