QS and IBM collaborate to bridge the education-to-work gap for learners worldwide

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 collaboration, QS will power the IBM SkillsBuild Career Navigator experience through its 1Mentor platform, connecting QS career and labor-market insights with IBM SkillsBuild learning. Learners will be able to explore career pathways aligned with their goals, identify the skills required to pursue them, and receive personalized recommendations for relevant IBM SkillsBuild courses and learning pathways. Select IBM SkillsBuild courses will also be integrated into the broader QS 1Mentor ecosystem, enabling 1Mentor users to discover relevant IBM SkillsBuild courses and credentials as part of their personalized learning recommendations. Together, these integrations will connect career exploration more directly with opportunities to build relevant skills. 

QS 1Mentor 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. 

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, "Learners are being offered more courses and credentials than ever, but often lack the labor-market insight needed to decide which skills will move them towards their ambitions. 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.” 

Lydia Logan, Vice President, Global Education and Workforce Development at IBM, said: “As career pathways change, learners need clearer ways to understand which skills are in demand and how to develop them. Our collaboration with QS brings career insights and learning closer together, helping learners better understand where opportunities are emerging and connect those insights to practical steps for building relevant skills. ”

IBM SkillsBuild is a free education program that provides access to technology and professional skills training, digital credentials and career resources. The program supports IBM’s commitment to skill 30 million people globally by 2030. 

The collaboration was announced during the 25th annual QS Back to School Summit in New York City, which convenes leaders from higher education, business, government, investment and technology to examine the forces reshaping education, work and global talent. 

The IBM SkillsBuild Career Navigator experience powered through QS 1Mentor is expected to be available globally in English at launch. Additional languages may be introduced as the collaboration develops.

IBM SkillsBuild is free to access at skillsbuild.org.