Pearson announced Monday that it has acquired Credly, a New York-based company that enables firms to issue and manage digital badges and credentials to verify workers’ skills.
Pearson, which already had a nearly 20 percent stake in Credly, said the acquisition will expand its presence in the workforce skills sector and add a strong credentialing service to its existing workforce analysis and learning portfolio.
The purchase price for Credly, including Pearson’s existing 20 percent stake, is $200 million.
“The Credly acquisition is another important step in accelerating our strategy in the workforce skills market and in building connectivity across the entire Pearson portfolio,” said Andy Bird, CEO of Pearson in a news release. “The growing skills gap is putting enormous pressure on the labor market, making verified credentials more essential than ever before.”
This acquisition follows Pearson’s 2021 buy of Faethm, a workforce AI and predictive analytics platform.
Pearson originally invested in Credly in 2018. Bird said he believes Credly complements Pearson’s recent acquisition of Faethm, which the company acquired to better work with employers and employees to identify skills needs and provide learning to address those needs along with credentials to prove proficiency.
More than 2,000 organizations use Credly, according to a Pearson press release. Credly has issued 50 million credentials to 25 million consumers and has become the world’s largest professional credentialing marketplace.