Pearson Launches Gen AI Foundations Certification; Aims To Equip Professionals, Students With AI Skills

Pearson,  a global  learning company, has introduced the Generative AI Foundations certification, aimed at equipping both professionals and students, including high schoolers, with essential skills to work with generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) technologies. This certification aims to provide a formal recognition of Gen AI proficiency, which is increasingly valued by employers utilising AI tools to enhance productivity, efficiency, and workflow.

As demand for Gen AI expertise surges across industries, many employers now consider AI skills a hiring prerequisite. According to Microsoft and LinkedIn's 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report, 66% of business leaders would not hire candidates without AI expertise, and 71% prefer hiring less experienced candidates with AI skills over more experienced ones lacking them.
The certification, developed by Certiport, a Pearson VUE company  specialising in career and skills credentialing, is part of Pearson’s broader Critical Career Skills portfolio. This initiative combines training and certification, offering a comprehensive solution for AI education and other key skills, such as communication. To ensure industry relevance, Pearson has partnered with AI training leader Mindstone,  whose practical AI application training adds value to the Generative AI Foundations certification for learners at all career stages.

"Generative AI is reshaping how early-in-career and seasoned professionals work, learn, and create across every sector. Certiport’s Generative AI Foundations certification equips people with technical AI skills and an ethical framework for principled AI use, addressing the skills gap and establishing a benchmark for Generative AI competency," Dr.  Gary Gates, managing director, Pearson VUE, said.

The Generative AI Foundations certification is now available through Mindhub and Certiport. It will also be accessible via Pearson VUE’s online testing platform (OnVUE) and at test centres within the Certiport network. Flexible purchasing options will be offered to accommodate various needs.

This certification is designed to validate an individual's proficiency in key areas, including:
- Understanding generative AI methods and models
- Mastering the fundamentals of prompt engineering and prompt refinement—a universal inquiry process used with Gen AI systems
- Recognising the societal impacts of AI, such as identifying biases and understanding privacy concerns.