Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has announced its acquisition of 1Mentor, a career navigation platform, in a strategic move aimed at equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s jobs.
According to QS’s press release, this acquisition marks a significant step towards bridging the gap between industry needs and academic institutions, fostering the development of career-ready, self-motivated students. The platform identifies high-growth jobs and the requisite skills, for any individual, offering targeted course recommendations to address the skills gap and allowing a university to understand and evolve their course offerings.
This approach is backed by significant research, including the QS Skills Gap Report 2023, based on the QS Global Employer Survey of 16,000 responding employers, which identified both soft and hard skills gaps amongst graduates across key industries and geographies, identifiable at a university level. A recent McKinsey & Co report presents similar and complementary findings, revealing that 87% of companies worldwide are aware that they either already have a skills gap or will have one within a few years. In addition, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 found that employers estimate 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years and identify skills gaps and an inability to attract talent as the key barriers preventing industry transformation.
Nunzio Quacquarelli, President of QS, says, “Employers are witnessing a paradigm shift in the skills they value. QS believes that universities and business schools must play a pivotal role in bridging the skill gaps, and so remain relevant in the long run as new models of education emerge.”
“1Mentor seamlessly aligns with QS’ core mission of empowering learners globally to fulfil their potential through educational achievement, international mobility, and career development. Leveraging 1Mentor’s innovative Career Navigation Platform and QS Global Employer Survey data, QS is poised to emerge as the premier source of data and insights in skills development. These insights and tools can transform how universities and students navigate the dynamic landscape of the global job market, ensuring readiness and adaptability at a time of rapid and continuous technological advancement.” He says.
Judene Pretti, Director of Strategic Enablement, University of Waterloo, commented: “1Mentor is a game-changer for higher education, seamlessly aligning with our mission at Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) to future-proof our students, employers, and the university itself. Its innovative platform is key in navigating the ever-evolving landscape of education and careers. It enables students to design their journey toward career success while equipping the university to stay ahead of industry trends.”
The founding 1Mentor team, Martin Serrano, Esteban Veintimilla, Diego Robles have all been international students, at Oxford University Said Business School, University of Waterloo in Canada and University of Queensland respectively and have extensive experience of supporting university career development strategies.
