TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Businesswire | May 17, 2023
Watermark, a leading provider of software solutions for higher education, announced today a strategic partnership with Lightcast, a global leader in labor market data, analytics, and expert guidance. This collaboration will empower higher education institutions to make better-informed strategic planning and program review decisions by seamlessly integrating labor market data directly into Watermark's Planning & Self-Study software.
The partnership's goal is to bring the valuable labor market data already available in Lightcast Analyst directly to those charged with making critical decisions on the viability of program offerings.
With the partnership, Watermark will begin offering the Market Landscape Data Pack as an add-on to Watermark's Planning & Self-Study software, an award-winning solution which facilitates continuous improvement processes such as strategic and assessment planning, program review, and accreditation reporting. The data pack will provide institutions with the ability to understand their market landscape and ensure program relevance by providing curated labor market data points to the right people involved in the program review process at the right time.
Furthermore, institutions using both Watermark and Lightcast products gain significant advantages with a more efficient program review process and abilities to deep dive into opportunity areas using Lightcast Analyst or other Lightcast offerings such as Skillabi and Alumni Pathways.
"We are thrilled to partner with Lightcast to equip higher education institutions with the crucial data they need to make informed decisions benefiting their students and programs,” said Erin Shy, CEO of Watermark. “As labor market data becomes increasingly important in higher education, our partnership with Lightcast will enable institutions to integrate this crucial information into their planning and program review processes, ultimately leading to more successful outcomes for their students."
Formed in 2021 after the merger of Emsi and Burning Glass, Lightcast is a global pioneer in labor market data and analysis committed to connecting individuals with the right skills and jobs in the right places. With over two decades of experience and a client base of 1,500 organizations worldwide that serve learners and institutions (including colleges, universities, associations, ed tech firms, and more), Lightcast collects real-time data from over 50,000 sources daily. Combining this data with curated input from various statistical sources offers comprehensive insights into occupations, skills in demand, and career pathways. Lightcast helps businesses, communities, and educational institutions make informed decisions in the fast-changing world of work.
"Our partnership with Watermark is an exciting opportunity to further our mission of providing higher education institutions with the data they need to serve their students better,” said Chris Kibarian, CEO of Lightcast. “By integrating our labor market data directly into Watermark's software, we can help institutions save time, increase consistency and trust, and make more informed decisions about their programs and strategic planning."
Watermark and Lightcast are committed to helping higher education institutions navigate the ever-changing labor market landscape and adapt their programs and strategies accordingly. This initial offering marks the beginning of a strong collaboration focused on solving the critical challenge of delivering the right data to the right people for better decision-making in higher education.
About Watermark
Watermark advances educational impact by developing innovative technology that educators and institutional leaders can trust. Supporting over 1,700 higher education institutions worldwide, Watermark launched in 2018 following the merger of Taskstream, Tk20, and LiveText — three of the leading providers of assessment management technology in the industry – with Digital Measures, EvaluationKIT, and SmartCatalog. Aviso Retention joined the Watermark family in 2020. With solutions in the areas of assessment and accreditation management, faculty activity reporting, course evaluations and surveys, curriculum and catalog management, and student success and retention, Watermark’s more than 400 team members are committed to helping colleges and universities operate more strategically and effectively to maximize the impact they have on their students and communities.
About Lightcast
Lightcast provides trusted global labor market data, analytics, and expert guidance that empowers communities, corporations, and learning providers to make informed decisions and navigate the increasingly complex world of work. With a database of more than one billion job postings and career profiles, Lightcast delivers best-in-class customer service with robust data, clear analysis, and expert guidance on skills, jobs, and opportunities.
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ONLINE EDUCATION
PRnewswire | April 20, 2023
Promethean, a leading global education technology company, announced today that its parent company, NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited, has approved a plan and entered into the related agreements to spin off the Promethean group of entities into a separate company that will subsequently merge with Gravitas Education Holdings, Inc., a public company.
Following the merger, expected to be completed in Q3, Promethean will benefit from operating as a standalone company separate from NetDragon, listed on the NYSE, with a distinct board and management team of world-class leaders focused on driving shareholder value. The new holding company will be renamed to MYND.AI at the transaction's closing to reflect the new brand and the company's direction to pursue the transformation of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
Merging with Gravitas Education Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GEHI) will enable the company to grow its global education business sustainably and further the development of new innovative technologies like AI. Promethean has expanded its product offerings to include software and AI in the past year. This merger is the next stage in the evolution of the company's goal to strengthen its global position in the market and remain the market leader in the U.S. and EMEA.
"The decision to spin off our overseas education business advances our ability to create value for customers and shareholders. Our business is at an exciting market inflection point as the world moves toward accelerating the application of AI in virtually all industries. We believe we are well ahead of the market in pushing forward the effective and practical use of AI in education, especially in the classroom," said Dr. Simon Leung, vice chairman of NetDragon and chairman of MYND.AI, upon closing of the transaction. "As we execute our plan to transform education with AI, this spinoff transaction will provide the right platform for the MYND.AI team to pursue our goal of becoming the dominant category leader in the AI-enabled classroom technology space. We are excited about our path ahead, and I want to thank our shareholders for their support as we embark on this journey together."
"As the classroom evolves, we continue to look to the future to provide innovative educational technology solutions that transform teaching and learning. We are excited to be at the forefront of integrating AI into our products that will add true education value, leveraging our investment in AI technology and our deep understanding of customer needs over the past 25 years," said Vin Riera, CEO at Promethean and MYND.AI, upon closing of the transaction. "This exciting new chapter will build on our mission to design learning and collaboration tools that deliver the most effective learning outcomes for teachers and students."
About Promethean
Promethean is a leading education technology company working to transform the way the world learns and collaborates. From our founding in Blackburn, England, more than 25 years ago to our global operations in 22 countries today, we've continued to explore, innovate, and inspire —designing learning and collaboration tools that are built for breakthroughs. Our award-winning interactive display, ActivPanel, and lesson delivery software, ActivInspire and ClassFlow, were designed to engage students, connect colleagues, and bring out the brilliance in everyone. With headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and offices worldwide, Promethean is a member of the NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) group of companies.
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CORPORATE LEARNING SYSTEMS
PRnewswire | April 25, 2023
The State of South Carolina has once again selected WIN Learning as its career readiness assessment partner, proactively responding to business and industry demand for work-ready talent.
In collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE), WIN will lead delivery of research-based assessments measuring the foundational employability skills and soft skills each year of all 11th-grade students, spanning more than 80 school districts and 250 high schools statewide as required by state policy (SC Code § 59-18-325). Twelfth-grade students also have the opportunity to take or retake the assessments. The results benchmark district and school advancement toward ensuring all students are career-ready upon graduation. This year, school testing was conducted March 27-April 14.
"South Carolina Department of Education is a longtime partner of WIN," said Teresa Chasteen-Dunn, CEO of WIN Learning. "We are excited to continue our partnership to ensure that all South Carolina students graduate high school with the skills they need to succeed in their future careers."
Students who pass the assessments earn the South Carolina Work Ready Credential, demonstrating mastery of foundational math, reading and data analysis skills, and the South Carolina Work Ready Essential Soft Skills Credential, validating mastery of professional skills including communicating effectively, conveying professionalism, promoting teamwork and collaboration, and thinking critically and solving problems. The credentials are endorsed by the National Work Readiness Council as tools for educators, workforce development professionals, and employers to determine students' readiness for post-secondary education and technical training, apprenticeship, on-the-job training, and ultimately employment.
The WIN-powered assessments used by South Carolina have been developed in direct response to education, workforce, economic development, and business and industry demand for a common measure of students' career readiness. WIN's solutions are based on the U.S. Department of Labor O*NET Content Model Framework, which is widely recognized as the nation's primary source of occupational data. The Work Ready assessments target the transferable career readiness skills that employers in South Carolina and nationwide commonly define as essential to gain and maintain employment across industries, in occupations from entry level to professional. The assessment learning objectives correlate to the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, a set of standards for the career and life skills high school students should master by the time they graduate.
WIN was chosen as the state's foundational career readiness partner through competitive bid, ranking as the preferred provider based on expertise and experience, technical approach, and value. "South Carolina Department of Education is a longtime partner of WIN," said Teresa Chasteen, CEO of WIN Learning. "We are excited to continue our partnership to ensure that all South Carolina students graduate high school with the skills they need to succeed in their future careers."
About WIN Learning
Since 1996, WIN has become the leading provider of career readiness solutions to help business, industry, workforce and districts prepare pathways for students' and job seekers' futures, whether they are college, trade school, military or workplace bound. WIN's e-learning solutions include academic and employability skills courseware, assessments, and nationally recognized credentials endorsed by the National Work Readiness Council (www.nwrc.org). To date, more than 10 million students worldwide have participated in the specialized career-driven courseware and education intervention initiatives as well as career readiness certification programs.
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