Saturday Oct 05, 2024
Saturday Oct 05, 2024
Thursday, 4 December 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Q: What is your scope of work as Head of Partner Markets-Asia?
A: My responsibility is to lead the Pearson businesses in a number of markets across Asia which includes countries like Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
For the last six years, I’ve been based in Asia, although in the past my roles have taken me to Europe and North America. I’ve been fortunate to work in sales, marketing, technology and am now more in a leadership role for our businesses.
My team and I are responsible to deliver on Pearson’s overall goal – which is to help every single learner make measurable progress in their lives through learning.
Q: What potential do you see in Sri Lanka as a market?
A: What stands out is the recognition that Sri Lankans have in general of the value of education. That recognition leads to a desire to seek out the highest quality of education for their children and their families. That’s a great opportunity for an organisation like Pearson to be involved in. In fact, I think there’s a lot that other countries can learn from Sri Lanka about education.
The Sri Lankan Government recognises that to drive further improvements in education, investing in teacher development is critical, and has placed emphasis on that. At Pearson we’re very proud to be already involved in helping towards that goal, having launched BTEC qualification in Teaching Practice here in Sri Lanka. By working in partnership with organisations in Sri Lanka we believe Pearson can play a role in supporting the development of education going forward.
Q: Any issues which need to be addressed in Sri Lanka?
A: An issue we see globally is the ongoing debate about how to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s job market. In a recent survey the World Bank identified that one in five of today’s primary students will take up a career in a job that’s yet to be invented. So the question that is relevant is; how do you prepare students today for those jobs and opportunities that will come up in the future? How do you ensure that they’re equipped for that future which is changing literally all the time? At Pearson I think if we stay focused on ensuring that the learning outcomes are identified, we can actually measure the outcomes and assess it against clear deliverables. So together with governments, institutions and schools we can actually be part of building an education system that will support the future for students as well.
Q: What would be the way forward for Sri Lanka?
A: Pearson is in a very fortunate position to be able to work across many markets around the globe, as the world’s largest learning company. We have a presence in over 80 countries, with over 40,000 people working for us.
What we also recognise is that we don’t have all the answers. We need to work with partners, including governments, agencies, institutions, and teaching communities so that we can aim to reach every learner across Asia. For us the future is very bright and it’s really going to be through partnerships that we will be able to broaden our reach.
Critically we have to work with organisations that share the same values as Pearson as well.
Q: Have there been any new partnerships forged in Sri Lanka?
A: We were fortunate enough to be invited along to the TISSL conference which is the international schools conference and that’s on the back of strong partnerships with schools and key thinkers in that area. It’s that type of partnership that’s going to be the solid foundation for Pearson, and we’ll certainly seek out new partnerships in all spaces of education to ensure we have the potential to actually reach all learners across Sri Lanka.
Q: How vital would you say partnerships are as a method of driving the Pearson’s brand?
A: We at Pearson’s cannot do our work alone. We need partnerships to build upon. For us critically in a place like Sri Lanka it’s finding the right partnerships, which are built on the same values about education and how we go about doing business. We’re the largest qualification awarding body in the UK but we also need organisations to help us deliver those qualifications to really grow our business in Asia.
