Accenture invests in Workera to close skills gap worth $8.5 trillion each year

AI-powered skills intelligence platform Workera has announced a strategic investment from consulting giant Accenture.

As a result of the investment, Accenture, which generated a revenue of approximately $65 billion in 2024, will be able to provide its global clients with Workera’s solutions, with the aim of accelerating the adoption of skills-first strategies.

This [deal] underscores the shared vision between Workera and Accenture to advance skills-first strategies across global enterprises,” Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of Workera said in an exclusive conversation with UNLEASH.This [deal] underscores the shared vision between Workera and Accenture to advance skills-first strategies across global enterprises,” Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of Workera said in an exclusive conversation with UNLEASH.

“By combining Workera’s expertise in verified skills intelligence with Accenture’s global scale, we aim to help organizations build the capabilities they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.

“It’s about more than reskilling – it’s about enabling companies to align their talent strategies with business needs and unlock valuable new opportunities for growth.”

Working together to close the global skills gap

The investment will allow Accenture to accelerate a skills-first approach, which is vital, as recent research from the company found that 61% of global workers will need reskilling by 2027.

Although a large proportion of these employees (94%) express a willingness to learn new skills, only 5% or businesses are focused on reskilling their workforce at scale.

Certain fields, such as AI, machine learning, and cloud computing, are seeing rapid growth, meaning that employees are required to upskill at a much quicker rate, in comparison to other fields.

“We’ve seen that when enterprises leverage verified skills data, they can precisely identify gaps, personalize development plans, and benchmark and measure growth in any skill, including AI, data, and cloud computing,” Katanforoosh explains.

“This data-driven approach not only accelerates learning but also helps leaders make better-informed decisions about talent allocation and workforce planning.”

The Accenture research also highlights that technical expertise used to remain relevant for over a decade, now, many require reskilling or upskilling in just four years. For industries such as AI, this can be done even sooner.

Consequently, Accenture's investment in Workera will enable both businesses to partner on its skills intelligence platform, LearnVantage, which aims to address the rapidly shortening half-life of technical skills.

Kishore Durg, Global Lead of Accenture LearnVantage explained that by integrating Workera with Accenture LearnVantage, the business will aim to equip enterprises with the tools to "personalize their learning journeys, while optimizing their workforce capabilities by using skills intelligence data."

Additionally, Katanforoosh notes: “Leaders now have a clear pathway to benchmark and address skill gaps in all areas including the most sought after skills like AI, cloud, and data, ensuring their workforce is prepared for the demands of tomorrow.

This partnership empowers HR teams to align talent development with strategic business goals, building a stronger, more capable workforce that can adapt to change.”This partnership empowers HR teams to align talent development with strategic business goals, building a stronger, more capable workforce that can adapt to change.”

Stay tuned.