Tom Laidlaw

Strategic Initiatives Manager @Pearson

London, GB

Pearson Education is the world’s learning company operating in 70 countries. They combine world-class educational content and assessment, powered by services and technology, to enable more effective teaching and personalized learning at scale. My role is to oversee 2 innovative initiatives for the business. I am leading the development of a series of online training courses to drive student knowledge of workplace skills, thereby supporting transition from University to industry. This incorporates number of strategic directives, including the creation of a ‘user pays’ mentor-matching service, strategic engagement with employers, and the development of a course portfolio ready for a pilot launch with 12 months of initial planning. All content must of course, remain relevant to both industry and education and the expectation is to leverage student engagement for revenue worth £11m in 3 years. The second focus of my role is the management of a new £2m English language testing project for UK visa applications. This requires the development of assessment centres on behalf of the UK Home Office, ensuring the offer is competitive, compliant and aligned with ESOL to increase market share. In line with Home Office policy, it will promote skilled migrant online only applications through spousal and T4 English assessment through entirely automated systems to eliminate any potential human bias and deliver results to applicants within 48 hrs.

University of Nottingham

LLB, Law

Nottingham Trent University

LPC, Law