Pearson Partners with BorderPass to Support Aspiring Students and Professionals in Canada

PTE Author
PTE Author
[Asset] Students walking together

London, UNITED KINGDOM: 8 May 2025 – Pearson (FTSE: PSON.L), the world’s lifelong learning company, has announced a partnership with BorderPass, a Canadian lawyer-backed organization dedicated to streamlining the immigration process for students and skilled migrants.

Pearson and BorderPass are working together to make it easier for Canadian migrants to prove their English language skills. The Pearson Test of English (PTE) will be integrated into the BorderPass platform, allowing for fast and seamless verification of test scores. BorderPass will also guide users to take PTE at the optimal point in their immigration journey, ensuring timely access to the support and resources they need.

“We’re proud to partner with BorderPass to make English proficiency testing more accessible for international students and skilled migrants in Canada,” said Shileen Costain, Senior Director of Global Stakeholder Engagement. “By combining our efforts, we’re simplifying a critical step for those aspiring to study or work in Canada.”

“This partnership reinforces our commitments to transparency and efficiency,” said Sally Daub, Co-founder of BorderPass. “Verifying language scores directly on BorderPass allows us to streamline a crucial step for international students and skilled professionals, while empowering institutions to better support global mobility.”

This collaboration strengthens Pearson’s growing presence in Canada. In 2024, Pearson launched PTE Core, a secure English proficiency test specifically designed to meet the requirements of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), underscoring Pearson’s commitment to supporting test takers worldwide on their immigration journey.

For more information on PTE, visit www.pearsonpte.com.

For further information, please contact:

Ellen Clark, Director of Corporate Communications

ellen.clark@pearson.com | +44 7780 665958

Michael Pietrocarlo Head of Marketing, BorderPass

michael@borderpass.ca

About Pearson

At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. That's why our c. 18,000 Pearson employees are committed to creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. We are the world's lifelong learning company, serving customers in nearly 200 countries with digital content, assessments, qualifications, and data. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. Visit us at pearsonplc.com.

About Pearson PTE

PTE is a trusted English language proficiency test, opening doors for individuals looking to study, work, or migrate. PTE is accepted by over 3,500 institutions worldwide, and is also accepted by the Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and UK governments for all types of visas. Learn more about PTE.

Related Content

  • Image- Asian student, 1080px
    PTE now available in all the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Editor’s note (November 2025): As of November 2025, PTE tests are no longer available in Myanmar due to changes affecting payment processing and test delivery.

    Pearson now delivers Secure English Language Test (SELT) exams for UK visas in all Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. 

    PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI, and PTE Home tests are available at 29 locations in total across the 10 ASEAN countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam as of December 2024.

    English is the working language of the 10 member ASEAN bloc, which is home to more than 650 million people and as many as 1,000 languages. 

    The ASEAN PTE centers are located at:

    • Brunei Darussalam: Bandar Seri Begawan 

    • Cambodia: Phnom Penh 

    • Indonesia: Jakarta, Surabaya, Pontianak 

    • Japan: Chiyoda-ku, Osaka shi, Shinjuku 

    • Korea, South: Busan, Seoul 

    • Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Vientiane 

    • Malaysia: Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sabah, Selangor 

    • Philippines: Baguio City, Cebu, Davao, Makati, Makati City, Manila 

    • Singapore: Singapore 

    • Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Pathumthani 

    • Vietnam: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City 

    Book a PTE test today or view prices and your nearest test center.

    Last updated 05 November 2025.

  • Image- UCL,640px
    Pearson and UCL launch AI research partnership
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 3 minute

    London, February 4, 2020: Pearson, the world’s learning company, and the UCL Institute of Education today launched a new three-year project collaboration looking at the role of AI in English Language assessment.

    The research will focus on test-takers end to end experience of taking PTE (Pearson’s leading high stakes test of English) for either study or migration purposes. This fully digital test is delivered through Pearson VUE, the computer-based testing business of Pearson. The latest AI technology is used for scoring; biometric data collection provides enhanced security measures and voice recognition software is applied for the speaking element of the test. These cutting-edge technologies ensure the provision of an impartial and highly accurate test of people’s English language proficiency.

    The purpose of the research will be to ensure that global test-taker responses are fed back into the ongoing development and use of AI in assessment and to ensure the fairness, accuracy, and validity of these tests.

    Commissioned by the PTE research team, the project will be led by UCL Associate Professors Dr. Mary Richardson and Dr. Sandra Leaton-Gray.

    Dr. Mary Richardson said: “If you take an English oral exam, for example, you want a system that gives you the marks you deserve, whether you learned English originating from America, Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Malta, or Hong Kong. All those different, slightly subtle local variations in vocabulary and sentence structure need to be built into the assessment model, so you get a fair mark. This is where artificial intelligence can really help us.”

    Her views are echoed by Dr. Rose Clesham, Director of Academic Standards, Measurement, and Research for PTE: “Pearson has been working in the area of Artificial Intelligence in assessment for some time. There is a real potential to revolutionize the way people take low and high stakes tests, the way we mark them, and how we provide results and feedback. This new collaboration between PTE and the UCL Institute of Education will put our test takers right at the heart of the assessment process.”

    PTE Academic is one of the fastest-growing products in Pearson and is a strategic growth priority for the company, posting 17% growth in test volumes last year. The test is accepted by the UK, Australian, and New Zealand Governments for all visa applications. It is also accepted by 100% of Australian, New Zealand, and Irish Universities, 98% of UK universities, and more than 2,000 academic programs in the USA.

    Alongside this, we have recently launched PTE Home, a two-skills language test accepted by the UK Government for family, settlement, or citizenship applications. It tests speaking and listening skills.