EdventureCo, the wholly-owned education platform of AWN Holdings Limited, today announced the acquisition of ENS International, a global leader in virtual and face-to-face negotiation advice, support, and training.

Founded in 1978, ENS International has developed some of the most innovative negotiating and influencing methodologies in the market. The founders, Michael Hudson and Leo Hawkins, challenged the highly adversarial approach to negotiation that had long dominated corporate negotiation strategy and created organisation-wide negotiation capability platforms.

For over 40 years, ENS International has partnered with organisations to develop an organisational change management platform to address and develop collaborative negotiation skills and create a common influencing language that will accelerate growth. Through its network of negotiation process experts with real-world experience, ENS International provides negotiation skills and guidance to achieve desired outcomes while maintaining and building valuable relationships.

In addition, its team of highly experienced facilitators train employees to become effective, outcome-focussed negotiators who maximise results. ENS International offers both public and customised highly effective training programs with proven return on investment designed to improve participants’ communication and negotiation skills.

Across over 70 countries, ENS International has established a reputation as a trusted negotiation partner for some of the most successful organisations worldwide. Its clients in both the public and private sector range from finance (PwC), resources (BHP), and medical (Johnson & Johnson) to retail (Adidas and Woolworths) and government (Australian government).

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020 highlights the disruptive nature of long-term technology trends and the impact they will have on the future of work. With automation expected to displace 85 million jobs in the next five years, skills such as persuasion, negotiation, emotional intelligence, and social influence are among the top 15 skills employers see as rising in prominence in the lead up to 2025.

The acquisition of ENS International will further EdventureCo’s goal of equipping students with relevant skills in a fast-changing world. It will be highly complementary to DDLS and the Australian Institute of ICT, two of EdventureCo’s market- leading IT training providers that address the skills shortages in the digital sector.

The increasing need for the workforce’s digital skills to be balanced by skills development in emotional intelligence, creativity, persuasion, and innovation is becoming more crucial, and EdventureCo’s strategy is focussed on addressing such a demand.