Education must adapt to future skills crisis

A major report from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) estimates that up to three million jobs could disappear by 2035 as a result of automation and AI. The findings call for urgent action from schools and the wider education system to build a lifelong learning system that equips people with the skills needed for a rapidly changing labour market.

The publication is the final stage of The Skills Imperative 2035: Essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce, a five-year long programme funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It warns that roles in administration, secretarial work, customer service and machine operations are vanishing faster than expected. Overall job numbers are projected to grow but most new roles will be in professional and associate professional sectors. This includes jobs that demand advanced skills such as science, engineering and law.

To thrive in this future, the report identifies six essential employment skills (EES):

• communication
• collaboration
• problem-solving
• organising and prioritising
• creative thinking
• information literacy

Shortages in these skills already affect 3.7 million workers. The report claims this could rise to seven million by 2035 without decisive intervention.

Jude Hillary, NFER’s co-head of UK Policy and Practice, said:
“The time has come to tackle this critical challenge head on. Meeting projected skills shortages means a collective response from government, employers and the education system. We need to strengthen early years support, tackle inequalities in schools, and rebuild the adult skills system to deliver growth that benefits everyone.”

Josh Hillman, director of education at the Nuffield Foundation, added:
“Accelerating labour market changes make these findings more relevant than ever. This report highlights the essential skills underpinning employability and offers evidence to help education providers and employers ensure the workforce can build and use them effectively.”

Public awareness of the challenge remains low. A YouGov poll found 65 per cent of non-retired people are confident they can keep pace with changing skills needs. However, 53 per cent believe automation will affect their job within a decade. Only 24 per cent feel supported by government to develop new skills.

This report is a wake-up call for education. Without urgent action to embed essential skills from early years through to adulthood, technology-driven change could deepen inequalities. The government believe that a resilient, adaptable workforce is not optional, but critical to the UK’s economic future.