At Doceo, our mission is to prepare students for the professional world, life after education. To achieve this, we focus on four key questions:
- What personal and professional skills does the education system successfully equip students with?
- What skills are being cultivated at home within our student demographic?
- What gaps remain after these influences?
- What opportunities are available to students to help bridge these gaps?
In exploring these questions, insights from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 become particularly relevant. The report projects that by 2030, around 170 million new jobs will be created globally, while 92 million roles are expected to be displaced due to technology, economic shifts, and demographic changes, resulting in a net increase of 78 million jobs (World Economic Forum, 2025a).
Yet the pace of change presents a concerning challenge: 39% of key skills of the current global workforce are expected to be transformed or become obsolete between 2025 and 2030 (World Economic Forum, 2025b). In essence, students in school today are being educated for the skill needs of the current workforce, but by the time they leave formal education, almost half of those skills will already be obsolete.
What the UK does relatively well
The UK education system has some undeniable strengths. From an early age, students are equipped with strong foundations in English and mathematics, as well as the soft skills that employers value, namely teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. These are the core skills that carry students through both academic life and the workplace.
In recent years, the government has also taken steps to diversify pathways beyond the traditional academic route. T-levels, vocational qualifications equivalent to three A-levels, have been introduced to give students more practical, career-focused options. With built-in industry placements, these qualifications aim to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world experience. Though the uptake has been slower than expected, recent reforms are designed to make them more flexible and attractive to students (Adams, 2024).
Another positive development is the expansion of apprenticeships, some beginning as early as age 16 at Level 3 and continuing through to Level 4 and beyond. These pathways give young people the chance to gain industry exposure much earlier in their careers, often while continuing to study. Apprenticeships are rightly growing in popularity, offering students both professional experience and a wage.
Where the UK is falling behind
Despite these strengths, the UK education system is struggling to keep pace with the future-facing skills the workforce desperately needs. Employers consistently point to skill shortages as the single biggest barrier to growth and innovation: 63% report gaps in their workforce, with the majority forced to invest heavily in upskilling existing staff. Meanwhile, 40% of roles are expected to be reduced or transformed by automation, exposing the urgency of change (World Economic Forum, 2025a).
At the heart of the issue is the digital skills gap. More than half of working-age adults still fall short of the basic digital competencies required for employability, leaving the UK vulnerable to falling behind more digitally literate nations (FutureDotNow & Cebr, 2025).
On top of this, the qualifications on offer don’t always match what employers need. While schools remain focused on traditional exams, the labour market is hungry for cross-disciplinary thinkers who are digitally fluent, globally minded, and equipped for the green economy. The result is a mismatch that leaves students underprepared, employers undersupplied, and the economy under pressure.
Whilst the Apprenticeship initiatives show great strides, even here, a limitation persists: much of the focus remains on acquiring these professional and digital skills after formal schooling ends, rather than embedding them consistently throughout the school years. This leaves too many students playing catch-up when they should be graduating already future-ready.
How we start closing the gap…
#1 Static curriculum, focused on today’s skills
The UK’s rigid curriculum remains largely geared towards the skills demanded by today’s workforce rather than tomorrow’s. By the time students graduate, many of the competencies they’ve been taught are already outdated.
Our Proposed Solution: A mandatory subject on future work skills, co-designed by government, educators, and businesses, refreshed regularly to align with emerging trends. Singapore’s SkillsFuture initiative offers a strong example: by linking labour market data into curriculum planning, Singapore ensures students are developing competencies in fast-growing areas like AI, digital literacy, and green technologies (Jobs and Skills Singapore, 2023).
#2 Digital skills deficit
Despite progress, the UK faces a stark digital literacy gap, with over half the workforce lacking essential digital skills (FutureDotNow & Cebr, 2025). Without intervention, this deficit risks undermining productivity, innovation, and employability.
Our Proposed Solution: Digital fluency must become a core competency embedded across all subjects. National frameworks should be expanded, with targeted support for disadvantaged groups who face systemic barriers to digital access. Estonia offers a model here, having integrated coding and digital literacy into the curriculum from primary school onwards, fuelling a thriving digital economy (OECD, 2022).
#3 Low uptake of vocational pathways
Despite T-levels and apprenticeships, vocational education in the UK still suffers from low social status and limited uptake. Many parents and students continue to see academic routes as “superior,” even though employers increasingly value practical, career-focused skills.
Our Proposed Solution: Make vocational education and training (VET) more flexible, expand placements, and reframe these pathways as prestigious, future-ready options. Finland’s VET system demonstrates this, with employers co-designing qualifications and students assessed on demonstrated skills, which has reduced skills mismatches (Cedefop, 2020).
#4 Weak culture of lifelong learning
The UK still treats education as something that ends with formal schooling or university, rather than a lifelong process. With automation and AI reshaping jobs at unprecedented speed, workers need ongoing opportunities to reskill and upskill.
Our Proposed Solution: Incentives like tax reliefs or learning credits, recognition of micro-credentials, and stronger employer-funded CPD. Denmark’s “flexicurity” model, which combines a flexible labour market with strong state investment in lifelong learning, ensures workers can retrain with ease (European Commission, 2021).
#5 Fragmented employer–education links
Links between employers and education providers in the UK remain fragmented and inconsistent. Too often, students graduate with theoretical knowledge but little understanding of workplace realities.
Our Proposed Solution: Establish advisory boards, co-develop curriculum modules, and embed internships and mentoring into schools. Germany’s dual education system shows the value of this, with students splitting time between classroom instruction and structured apprenticeships (OECD, 2020).
In summary, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Other countries have already pioneered successful approaches that prepare young people for the future of work. The UK’s challenge is to learn from these examples, adapt them to our context, and ensure our young professionals are not only equipped to succeed at home but also to compete and thrive on the global stage.
My Conclusions…
The UK is making progress but not at the speed or scale required. Countries like Finland and Germany show how proactive reforms and industry–education alignment can create a future-proof workforce.
If the UK accelerates reforms by embedding digital skills, continuous learning, and stronger employer partnerships, then today’s students will graduate not just with certificates, but with the resilience and adaptability needed to thrive in the workplaces of 2030 and beyond.
How can you be part of the conversation?
#1 Join our roundtable!
Future-Proofing the Next Generation: Skills Students Need Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow
📅 Thursday, 25th September 2025
⏰ 7:00–8:00 PM GMT (Microsoft Teams)
A small-group online roundtable where educators, employers, policymakers, and students will share stories, spark fresh thinking, and co-create practical ways to drive real change. This isn’t a big anonymous webinar, it’s an intimate, interactive space where your voice matters.
Let’s shape the future, together!
#2 Stay connected with us
Sign up to our Schools mailing list for monthly insights into the UK education system and how we can start bridging the gap between workforce readiness and school leavers.
References
Adams, R. (2024) Reforms announced to vocational T-levels in England after slow uptake. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/dec/02/reforms-announced-to-vocational-t-levels-in-england-after-slow-uptake (Accessed: 2 September 2025).
Cedefop (2020) Future of vocational education and training in Europe: Finland. Available at: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/finland_future_of_vet_vol.4.pdf (Accessed: 14 September 2025).
European Commission (2021) Denmark’s flexicurity model. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1027&langId=en (Accessed: 12 September 2025).
FutureDotNow & Cebr (2025) The economic impact of closing the workforce essential digital skills gap. Available at: https://futuredotnow.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Final-Report-The-economic-impact-of-closing-the-work-essential-digital-skills-gap.pdf (Accessed: 11 September 2025).
Jobs and Skills Singapore (2023) Skills Demand for the Future Economy 2023. Available at: https://jobsandskills.skillsfuture.gov.sg/resources/SDFE-2023.pdf (Accessed: 3 September 2025).
OECD (2020) Germany’s dual education system. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
OECD (2022) Estonia: Digital education and coding from primary school. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/education/ (Accessed: 13 September 2025).
World Economic Forum (2025a) The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Available at: https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_Report_2025.pdf (Accessed: 12 September 2025).
World Economic Forum (2025b) Jobs of the future and the skills you need to get them. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/future-of-jobs-report-2025-jobs-of-the-future-and-the-skills-you-need-to-get-them (Accessed: 15 September 2025).Adams, R. (2024) Reforms announced to vocational T-levels in England after slow uptake. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/dec/02/reforms-announced-to-vocational-t-levels-in-england-after-slow-uptake (Accessed: 2 September 2025).
Cedefop (2020) Future of vocational education and training in Europe: Finland. Available at: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/finland_future_of_vet_vol.4.pdf (Accessed: 14 September 2025).
European Commission (2021) Denmark’s flexicurity model. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1027&langId=en (Accessed: 12 September 2025).
FutureDotNow & Cebr (2025) The economic impact of closing the workforce essential digital skills gap. Available at: https://futuredotnow.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Final-Report-The-economic-impact-of-closing-the-work-essential-digital-skills-gap.pdf (Accessed: 11 September 2025).
Jobs and Skills Singapore (2023) Skills Demand for the Future Economy 2023. Available at: https://jobsandskills.skillsfuture.gov.sg/resources/SDFE-2023.pdf (Accessed: 3 September 2025).
OECD (2020) Germany’s dual education system. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/ (Accessed: 17 September 2025).
OECD (2022) Estonia: Digital education and coding from primary school. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/education/ (Accessed: 13 September 2025).
World Economic Forum (2025a) The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Available at: https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_Report_2025.pdf (Accessed: 12 September 2025).
World Economic Forum (2025b) Jobs of the future and the skills you need to get them. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/future-of-jobs-report-2025-jobs-of-the-future-and-the-skills-you-need-to-get-them (Accessed: 15 September 2025).