Report calls for urgent action to prepare students for AI-dominated workplaces

The launch of the report draws on results from YouGov polling that showed 74 per cent of British business leaders do not believe current graduates are prepared to succeed in a world driven by AI.

Unveiled at the House of Commons, the report marks the latest phase of the University’s Future Skills campaign, first launched in 2021, which is said to highlight the economic imperative of skills for innovation and their vital role in driving a thriving economy.

YouGov’s findings, taken from  more than 2,000 business leaders, 1,000 current full-time students and 2,000 members of the wider public, have revealed:

There has been a 10 per cent increase since 2022 in businesses saying they want graduates to have digital skills, yet only 7 per cent of businesses believe graduates currently joining the workforce are ‘adequately prepared’ for the impacts of AI.

Nearly half of all business leaders (44 per cent) think AI and other emerging technologies will have a ‘moderate’ or ‘fundamental’ change on their operating model over the next five years, with 79 per cent believing universities should teach skills for the future to counter this.