At Form the Future’s recent annual conference, conversations about AI and young people reflected a field that is still taking shape rather than settling into clear answers. There was no single agreed position on what AI will mean for education or work. What did stand out, was the pace of change, the ethical questions it raises, and the challenge of supporting young people while systems adapt.
In my role as a Careers Development Practitioner at Form the Future, I work with young people and families who are already engaging with these questions in real time. AI is not a future issue. It is shaping recruitment, workplace expectations, and learning experiences right now, often faster than formal structures can respond.
AI is already part of working life
Across sectors, AI is being introduced in different ways and at different speeds. In some roles it is highly visible. In others it operates in the background through recruitment filtering, scheduling, data analysis, or workflow tools.
What is changing is not the need for people, but the distribution of tasks within roles. Routine or repetitive work is increasingly automated. Tasks that rely on judgement, collaboration, interpretation and creativity remain human, but are evolving in how they are expressed and valued.
For young people, this means careers are becoming less about selecting a single job title and more about developing skills and values that can transfer as roles change.
How employers are thinking about skills
Employers repeatedly returned to the importance of communication, problem solving, adaptability, ethical judgement, and resilience. In this context, resilience is not about simply coping or pushing through difficulty. It is about responding constructively to change, learning from setbacks, and adjusting as tools, roles, or expectations shift.
Several speakers, including Alex Zarifeh, who works at the intersection of AI, skills, and future workforce design, noted that the pace of AI development is often outstripping the ability of formal curricula to keep up. Young people are encountering AI in learning, daily life, and work faster than education systems can respond. That gap makes thoughtful careers guidance and grounded family conversations increasingly important.
AI and education. Real constraints, not resistance
Discussions at the conference were clear that schools and colleges are not resisting change. They are working within systems designed for stability rather than rapid technological shifts.
Educators are balancing:
- preparation for AI influenced workplaces
- fairness and assessment integrity
- safeguarding and data protection
- uneven access to technology
Contributors such as Al Kingsley, an education technology specialist, and Diane Dowling, whose work focuses on digital education and inclusion, described the tension this creates. Young people are often exposed to AI faster than curricula can adapt, while educators are expected to guide ethical and appropriate use within constraints that cannot change overnight.
The emphasis was therefore less on waiting for curriculum reform and more on supporting judgement, reflection, creativity and ethical awareness alongside evolving tools.
How young people are engaging with AI
Our Youth Advisory Panel offered an important reality check. Young people are not passive or uncritical. Their perspectives were nuanced and values led.
Alongside a positive interest in efficiency and opportunity, they raised concerns about misuse and misinformation, access and equity. These are not abstract worries. They reflect an awareness that their generation will live with the consequences of how AI is designed, governed, and used.
This resonated with conversations at home with one of my own children, currently in Year 9. As a creative herself, her concerns are not anti-technology. They are rooted in values. She questions whether widespread reliance on AI might weaken imagination, originality, and creative effort if technology begins to replace rather than support human expression. She is also conscious that her generation may be particularly exposed to misuse and unethical applications of AI.
What the conference offered was not reassurance through neat answers, but clarity about how to approach these conversations more carefully. Rather than minimising uncertainty or rushing to conclusions, it reinforced the importance of holding ethical, creative, and environmental questions open over time.
What helps parents right now
Parents do not need to be AI experts. What helps most is staying curious, informed, and grounded.
In practice, this can include:
- talking about AI as part of everyday working life rather than as a crisis
- noticing where young people are already developing transferable skills through school, part-time work, coursework, caring responsibilities, or creative pursuits
- discussing how and why technology is used, not simply whether it is used
- recognising that perspectives will shift as young people test ideas and develop confidence
The aim is not to future-proof a single decision, but to recognise how confidence, values and understanding develop over time.
A final thought
AI will continue to shape education and work, but not neatly or evenly, uncertainty is part of the landscape.
Educators are working considerately within real constraints and young people are already engaging seriously with the ethical, creative and environmental implications of new technologies. Families play an important role in shaping how these conversations evolve. If we can hold space for curiosity, creativity, values and skills developing over time alongside change, that is where future confidence is most likely to grow.
Useful places to explore further
Careers guidance and labour market insight
- National Careers Service
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk
Impartial UK guidance on career routes, progression, and labour market trends.
- LMI for All
https://www.lmiforall.org.uk
Evidence-based data on job demand, skills needs, and employment trends used by careers professionals.
- Prospects
https://www.prospects.ac.uk
Detailed information on roles, sectors, and how careers and entry routes are changing.
AI, ethics, and education
- Futures Ready Programme
https://www.futuresready.ai
A programme supporting young people to understand how AI is shaping work, with a focus on ethics, creativity, and judgement rather than tool mastery.
- The Alan Turing Institute
https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/ai-ethics-society
Research and insight on the ethical, social, and environmental impacts of AI.
- Raspberry Pi Foundation
https://www.raspberrypi.org
Resources that support digital literacy, creativity, and critical engagement with technology.
- OECD
https://www.oecd.org/education/education-and-ai
International research on how AI is affecting education systems, skills, and workforce development.
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