Over the past year, we have found ourselves returning to the same question as a school: whether the assumptions we have relied on about education and early careers still hold in the way they once did. It is not that traditional assumptions have become irrelevant, but they are starting to shift. And it does not feel like a clean transition from one workforce model to another, which means that the reference points families have traditionally used to navigate education are becoming less fixed.
This came through in our recent Future Careers Workshop with speakers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Pharos Education, and our own Head of University Counselling. For many years, there has been a broadly understood pathway: strong academic performance leads to a good university, which leads to structured early career opportunities. That pathway still exists, but it is less predictable in how it unfolds and less consistent in the outcomes it produces.
What is changing in the workforce
Part of this change is being driven by the pace at which AI is reshaping the early stages of many careers. Work that was once considered foundational – research, synthesis, elements of analysis – is now being completed more quickly and, in some cases, more effectively by machines. This does not remove the need for human input, but it changes expectations. Young people are being asked to contribute at a higher level earlier on, often without the same progression that existed previously.
This shifts the focus away from knowledge on its own. And while knowledge remains important, access to information is no longer the main differentiator. What matters more now is how pupils use that knowledge. More specifically, how well can students question it, connect it to other ideas, and apply it in unfamiliar contexts. These skills are harder to measure, but they are becoming more visible in how students distinguish themselves.
How AI is changing University Admissions
This is already evident in university admissions. Academic performance continues to matter, but it now sits within a broader view of the student. There is more attention on how applicants think, what they are interested in, and how they have engaged with those interests beyond the classroom. Evidence of initiative and independent exploration – through projects, reading, or sustained work on a subject – is carrying more weight. It is usually clear when a student has spent time working through an idea compared to when something has been assembled quickly.
The discussion around skills reinforced this. The qualities that came up repeatedly during the Future Careers Workshop were the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, adapt when circumstances change, and continue working through a problem beyond the first answer. Of course these are not new priorities, but they are becoming more central because they shape how effectively a student can operate when tools are evolving and widely available.
And as parents and educators, we should be careful not to view AI as something to be resisted. It is already part of how we live and work, and its influence will continue to grow. A more useful way to approach it is to see it as something that extends what a student is already doing. For students who explore and test ideas, it creates more ways to do that and reduces the barrier to starting. It also shortens the distance between a complete idea and the first version of it. This means that AI does not replace judgment or remove the need to decide which ideas are worth pursuing. It simply speeds up the process.
How pupils can thrive in today’s more changeable landscape
The harder area to define is mindset. Curiosity, resilience, and the willingness to work through uncertainty are not things that come from a set curriculum. They develop over time through exposure, encouragement, and the experience of working through something without a guaranteed outcome. In traditional, and more predictable workplace systems, this mattered less. But in today’s more dynamic and changeable environment, mindset matters more. Which is the point we keep returning to.
The future is not unknowable, and established pathways still have value. At the same time, the range of possible directions is widening. The ability to navigate that range is becoming more important than following a single defined route. For us, that means preparing students in how they approach problems, how they respond when things change, and how they develop the confidence to shape their own direction over time.
And that is why we are proud to be collaborating with a team of educators from MIT RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) and Pharos education in delivering a programme specifically designed to address the challenges presented by today’s rapidly shifting landscape.
MIT RAISE FutureBuilders is a 5-day summer programme, for girls and boys aged 13-17 with an interest in developing their technical skills and AI knowledge. It will take place at RSJ’s campus from Sunday June 28th to Friday, July 3rd – led by a team of MIT lecturers and current students and supported by RSJ’s pastoral team.
The purpose of this programme is to develop the necessary skills discussed during the Future Careers Workshop – so that pupils are prepared for a future shaped by technology and AI.
If you would like more information about the programme please click here for full details and how to apply.
