The Skills Challenge Facing Young People Today 

This year’s World Youth Skills Day theme, ‘Skills for a shared future’, is timely. Young people are entering a labour market being reshaped by artificial intelligence, automation and changing employer expectations. Yet too often we describe the youth skills challenge as a gap in young people’s readiness when the reality is a gap in the systems around them. We know that employers, educators, professional bodies and the government will all depend on young people’s future contributions, so it’s up to all of us to invest in how that capability is built. 

The youth skills challenge cannot be outsourced. Employers cannot leave it to education and training alone, educators cannot solve it without employers, and government cannot expect progress without the right policy and funding environment. Similarly, businesses cannot outsource entry-level work to cheaper alternatives and then wonder why their future leadership pipeline is running dry. If we want young people to be ready for a changing economy, we must invest in their whole learning journeys, not just the final qualification or immediate job outcome. 

A financial skills gap we can no longer ignore 

The challenge is not limited to AI or new technology. Recent AAT research found that more than eight in ten 16-to 25-year-olds want to know more about money and finance, while a quarter want to learn more about starting a business. Despite this appetite to learn, less than half received meaningful financial education at school. 

That should concern all of us. We would not send young people into work without basic digital skills, yet we routinely send them into adulthood without the financial confidence to understand payslips, tax, borrowing, saving, budgeting or business. That’s not just a curriculum gap; it’s a failure to prepare for independence. 

Learning is an outcome, not just a route to one 

Skills are often talked about as products to be delivered, but it’s critical to view skills as capabilities to be developed. This is because young people become work-ready through practice, feedback, problem-solving and the chance to learn by doing rather than qualifications alone. 

The future workforce will need more than task-based competence. It needs people who can adapt, use technology responsibly, interpret information and make sound judgements. Vocational skills are essential, but it’s the process of learning that builds confidence, resilience, curiosity and the ability to keep developing as jobs and technologies change. 

Apprenticeships and vocational routes have a vital role 

This is where vocational education and apprenticeships have such an important role. For too long, success has been framed as one route through education, but the world of work has changed. Young people expect to move between roles, sectors and opportunities as their careers evolve, so learning pathways need to be just as flexible. 

Apprenticeships and vocational qualifications give young people valuable skills, income and real-world experience from day one. They help employers grow talent from the ground up. That matters because the future workforce will not appear fully formed; it has to be developed and supported. 

AAT’s role and responsibility 

As a professional body rooted in practical finance skills, we have a responsibility to help close the gap. That’s achieved by championing financial literacy, strengthening accessible routes into accountancy and finance, and working with employers and educators to make learning pathways clear to students with valuable outcomes.  

It means recognising our role to help shape learning pathways that build confidence, capability and opportunity along the way. If we want young people to enter work ready to contribute, adapt and progress, we must value the learning process as much as the qualification outcome. 

Building a shared future with young people 

World Youth Skills Day is a chance to celebrate young people’s potential and recognise that potential alone is not enough. Education providers, employers, policymakers and professional bodies need to work together so young people can access the skills, guidance and opportunities to succeed. The question is not only whether young people are ready for the future; it’s whether we’re ready to make room for what they can bring to it. 

Ultimately, ‘Skills for a shared future’ should remind us that the future is not something we design for young people; it’s something we build with them. If we fail to invest in their learning and progression, we don’t simply risk young people missing out, we risk missing out on the value, innovation and return they can bring.  

By Claire Bennison, Executive Director of Customer, Partnerships and Innovation, AAT