Future Ready in the Age of AI
Preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist means teaching them the skills that never expire.
I was chatting with a friend recently when our conversation turned to AI and its impact on student learning. He asked how much my past workshops and webinars on Future Ready: Preparing Students for Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet have changed over the years. I first ran one back in 2016, so nearly a decade later it felt like the right moment to reflect. I was struck by just how much has shifted in that time.
Pathways itself is a product of those reflections. The school is built around the very skills that are becoming indispensable in today’s world—a world increasingly shaped by AI.
Why Transversal Skills Matter
Transversal skills are not tied to a single subject, job, or career path. They are the skills that cut across disciplines and contexts—how a person thinks, interacts, and manages themselves.
If technical skills are like the apps on a phone, transversal skills are the operating system (OS). Apps come and go; they need updates and sometimes deletions. The OS, however, is foundational: it runs everything, enables new apps to be installed, and adapts to whatever comes next. High school students need that robust OS to handle the “apps” (jobs) of a future that hasn’t even been imagined yet.
The Data: A Shifting Landscape
Jobs in Flux: By 2027, nearly a quarter of all jobs worldwide are expected to be disrupted—69 million new roles created, 83 million displaced, for a net loss of 14 million jobs.
Skills in Transition: By 2030, an estimated 39% of workers’ core skills will have changed or become obsolete within just five years. In practice, that means almost two-fifths of what a student learns today could be irrelevant by their mid-twenties.
Graduation Gap: A student entering university or trade school today will graduate into a job market where one in four roles are fundamentally different from when they began. The specific tasks they trained for are often the first to be automated.
The Urgency of Upskilling
If the global workforce were a group of 100 people, 59 would need significant upskilling or reskilling by 2027. Entry-level jobs—once the classic launchpad for new graduates—are among the most vulnerable, with some reports suggesting nearly 50 million U.S. entry-level positions could be disrupted by AI.
The irony is that traditional high schools still emphasize mastering routine processes: data entry, basic calculations, and rigid procedures. In other words, they are preparing students for the jobs most likely to disappear.
The Demand for Transversal Skills
The fastest-growing job categories call for what AI cannot easily replicate. Employers are clear about what they want:
Analytical Thinking (Problem-Solving): 68%
Creative Thinking: 68%
Resilience, Flexibility, and Agility: 67%
Motivation & Self-Awareness (Emotional Intelligence): 66%
Curiosity and Lifelong Learning: 63%
These are not “soft skills.” They are the hard currency of the future. And they are exactly what Pathways emphasizes: complex problem-solving, creative exploration, adaptability, and lifelong learning.
Looking Ahead
Employers are explicitly prioritizing the skills that make us most human—and least replaceable. In a time when AI can already draft reports, analyze data, and even mimic creativity, the most future-proof investment a student can make is in developing a strong operating system of transversal skills.
That is what we’re building at Pathways.
With gratitude,
Rob
References
World Economic Forum. (2023). The future of jobs report 2023. World Economic Forum. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2023.pdf
World Economic Forum. (2025). The future of jobs report 2025. World Economic Forum. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_Report_2025.pdf
About Rob & The Pathways School
Rob Wilson is an educator, writer, and father of two with over 20 years of experience in international, progressive, and experiential education. From rural Maine to Hong Kong, and now Spain, his journey has always revolved around one question: how can we help young people learn in ways that are meaningful, joyful, and truly prepare them for the future?
Born out of this question, The Pathways School is Rob’s answer. Launching in Southern Spain in 2027, Pathways is a high school that blends personalized, project-based learning with real-world readiness and ecological living. At Pathways, students design their own educational journeys—with the guidance of mentors, experts, and peers—rooted in curiosity, purpose, and deep connection to the world around them.
To follow the journey or get involved, subscribe to the blog or reach out. Let’s build something better—together.
