You can't tackle AI without innovation skills
A few weeks ago, mid-recording on the new episodes of Untangling Life, Andy and I couldn't stop talking about a viral essay doing the rounds - Matt Schumer's piece on AI and job displacement.
We talked about the pace of change. Who gets left behind. The bias baked into the models. And what came out was the question I keep coming back to: how do you move forward when you don't know what you're moving into?
Listen to the mini episode of Untangling Life here.
But here's what really stayed with me.
While we were unpacking all of this, I kept thinking about the young people I've been spending time with in schools and universities lately. They're not oblivious to AI, far from it... but they are worried about it.
They don't know what jobs will still exist when they graduate. They don't know how to stand out when everyone's submitting AI-generated work. They don't know what skills are actually worth investing in when the ground is shifting this fast.
And on the other side of that? I'm hearing from corporates that this generation aren't showing up the way they hoped. Struggling to take initiative. Hard to teach. A lot of Gen Z stereotypes getting thrown around - which feels like the wrong diagnosis for a very real problem.
So we built something.
This September, GuessWorks is launching the Generation Innovate - the Schools Innovation Challenge.
Corporates sponsor the challenge and set a real-world problem they actually want solved. Secondary school students learn innovation skills - how to spot a problem, generate ideas, test them with real customers, and pitch their thinking - then apply those skills to that challenge.
Corporates get genuine insight into how the next generation thinks, as well as future talent pipeline, future buyers, future colleagues. Students get practical skills that actually flex to where the world is going. And they get to see entrepreneurs who look like them - from their backgrounds, with their neurodiversity - proving that this path is available to them too.
We're accepting school sign-ups now and still finalising sponsors. If you want your employer involved, forward this their way. If you want to sponsor and set a challenge in your sector, come and talk. If you know a secondary school that should be part of this, get in touch.
Cheat sheet
How to actually respond to the AI skills gap:
Stop diagnosing the symptom.
"This generation can't take initiative" is not a Gen Z problem. It's a pipeline problem. If the skills aren't there when people arrive, ask where they were supposed to learn them.
Get curious before you get critical.
Before writing off a cohort, get in the room with them. What are they actually worried about? What do they think their future looks like? The answers might surprise you - and they're more useful than a stereotype.
Connect your real problems to their real learning.
The most powerful thing a business can do right now is showing young people what your actual challenges look like and trusting them to think about it. You get insight. They get experience. Everyone wins.
Representation isn't a nice-to-have.
Most young people cannot name a single founder who looks like them. If your organisation has those people, put them in front of the next generation. It changes what feels possible.
Invest earlier than feels necessary.
Secondary school feels far from your talent pipeline. It isn't. The habits, confidence, and mindset that make a great future employee are forming right now. The businesses that understand that will have a head start.