The Open University is aiming to tackle the nationwide skills gap in business, tech and computing to highlight the most in-demand jobs anticipated for major growth over next five years.
The initiative, devised by 23red, takes the form of a film, Finding the Future, featuring TV presenter Zoe Hardman and a panel of UK’s most successful entrepreneurs, as they discuss, debate and decide on a final top five jobs of the future.
The panel, includes ex-British Lions captain turned digital guru Sam Warburton, AI specialist Priya Lakhani, supermodel and sustainability campaigner Eunice Olumide and Pleesecakes founder Joe Moruzzi.
The panellists whittle down a long-list of the hottest jobs of the future to the shortlist to help unleash ambition and give direction to people across the UK in shaping their own ambitions for continued learning.
The aim of the film is to inspire people to explore a new career and consider upskilling flexibly with The Open University as the UK jobs market swells in sustainability, business and cyber sectors.
From the long-list, the top five future jobs that The Open University’s panel of entrepreneurs believe will have the greatest need in plugging the skills gap are sustainability officer, AI developer, digital content strategist, cyber security penetration expert and renewables engineer.
23red PR partner Jody Hall said: “The UK skills gap has posed an issue for quite some time and as we return to ‘normal’ and people start to explore different careers, our campaign aims to help them navigate the job market.
“To inspire prospective students and shed light on the top jobs of the future, we enlisted some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs. It was key to get a diverse range of experts to whittle down to a cohesive list of top five jobs but also speak to young audiences.”
Open University campaign manager Lisa Bunker added: “Addressing the skills gap is a priority for us. Amidst the uncertainty of the current UK workforce and barriers to upskilling, our aim is to highlight through this campaign that there are many ways to pursue new and exciting paths that range from free short courses to degree level qualifications.”
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