Skills for an uncertain future: How young people can navigate the changing job market

Highlighting the importance of equipping young people with what it takes to find work, decent work and entrepreneurship, World Youth Skills Daywhich is celebrated every year on July 15, raises important questions regarding the theme of 2026, Skills for a Shared Future: how can the younger generation prepare themselves to face the needs of a labor market that will continue to evolve throughout their lives?

“I think today’s younger generation needs to be more open-minded, more flexible and more adaptable,” said Francesca Fanelli, senior associate director of graduate career development at Columbia University.

In the midst of helping college students and recent graduates navigate today’s competitive and rapidly changing job market, he spoke with UN News about some of the best ways to face challenges.

Skills for an uncertain future

The World Economic Forum estimates that nearly 40 percent of the skills workers rely on today will change or become outdated by 2030, making adaptability and lifelong learning more important than ever.

The answer is not to look for “AI-proof” careers, Fanelli said.

Although some students are reconsidering their career choices and showing greater interest in skilled trades, which are widely seen as less susceptible to automation, he cautions against basing decisions primarily on assumptions about which jobs will be least impacted by AI and technological change.

Instead, he advises young people to focus on their interests and strengths while building a broad “toolkit” of transferable skills that can help them in a variety of roles throughout their careers.

Rather than committing to just one career path, Ms. Fanelli encourages students to explore opportunities in a variety of industries and remain open to new directions as the world of work continues to evolve.

With AI, ‘You remain a problem solver’

Although the future of the world of work may be difficult to predict, Ms. Fanelli believes one thing is clear: knowing how to use AI effectively will be a valuable job skill.

“AI literacy is a skill that employers are currently looking for,” he said. “They want to make sure that people who enter their offices know how to use the tools.”

This includes knowing how to ask the right questions and writing clear instructions while taking responsibility for fact-checking AI-generated information and deciding how to apply it.

“You should use him as an assistant, not as a problem solver,” Fanelli says. “You are still a problem solver.”

Make AI work for you

For job seekers, AI can be useful during the application process. Ms. Fanelli recommends using it to analyze job descriptions, identify the skills employers are looking for, customize application materials, and prepare for interviews. The quality of outcomes depends largely on the quality of instruction provided, he said.

At the same time, he emphasized that each application should reflect the candidate’s experience and personality.

“Make sure it’s in your voice, there’s no phrase you’d never say,” he advises.

Turn skills into jobs

However, learning to use AI is only one part of preparing for the job market. For many students and recent graduates, the process itself can feel very uncertain and overwhelming.

“The whole process, I think, felt very overwhelming,” Fanelli said. “Students just feel overwhelmed by the process and discouraged before they even start.”

Referring to data showing that American job seekers take an average of 6.6 months to find a job, he said that sustaining a job search over a long period of time requires effective strategies and resilience to overcome rejection and self-doubt.

Many graduates are also caught in what he describes as a frustrating paradox. Despite having strong academic qualifications, they often worry about their lack of practical experience, making them feel “both overqualified and underqualified.”

Feeling unqualified does not mean that graduates do not have the skills that companies need. Ms Fanelli said many underestimated the value of the skills they had developed during their studies.

“Every job posting, I still see collaboration, communication, teamwork. You most likely developed those skills in your education. You just need to think about how you can communicate those skills to employers in a way that they understand,” he said.

Beyond your dream job

As young people prepare to face an uncertain future, Ms. Fanelli encourages them not to put too much pressure on themselves to find the “perfect” career.

“Your dream job may not be exactly what you think it is,” he says.

Rather than looking for a role that will fulfill every expectation, he advises young people to look for jobs that offer a sense of satisfaction in at least one way, while realizing that purpose can come from many aspects of life.

Family, friendship, community and personal interests can all be sources of meaning, he said, and work doesn’t have to provide everything.

“Work is sometimes just for financial stability, and that’s okay.”