Last week, Ultra Education CIC took young entrepreneurs and leaders into the Department for Education 🏛️✨
Not to observe, but to influence 🗣️
In a live working session with The Opportunity Mission team, young people presented their views on the future of education and work 🚀
Together, Ultra Education CIC and Diverse Leaders (led by Katrina Thompson BA PGCE MA) put an important question on the table:
“How is education really preparing young people for the future of work?” 💭
What followed was an honest, open and thoughtful discussion, informed by weeks of youth-led research 🎯
The young people spoke about:
🤖 AI – not just using it, but challenging it, regulating it and preventing misuse
🗳️ Political literacy and political disengagement
💼 Real work skills: negotiation, networking, tax, self-employment and digital business skills
⚖️ Socioeconomic gaps between private and state education
💰 Financial literacy, entrepreneurship and vocational pathways
What stood out most was the depth and nuance in their research 📊
They shared that:
🌍 The future of work will be digital, global and AI-assisted
💻 Coding, data analysis, communication and adaptability are becoming baseline skills
📝 Memorisation-heavy exam culture does not always reflect real-world reasoning
🏠 Many young people feel unprepared for adult life, including tax, budgeting, contracts and university finance
⏳ Too much pressure is placed on 15–17 year olds to decide their future without enough exposure or experience
One young person reflected:
“If I knew where the future was heading when I was younger, I would’ve paid more attention to computer science.” 💻
Another shared that education can sometimes prioritise recalling content under time pressure, rather than applying judgement, creativity and reasoning in real-life contexts 🧠⚡
This was not a session to critique. It was a session to contribute 👐
A particularly proud moment for Ultra Education CIC was seeing the young people not only share insight, but also propose solutions 💡
They called for:
🚀 Earlier exposure to work and internships
💳 Practical financial education
🤖 Responsible AI literacy embedded properly in learning
🔍 Space to experiment before committing to pathways
📊 Entrepreneurship and vocational routes to be treated with parity alongside academic routes
The future of work is already here, and Ultra Education CIC is genuinely grateful to the Department for Education for creating meaningful space for young people’s voices to be heard 🎤
The young people left the building standing just a little taller that day 🪜
Amar Elias Mezari
Tiyanna M
Shiqi Wang
Romeo Bremmer BCyA
Priya Daryanani
Elijah Siaw
Ultra Education CIC is incredibly proud of every one of them 🌟
Their leadership, honesty and ideas were powerful reminders that no door is closed to young people who want to create change and make their voices heard 💫
Sessions like this reflect real commitment from the Department for Education to ensure education evolves alongside the world it is preparing students for ⚡
Special thanks to the amazing Sharon Davies for supporting the team in the run-up and on the day itself 🫶🏽
Ultra and Out 😉