The robots are coming! The response of careers professionals to the future of the graduate job

Abstract

The future of work, shaped by technology, threatens graduate jobs, even in traditional professions. So how do we equip students for their future, not the world we know? For 30 years, employer requirements and graduate roles have seen little variation, but reviews of key sources suggest a change has begun. Drawing upon current perspectives on the future of work, this article identifies challenges and opportunities for higher education careers professionals relating to the relevance of knowledge and practice. It also suggests that this futuristic landscape provides further opportunity to challenge a persistent binary divide between ‘being academic’ and ‘being employable’.