The Rest Is Money 238. How to prepare the UK workforce when 3 million jobs are at risk
Dec 29, 2025
Carole Willis, CEO of the National Foundation for Educational Research, discusses the urgent need for skills development as 3 million UK jobs are forecasted to be at risk. Will Bridgman, managing director of Warren Services, shares innovative ways his firm engages with local schools to build a talent pipeline in manufacturing. Amjad Ali, a school leader, highlights the pressures schools face with accountability measures hindering essential skills training. Together, they emphasize the importance of lifelong learning and the role of businesses in shaping future workforce skills.
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Large Scale Job Shifts Ahead
- NFER forecasts 1–3 million UK jobs at risk over the next decade, driven partly by AI and automation.
- Demand will rise for professional and technical roles like managers, scientists and engineers.
Essential Human Skills Will Be Priceless
- NFER identifies transferable 'essential' skills that complement technology such as communication and problem solving.
- They estimate 3.7 million workers lack sufficient levels of these skills today, hurting productivity.
Bridgman Hosts Primary Pupils At Factories
- Will Bridgman runs long-term school engagement, hosting 265 year-six pupils across factories to show manufacturing careers.
- He argues technical doing is learned in the factory while colleges teach fundamentals.