Future Forecast July 2026
By Anna Hammond MIEP, Quality & Excellence Project Lead at Centre for Employability Excellence
The future is a funny thing.
We spend a lot of time trying to predict it, prepare for it and protect ourselves from it. Yet, much like the weather, the future rarely arrives exactly as expected. Sometimes it brings sunshine and growth. Sometimes it brings disruption, uncertainty and storms. The organisations that thrive are not necessarily those that can predict every change, but those that are best equipped to navigate whatever conditions emerge.
That is exactly why the Global Project DEEP Portfolio exists.
Across our global network of practitioners, researchers, project managers and subject matter experts, we are continually testing ideas, challenging assumptions and exploring what works, what doesn’t, and most importantly, why. During a recent DEEP Knowledge Exchange session, bringing together contributors from the UK, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the Nordic region, a fascinating picture began to emerge of where employability practice may be heading next.
The discussion started with a seemingly simple question:
What happens when employability services move from advising people to coaching them?
Beyond Advice
For decades, many employability services have been built around expertise. Advisors identify problems, provide solutions and guide people towards employment. It is a model that has helped millions of people.
Yet increasingly, services around the world are asking whether there is another way.
In Saudi Arabia, work is underway to explore how employability practitioners can be supported to move from primarily directive conversations towards more coaching-led approaches. The ambition is not simply to change language or introduce new tools, but to fundamentally shift the relationship between practitioner and participant.
What followed was a rich debate that challenged some of the sector’s assumptions.
For example, if a coaching conversation is successful, should the participant be doing most of the talking? Many would instinctively answer “yes”. Yet experienced practitioners in the discussion pointed out that reality is far more nuanced. A participant speaking for 90% of a conversation does not necessarily mean progress is being made. Equally, a practitioner dominating the conversation seldom encourages ownership or empowerment.
Instead, the conversation shifted towards a more interesting question:
What are the moments within conversations that actually create change?
Perhaps the future of employability is about clearly identifying the moments when reflection happens, confidence grows and new possibilities emerge.
Silence is Golden
One of the most striking observations from the discussion was that the most important moment in a coaching conversation may be the moment when nobody is talking at all.
In a sector often pressured by targets, caseloads and performance measures, silence can feel uncomfortable. Yet reflection is where learning often occurs. It is where participants connect ideas, challenge beliefs and discover solutions for themselves.
If this is true, it raises a fascinating challenge for the sector.
Many of our existing measures focus on activity:
- Number of appointments
- Time spent in support
- Actions completed
- Job outcomes
But what if some of the most important indicators of progress are currently invisible?
As DEEP projects continue to evolve, understanding the relationship between conversation quality, reflection and outcomes may become one of the most important areas of future research.
AI on the Horizon
No conversation about the future would be complete without discussing artificial intelligence.
Several DEEP projects are now exploring how AI might support employability practice, not by replacing human judgement, but by strengthening it.
One particularly interesting area is AI-enabled job matching.
Imagine a system capable of reviewing all available information about an individual, their strengths, aspirations, barriers, experiences and progress, and identifying opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.
More importantly, imagine a system that expands possibilities rather than narrowing them.
Too often people are encouraged to define a small number of job goals and pursue them relentlessly. Future AI-enabled approaches may help participants discover opportunities they had never considered, opening entirely new pathways into work.
The technology itself is exciting.
But perhaps even more exciting is the possibility that it frees practitioners to spend less time searching for jobs and more time doing the things humans do best: listening, challenging, encouraging and supporting people through change.
Looking Ahead
If there was a single message emerging from this international discussion, it is that the future of employability is unlikely to be defined by a single model, methodology or technological breakthrough.
There may never be a “golden arrow” that guarantees success.
And perhaps that is the real value of DEEP. Not to predict the future with certainty, but to continually improve our ability to navigate it.
After all, the weather will always change.
The question is whether we are prepared when it does.
If you’d like more information about the Global CfEE and our portfolio of DEEP Projects, get in touch today.
Future Forecast is a regular series from the IEP’s Global Centre for Employability Excellence Project DEEP portfolio, exploring emerging practice, challenging assumptions and sharing learning from employability professionals across the globe as we collectively test what works, what doesn’t, and what may shape the future of our sector.