Generation's success depends on more than jobs

We cannot know exactly what tomorrow's labour market will look like, but we can still equip young people to navigate it.

For this we need a holistic approach.

An approach that will facilitate the development of a high degree of technical knowledge coupled with a strong set of transferable enterprise skills such as creativity, collaboration, innovation, communication and digital literacy.

Young people need an integrated education and career pathway that doesn't leave them in limbo when transitioning from one to the other and that will equip them to adapt to whatever tomorrow's labour market throws at them.

The first step is taking our outdated and broken careers education system and transforming it into a framework that prepares young people not just for work, but for life beyond the classroom.

The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), the Beacon Foundation and Social Ventures Australia have developed a model of careers learning that starts early, brings together educators, employers, parents and young people, and will break down the siloes that prevent the education and employment sectors from forming the seamless journey that they should.

Beyond the Classroom provides a work exposure continuum that regularly connects young people with the world of work throughout high school.

It will see teachers and employers co-designing and co-delivering a curriculum that is aligned with industry needs while keeping the development of the enterprise skills that promote long-term job success at the centre.

Young Australians are not just the workers of the future; they are the employers, the leaders, the changemakers, the people who will tackle the unprecedented social, economic and cultural challenges that lie ahead.

We will not prepare them for this simply by making sure there are enough jobs to step into. The challenge is broader: to equip young people to lead a society in which we sustain our standard of living, enhance our quality of life, protect our fragile environment, contribute to the global family and become a lighthouse nation to the world.