AHEP Development Monthly #50 Light the Way: Reflections and Futures in Higher Education
We often tell students they are preparing for the future, but the future has already arrived. AI is becoming a routine part of how work gets done across almost every sector, and the expectations placed on new graduates reflect this shift. A recent survey reported that 54 percent of organisations now expect AI skills in all early career roles. For higher education professionals, this means our students are entering a labour market where AI competence is assumed rather than optional.
For professional services staff, this creates a challenge that is easy to overlook. Many of us support students in shaping their academic journeys and their career aspirations, yet we may not always feel certain about AI ourselves. If we are unsure how these tools work, or what they can and cannot do, it becomes harder to give students meaningful guidance about the world they are heading into.
The point is not that every member of staff needs to become a coder or a technical specialist. What matters is a level of AI literacy that allows us to recognise the kinds of tasks AI is suited for, the risks involved, and the judgement needed to use it responsibly. This is the same shift we saw with digital literacy a decade ago, when understanding online systems became essential to everyday work in higher education.
AI assisted workflows are now common in areas such as analysis, communications, project planning, customer service, and creative work. Students will encounter these tools in placements, part time jobs, graduate roles, and even informal settings long before they walk across a stage at graduation. They will be expected to draft content with AI support, evaluate outputs for accuracy, manage privacy concerns, and understand the limits of automation. If we want to help them prepare, we need to be comfortable with these skills ourselves.
There is also a growing need to help students distinguish between productive use of AI and over reliance on it. Employers want graduates who can think critically, review outputs, and challenge inappropriate or inaccurate suggestions. These are skills that academic colleagues build into teaching, and professional services staff reinforce through the guidance and support we provide. AI literacy gives us the confidence to model the balanced judgement that students will need to take into the workplace.
For many people, the uncertainty around AI comes from a lack of clarity about what it actually is. The term covers a broad range of technologies, from the chat-based systems that draft emails to the embedded tools inside Microsoft 365, CRM systems, and library platforms. Much of it is already in our daily workflows, whether we notice it or not. AI literacy begins with understanding what these systems do, how they make decisions, and how they interact with data. Once that foundation is in place, the tools feel less intimidating and more like an extension of the digital skills we already use.
Higher education has a responsibility to prepare students for life and work, and this means engaging with the tools that shape modern careers. By developing our own AI literacy, we put ourselves in a stronger position to offer relevant, confident, and ethically grounded support. We do not need to master every new tool that appears. What matters is building enough understanding to guide students, to question the systems we use, and to make decisions that keep people and data safe.
The future of work is already here, and our students are stepping into it whether we feel ready or not. Building AI literacy across professional services is one of the most important steps we can take to help them succeed.
*Acknowledging the multiple perspectives on AI, this piece represents the opinion of the Author rather than AHEP
Don’t miss our upcoming event:
If you’d like to dive deeper into what AI literacy really looks like in practice, don’t miss our upcoming event, Intelligent Insights: Explorations into the AI Landscape, led by Martha. The session will explore the evolving role of AI in higher education — from generative‑AI tools to ethical and legal frameworks — and offer real‑world insights into AI’s impact on professional services and teaching. Attendees will get practical guidance on how to use AI tools responsibly and effectively in HE settings, and leave with a clearer sense of what institutional readiness, staff capability, and student engagement with AI can realistically look like.
Intelligent Insights: Explorations into the AI Landscape
Location: Online
Date: Wednesday, 14 January
Time: 12:00-13:00
Price: Free and exclusive to AHEP ‘associate’, ‘members’, ‘accredited’, and ‘fellow’
This session is the introductory session as part of a wider AI series. Stay tuned for more information! Whether you’re curious about adopting AI workflows or want to better support students entering an AI‑shaped job market, this event will help ground the broader discussion in tangible practice.
0 comments on “Preparing Students for a Workforce Shaped by AI Starts with Us”