Why AI Agents and Frontier Firms Mean We Need An Urgent Rethink on Skills and Assessment
We live in interesting times! Personally, this is one of the most exciting times in history that we are living, working and facilitating learning and assessment. This is stuff our grandkids will be asking us about in the future.
Building the Foundations for AI Literacy and Augmentation
Things are moving fast. I unpacked my AO Forum speech from a few weeks back talking about the massive divide, from 7.5M adults who don’t have the basic Digital Skills to go about their day to day or work. To half of under 18’s no longer being ‘digital Natives’ … but struggling with basic Digital Skills.
We have an urgent need to address literally basic Digital Skills… and connectivity for all of the nation.
We have had the recent ONS Labour Market figures this week, again highlighting we have a 75% Employment rate, against a 80% Government Target.
Rapid Developments in Agentic AI = Rapid Opportunity for the Work Based Learning Sector
Whilst at the same time, we have rapidly expanding developments in AI. Agentic AI is the massive new shift in work and learning for 2025. This is a seismic shift…. which will only improve, get better, faster and more intuitive. This will also transform skills needs.
AI Agents are autonomous, they are able to manage a task and processes independently, at the moment as an double check to avoid weirdness or ‘AI halicinations’… the Green light on tasks could be given by a human who is ‘Augmented’ with the AI agent.
What are Frontier Firms?… and why does this matter to me and the future of Skills?
Microsoft released a really interesting report called 2025: The Year the Frontier Firm is Born. A side note, we are in 2025 and this is now.
We are developing Agenic AI Editorial Assistants to help contributors on FE News. We have had AI at FE News for 8 years now, first Automation (Obi1), then Pada1 (spot the Star Wars theme anyone. We have been using GenAI for nearly 3 years now. This is all a bit so what.
The next massive seismic shift is Agentic AI.
Agentic AI will only improve and will be more and more autonomous.
Microsoft’s Frontier Firm report draws from extensive research including 31,000 workers across 31 countries, LinkedIn labour market trends, and trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals. They met and interviewed AI-native startups, academics, economists, scientists, and thought leaders, and interestingly they have identified the emergence of a new organisational model: the Frontier Firm. This isn’t laying in a dark room making it up stuff, this is extensive research of what is happening right now!
Frontier Firms are companies that are revolutionising work through AI Agents, structured around on-demand intelligence and powered by “hybrid” teams where humans collaborate (or Augmented) with sophisticated AI agents.
Microsoft also highlighted some new terminology that will be vitally important to understand and embrace. Agent Boss, The Capacity Gap, Digital Labour, Frontier Firm, Human to Agent Ratio, Intelligence Resources, Work Chart (organisation charts will never look the same), Agent (AI Agent).
In 21 years of running FE News, this has to be the biggest and most pioneering report thinking about the future of work, that I have ever seen… and to most of the FE and Skills sector, this has simply slipped under the radar. This is the future of work and what Microsoft haven’t really spotted is the massive skills and training need to deliver this… and this isn’t the future, this is the now. How are we preparing the Work Based Learning sector to deliver this?
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Work Based Learning sector to support a Global Skills Need
Coursera last year, saw an 866% spike in demand for Generative AI (GenAI) courses. Which isn’t surprising.
The emergence of Frontier Firms and Development in AI Agents in the work place, presents a unique opportunity for Work Based Learning to reflect what is happening in the World of work, provide productivity skills and training, this is a massive opportunity for Training Providers, Colleges, Unis, and Awarding Organisations.
How Can The Work Based Learning Sector Support Human Agent Teams?
This is a massive opportunity for the FE and Skills sector, this is Work Based Learning, this is FE and Skills. So we need to move fast. How can the Work Based Learning sector support Human Agent Teams?
Microsoft have seen the development of Frontier Firms in stages – from a human worker with an AI Assistant, stage 2 is Human Agent Teams (Agentic AI), stage three is Human Led, Agent (Agentic AI) operated.
New job titles and new Skills Needs
Microsoft highlight the emergence of an Agent Boss. This isn’t a recruitment Agent or Travel agent boss. But Agentic AI boss. Leading a team of AI Agents with specific tasks, this is a new skill set. To manage the AI Agents, as well as teams of humans. The Agent boss, will stage 1 being a consultant, the tech person looking at new ways of delivering services, but can also part code and develop the glossary, prompts and build the Agent, stage 2, the build will be a job in it’s own right, building AI Agents, it will probably actually be created 95% by AI.. probably another AI Agent!.. but will need the human to augment into this type of role.
This is a whole new skill set and massive training need for Leaders, for middle managers and supervisors will have a whole new skills need. This is rapidly evolving.
Next stage is CoBots – Optimus, G1s… walking talking Bots, full of AI, these are walking talking AI Agents, maybe future Agent Bosses. Can you see how this is rapidly moving, can you see just how far off the mark the Curriculum and Assessment Review is?
Honestly, this is the 4th Industrial Revolution and we are not cooking on Steam, or Gas… this is something brand new!
So we need to wake up, get it together, start developing programmes that are fit for purpose, AI Governance, is massively important now and when you see the trajectory, can you see the ongoing skills needs, the training (that will constantly need updating), this is a massive opportunity for the FE and Skills sector to full on lean into Work Based Learning, as the World of Work is transforming rapidly.
Do you want to be Blockbuster or Netflix?
If we don’t step in as a sector to support, something new will happen. Remember Video stores (I am showing my age now), who was thinking about the internet and movies beamed to your TV, even your takeaway can arrive with someone with a massive square backpack of your finest delights. Who thought this would be a reality in the 1980s, or even the 1990s. This is the seismic style of shift that is happening, not in the future, but right now.
How can FE and Skills, the Work Based Learning Sector support Frontier Firms?
We need to get our act together basically, as fiddling about with the current model, isn’t going to cut it. We need full permission to have the ability to step into support what is really happening in the World of work.
At the same time, we have 7.5 Million adults lacking basic digital skills, around 20% of the UK workforce. Erm, this is a massive problem. How can we use Agenic AI support Adult learners and also the not Digital Natives? How can the AI Agents be developed with inclusion in mind?
We have around 1 Million NEETs, this isn’t just a UK problem, but is a global issue. Saudi, who just signed a 7 Zillion dollar deal with the US for all sorts, including developing as an AI powerhouse, has a 28% Youth Unemployment rate!! The UK is about 13-14%, similar in China and India.
So there is a massive opportunity here, for the FE and Skills sector, the Work Based Learning sector to step into a massive gap… to support people in employability, in basic Digital Skills, then AI Literacy, and to take them on a journey.
For those in the World of Work already, their jobs will massively change, they need to become Agent Bosses.
The roles that will see the slowest impact of AI on their jobs according to LightCast are Plasterers. We can’t all become Plasterers or Plumbers. So Lifelong Learning will kick into play. On the ONS Labour Market data just released, due to different pressures in the UK (created by Gov), the amount of Economically Inactive now looking for work has increased by 200,000 in a quarter, but now there are less jobs. This cross roads is only just emerging, it will tip quickly.
So how will you step in to fill the gap.. to support those with Digital Skills gaps, but also those needing Agentic AI support, to train the leaders to lead teams of humans, Agentic AI, Cobots. There are massive skills and training needs about to happen (and will constantly need updating). It is about to be the biggest Gold Rush in the 21st Century, forget Bitcoin!. .. but are you ready?
If not, how do you get ready to meet this demand? As this is a reality right now with the pioneers (or Frontier Firms), soon the Average Joes will be stepping into this as well, and boom, there goes the rocket of a skills and training need.
How does the Work Based Learning sector step in to support this new era in the World of work, in skills development, training and most importantly to deliver new types of assessment?
Gavin O’Meara, CEO and Founder, FE News and FE Careers
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