Student Author – Samantha Horwood
I have had the privilege of working with Working Options since January, and getting to join them at their Future of Work – Driving the AI Opportunity event, hosted at Google, was most definitely a highlight. It was a day of meaningful insights and inspiring conversations.
As a graduate student at the LSE, I have found myself increasingly drawn to questions about Gen Z, the generation entering the workforce now. Through research and conversations with employers and peers, I have explored different dimensions of how this generation thinks and behaves: how they approach work, how they lead, and how the world they have grown up in has shaped both. So often, the same perspective emerges: that this generation is not ready and lacks the skills the modern workplace demands. The event was an inspiring counterpoint to that.
Shuab Gamote opened with a message that has stayed with me: that this is not a generation that is giving up. The concern about young people’s readiness for the workplace today ignores how much they have already had to absorb and adapt to: a pandemic, global conflicts, social media, and the rise of AI, in a world that has shifted beneath their feet at every turn. Talking with the students at the event, a lack of ambition or excitement was the last thing that came to mind. If anything, it reinforced what I have come to believe, that the challenge facing this generation is not one of capability. It is about access to knowledge and support to navigate their ambitions in an increasingly complex world.
What struck me sitting in that room was how valuable it was to hear directly from professionals about how AI is genuinely reshaping the workforce, not in abstract terms, but in practical, honest ones. That kind of conversation is exactly what young people need. Not a watered-down version of what the future of work looks like, but the real picture, shared by people at the forefront of it, so that they can feel prepared to engage with it on their own terms.
This is precisely why the work Working Options does matters so much. It is easy to tell young people that the future is full of opportunity. It is much harder and more valuable to actually show them what that looks like, to connect them with those who can guide them, and to give them space to imagine themselves in it. Much of the conversation about Gen Z is filled with concern. However, the Future of Work – Driving the AI Opportunity event felt different, optimistic, and full of people who believed in what young people are capable of. The speakers, the conversations, and the energy in that room made it a day I will not forget. I left grateful to have been part of it. Thank you, Working Options, Google, and everyone who helped make this event happen.
