Young Adults in an Age of Career Uncertainty. What can a Parent Do?

by admin · Published September 18, 2025 · Updated September 30, 2025

As parents, we care deeply—not only about our young adults’ professional prospects, but also their confidence, well-being, and sense of purpose. Yet the world they are entering bears little resemblance to the one we once navigated.

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are among the most disruptive forces reshaping the labour market. They are automating tasks and transforming industries. They are displacing jobs that used to help young people build employability skills (e.g in retail) as well as entry-level and early career roles. Outsourcing and a struggling UK economy are also impacting the UK labour market.

This is not the first time that young adults have faced economic headwinds. In the 1970s, the UK grappled with stagflation, the oil crisis, and industrial decline. Even highly educated professionals—civil servants, engineers, teachers, and architects—were forced to retrain, emigrate or pivot to survive. The term “career anxiety” may not have existed, but the phenomenon certainly did.

So how can parents support young adults who are struggling in today’s uncertain job market? We cannot chart their course for them, but we can empower them by offering reassurance, insights, and timely intervention.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Learn from the Past

The economic upheavals of the 1970s demanded a recalibration of expectations. Faced with inflation, industrial decline and rising unemployment, many professionals pivoted towards freelance work, consultancy, or manual labour. Others sought stability abroad. For families of African descent, these challenges were often magnified by structural inequities that limited access to opportunity. Yet many were able to thrive. Sharing their journeys with your young adult will give them both perspective and encouragement.

Encourage your young adult to hold on to a simple and profound lesson from that era: hold fast—better days will come. In today’s climate of rapid technological change and economic uncertainty, many firms are hesitant to hire, unsure of the skill sets they will require in the near future. But as markets stabilise and strategic clarity returns, recruitment will resume. Effective learning pathways to new and emerging opportunities should also be clearer.

Having said that, we have to level with our young adults: we may all have to learn how to thrive through much uncertainty and volatility for the foreseeable future. We know that many new possibilities are on the horizon, but we simply do not know what they look like.

No one knows.

So encourage your young adult to believe that they have an exciting future ahead of them with endless possibilities – even if no one knows what these possibilities look like right now. Encourage them to focus on what they can control: maintaining mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, being curious, cultivating a wide range of new skills that maximise flexibility and optionality, and seeking out creative avenues for work, however modest and wherever they can find them. This will make them ready to make the most of new opportunities as and when they emerge.

2. Understand the Unique Challenges—and Opportunities—of Our Times

The fast pace of change we are all living through can feel unnerving and confusing. Labour market data is not always reliable. Few commentators can claim to fully grasp the nature of the current jobs landscape. Yet amidst the uncertainty, new opportunities are emerging. Artificial intelligence, the green economy, and the imminent retirement of millions of workers are just some of the forces producing new opportunities across sectors.

Young adults who are curious, flexible, and persistent will find opportunities for themselves. And these same traits will help them to thrive in the workplace. So encourage your young adult to view the job search not as a waiting game, but as a chance to strengthen the very capabilities that will drive their long-term career success.

It would help the entire family to keep on top of new and emerging trends and opportunities, and to make this a regular topic of conversation.

3. Champion Lifelong Learning

Today’s professionals must be flexible and willing to re-skill and reorient as industries evolve. Lifelong learning is no longer optional; it is foundational.

In the 1970s, many returned to education to pivot into emerging fields such as computing and finance. That precedent remains instructive. Artificial intelligence, in particular, may be automating certain roles nowadays, but it is also spawning new ones, for example, in cybersecurity, data governance, and AI ethics.

Accessible platforms such as FutureLearn, Coursera and Udemy offer flexible learning pathways. Research the training the UK Government has on offer for free. Microsoft has also teamed up with Linkedin to provide free skills building for the AI economy. Parents can play a vital role in encouraging their young adults to explore these upskilling options. Better still, explore alongside them and discuss.

4. Focus on Skills—Especially Soft Skills

Companies increasingly prioritise mindset and skills over qualifications, and soft skills—communication, empathy, collaboration, the ability to influence and persuade others—are especially prized. These are difficult for machines to replicate and will remain relevant across sectors.

Encourage your young adult to research and understand the range of foundational skills and competencies they need to strengthen. but validate their findings through conversations with professionals. Better still, do the research together.

Qualified career coaches can offer tailored guidance, but cultural fit and credentials are key. Choose carefully.

5. Prioritise Work Experience

Work experience remains one of the most effective ways to build skills in demand. Formal placements are not always easy to come by, but volunteering, short-term contracts or SMEs could also give our young adults the career start they need. Generative AI can be a good way to kickstart your research into recruitment agencies that offer these options.

Virtual work experience programmes offer exposure to real-world tasks from home and are more accessible. Public initiatives such as the Mayor of London’s Skills Academy and the Department for Education’s Skills Bootcamps are designed to prepare young adults for roles in high-demand sectors. Programmes like 10,000 Interns and Amazing Apprentices also offer structured pathways into work.

Note that apprenticeships are open to all – there is no upper age limit – you are never too old to start an apprenticeship. They are great for career starters, career changers and those seeking career progression.

Parents can support by researching options alongside their young adult and encouraging them through the application process.

6. Encourage Creative Networking

Informal networks have long played a pivotal role in career development. In the 1970s, unions, alumni groups and overseas contacts helped many professionals find work. Today, the principle remains unchanged: networks matter.

Job boards are of limited use. Most jobs can be found in the “hidden jobs market“ – jobs that are not advertised – and your young adult must get creative and comfortable with networking to get in the know and access these opportunities. Encourage your young adult to connect with professional networks, alumni, industry events, family, friends, neighbours, sports clubs, and community or religious organisations. Informational interviews—short, exploratory conversations with professionals—can be a powerful way of getting in the know and unlocking opportunities.

Networking can be daunting. Mentors and career coaches can help build confidence and offer strategic advice. Parents, too, can play a role by activating their own networks in support.

7. Be a Safe and Encouraging Space

Career uncertainty can be deeply unsettling. For many young adults, what’s needed most is not advice, but reassurance. A simple message—“It’s okay to feel lost. Let’s figure this out together”—can be profoundly grounding.

But will our young adult be open to our help and support?

Parents will be in the best position to provide encouragement and support if they really know and understand their young adult. And understand their world. What are they feeling and thinking? What is it like to walk in their shoes? What makes them tick? What gets them excited?

Parents cannot eliminate uncertainty, but they can offer a safe space to process it. They can keep informed and discuss new and emerging trends and opportunities with them. They can also help secure professional support, whether from a career coach or a mental health practitioner.

Above all, instil the belief in your young adult that better days will come and that flexibility, persistence and optimism will pay dividends in the end. In a world that promises to be uncertain and volatile for some time to come, that quiet confidence may be the most empowering gift a parent can offer.

End. Penny Carballo-Smith, September 2025

Background Reading

The Parents’ Guide to Careers 2025

Early Career Podcasts – watch out for these podcasts from leaders in early careers – starting in October 2025

Understanding Drivers of Recent Trends in Young People’s Mental Health

Towards Universal Opportunity for Young People

An Ambitious Plan for Young People

Replacing Graduates with AI will Hurt Businesses in the Long Run

Amazing Apprenticeships webinars

Internships, Virtual Work Experience, Mentorship

The BYP Network

10,000 Black Interns