Future Skills Organisation (FSO) and Mexico’s Institute for the Future of Education (IFE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalising a strategic research and knowledge-sharing partnership to address fast-evolving workforce skills needs. 

The two-year partnership was announced at the National AI Skills Forum in Canberra, where Dr Fung, representing IFE, joined Patrick Kidd OBE OAM, CEO of FSO, to sign the MOU. 

The partnership will initially focus on understanding how AI is reshaping entry-level and early-career work, and the implications this has for workforce development, education pathways and employment opportunities. Through joint research, stakeholder engagement and thought leadership, the partners will examine how AI is changing the tasks, skills and capabilities expected of new entrants to the workforce, and identify practical responses that can help workers, employers and educators adapt. 

This work will bring together government, employers, unions and education providers to build a shared evidence base and inform future workforce, skills and training strategies. It will employ AI-enabled methodologies and labour market data to anticipate and forecast emerging AI skills occupations, and technologies to inform proactive interventions.Expected outcomes from the partnership include joint research publications, foresight reports, discussion papers, policy briefs and capability frameworks that support a coordinated national response to the changing nature of entry-level work in an AI-enabled economy. 

For IFE, this is its first agreement of this kind in the Asia-Pacific region. Its existing agreements with government and quasi-government entities are concentrated in Latin America, with a small number in the US and Europe. 

Dr Michael Fung is the Executive Director of IFE, an interdisciplinary research institute of the Tecnológico de Monterrey Educational Group, one of Mexico’s leading higher education institutions.

IFE advances the future of education and lifelong learning through research, educational innovation and knowledge dissemination, with expertise spanning artificial intelligence, skills development, micro credentials, EdTech entrepreneurship, applied research, and the transformation of universities. According to its latest Impact Report, its work has reached more than 7.8 million people across 49 countries.

Patrick Kidd OBE OAM, CEO Future Skills Organisation said: “Understanding how AI is changing entry-level and early-career work for the next generation is one of the most important workforce challenges facing countries around the world. This partnership brings together FSO’s workforce expertise and IFE’s global research capability to build a stronger evidence base and identify practical responses to this challenge.”

Dr Michael Fung said: “AI is reshaping the tasks that people perform and the skills that they need to succeed in the workplace. Understanding these shifts—particularly for people entering the workforce for the first time—is essential to designing education and skills systems that remain relevant, inclusive and future-ready. Through this collaboration with FSO, IFE seeks to generate evidence and insights that can help educators, employers and policymakers anticipate these changes and translate them into effective action.”