End of jobs for life: What’s next? Gulf News Edufair Dubai has answers

Dubai: The age-old notion of ‘jobs for life’ is quickly becoming obsolete, as heard at Gulf News Edufair Dubai 2025, where academic and industry leaders addressed the future of work and how today’s graduates can thrive amid the changes.
“The world… technology is changing so fast. Jobs are not going to remain the same as they were. In the past, people would start a job and stay there for 30 years until retirement. They felt secure, confident that they would receive a pension but that’s no longer the case,” Dr Roma Raina, Head of Corporate Alliances and Partnerships at Manipal Academy of Higher Education – Dubai (MAHE – Dubai), said during a panel discussion on the opening day of Gulf News Edufair Dubai 2025.

Dr Raina noted that rather than fixating on job security, students must focus on skills security.

“It’s not the job that will stay, but it’s the skillset. Students need to keep upgrading, be flexible, adaptable, and digitally literate.”

Preparing for future of work
Gary Smith, Head of the Incubation Centre at Amity University Dubai, shared a personal perspective. “My father worked in aerospace industry at a company for life. I suppose he’s the last person that I can think of who had that journey. Today, having a job for life is the exception, not the rule.”

He noted that many of the roles graduates will pursue in the future don’t even exist yet, highlighting the rapid pace of change in sectors such as AI and digital communication.

“Doing a degree is great, but you have to apply those skills in context,” Smith said. “You've got to be looking at what the industry is doing and how you see you fit in it. We’re honestly, preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet, in five years’ time, because we’ll be sitting here in five years’ time saying: ‘AI's taken this, that and the other’.”

Transferable skillsets
Asked how do students prepare for careers that may span industries, countries, cultures, roles, responsibilities, the diversity, speakers pointed out that ‘transferable skills’ such as critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving are no longer optional, but they are essential.

“They should have transferable skills,” Dr Raina said noting the importance of a good communication skill, problem-solving capability, critical thinking, and digital literacy.

Dr Raina stressed on career readiness training, and teaching students to embrace challenges.
“Accept challenges, be always prepared for the transferable skills, and these are the important things that they should have.”
Meanwhile, Smith pointed out that while social media exploded only a decade ago, now, AI is on a similar trajectory, leading to lesser human interface skills.
“We’re losing a lot of the communication skills with young people because they do networking on their handheld device, not their human interface device looking, listening and speaking to people because they don't like it a lot of the time.”

Curriculum innovation

To bridge the gap between academics and the real world, institutions like MAHE – Dubai are reengineering their curriculum with industry collaboration at the core.

Dr Raina noted how MAHE – Dubai works to revise curricula based on skill gap input from industry professionals.
“We offer open electives, internships, mentorships, and career fairs to ensure students are exposed to real-world demands. Short-term certifications and guest lectures help close the gap between current education and future-ready skills,” Dr Raina said.

Gulf News Edufair Dubai 2025 is happening this weekend, May 9-11, at The H Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road — just a few steps from the World Trade Center Metro Station. Enjoy free valet parking and exclusive gift bags for all attendees. Explore 1,000+ programmes from over 40 top universities and educational institutions, discover global study opportunities, meet career experts, attend seminars by 30+ thought leaders, and unlock exclusive offers and spot admissions — only at Edufair. Register now: https://events.gulfnews.com/GulfNewsEdufair