There is little doubt that the rise of AI is having an effect on businesses across every sector in Scotland. There’s no escaping it and those who chose to embrace, adopt and adapt it into their working practices now, will ride the wave with greater ease as it continues to gather momentum. And this is not a wave you want to be left behind on.

In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, the pace of change is placing increasing value on relationships between industry and education: but we’re seeing a shift in the dial. These partnerships have traditionally provided a pragmatic approach to learning through providing real-world experience to students as part of their studies, whilst simultaneously delivering benefits to the industries involved.

For Gen Z, AI is already part of their DNA. It’s the natural next step in their evolution and as such, I would suggest that industry is benefiting more than ever from its relationships with education and that perhaps the balance has in fact, been tipped. By the time Gen Alpha enters the world of employment, it’s going to be a different story altogether.

As an agency that has formal partnerships with two further educational establishments in Scotland (City of Glasgow College and Queen Margaret’s University) and a thriving internship programme, I have seen first-hand how the skills that students are coming through our doors with are positively impacting the quality of the work they produce and how quickly they can produce it. The more we can involve them in our day-to-day operations, the greater the value of their experience - and ours.

It’s really exciting to see and the links we have with education are vital to attracting talent and helping us to maintain and extend our competitiveness through our service offering. 

The topic of AI dominated a recent panel session I sat on at City of Glasgow College, with students asking what I thought of it, how we were using it, whether there was a fear we would become redundant as clients opted for AI-generated content over us. But the more I learn about it, the more I utilise it and from the extensive training we have undergone, I can honestly say I am invigorated by the opportunities AI brings to our role. And what we can do with it.     

Whilst many of the traditional benefits of these relationships still exist, the speed of change has underpinned our responsibility to ensure that class-based learning accurately reflects the realities of real-world working. The most frequent feedback we receive from placements is the surprise (and often shock) at the sheer pace we work at and the number of clients we manage at the one time.

Eyes are most definitely opened and so the relationships we have with course leaders, the time we dedicate to engaging in active conversation to help shape the course offering and a commitment to providing students with practical, hands-on experiences, are essential for preparing a skilled workforce that’s equipped to tackle the challenges of today and those of tomorrow.

Lally Wilks is a Director at Grayling

Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk