With school starting back around Australia, it’s a perfect time to ask ourselves the perennial question of which careers and future are we preparing our kids for? As a baby boomer, my world of education asked me at the end of my final year of high school to make one (1) career ch.

The shift around What future career would you bet on is not purely structural. It changes what capabilities organisations value, how people find meaning in their roles, and what conditions make good work possible. Leaders who understand this early retain the talent they need and build cultures that attract it.

The most important question is not whether What future career would you bet on will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.