Heading into the coronavirus pandemic, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups already faced discrimination and inequality, including in access to work. Evidence shows that the virus and its many consequences have also disproportionately affected BAME people. For young people in general, Covid-19 has been particularly challenging, disrupting education, causing and exacerbating mental health issues, and limiting their employment prospects. At the intersection of these two groups, BAME young people are in a particularly challenging position.

The past year has seen change sweep across every aspect of our lives. The combination of a global pandemic with the rise of automation and an increasingly desperate environmental crisis has impacted everything from how we live and learn to how we work. The shift to remote working is here to stay, with implications for jobseekers, employees and employers alike. There is an opportunity to increase inclusivity, diversity, happiness and productivity. Yet there are also risks tied up with this way of working, from legal implications to its effect on company culture. By exploring these nascent benefits and risks we can move forwards with an awareness that will support the creation of a better future of work for us all.

The UK faces not just a huge skills deficit, but rising unemployment that’s particularly concentrated in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, including hospitality, travel and retail. For large numbers of newly unemployed people the path back to work will involve a career change. Whether that means transitioning within a sector to a different role – shaped by new health and safety protocols and increasing automation – or a sidestep into a completely new industry where growth is predicted to continue, individuals will need to identify the skills they have and those they need to get hired.

The impact of global warming and other environmental disasters have created an impetus for change. For the ‘green industrial revolution’ to be delivered, we need urgent investment in green skills.

2020 has been a challenging year. COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated unemployment and had a disproportionate effect on young people, with youth employment falling to its lowest rate since 2014. It has also stalled progress being made in closing the disability employment gap.

2020 was a year filled with unprecedented disruption. Globally, remote working became increasingly normal, enacting a digital transformation that looks set to create long-term changes to the world of work that are likely to remain throughout 2021 and beyond.

As we move into the new year, with the hope of recovery on the horizon, it is time to ask: what is the future of employability? Here are three predictions for how the employability will recover and evolve.