A few years ago, if someone asked me what skills a 15-year-old would need after graduation, I would feel compelled, as an educator, to give them a proper answer. Today, I see value in offering a vaguer response because five years is an eternity in technology.
As the founder and director of ACT College, Armenia’s first state-licensed vocational high school for technology and the creative industries, I witness the pace of change daily. Tools we thought students needed to master no longer matter, and jobs that seemed secure begin to look different because of AI. Employers regularly reveal that they need skills that were barely on our radar just two years ago.
As educators, we know this rapid change is happening. The challenge for us is that curriculum, qualifications, institutional processes, and teacher training rarely adapt as quickly as technology.
I’m not suggesting we rewrite curriculum every semester, but I think we need to stop pretending that we are able to identify the “right” set of skills, teach them for three or four years, and expect to send students into university or the workforce fully prepared for what comes next. The world is simply changing too quickly for that.
Concerned parents ask which skills and learning will really matter after graduation. I get it, but personally, I am less concerned about a student’s ability to master one particular course or tool and much more interested in how they respond when that tool changes.
At ACT College, our students begin around age 15 and choose tracks in computer science, engineering and manufacturing, or digital art. In computer science, they move from mathematics into Python, algorithms, and machine learning. The goal is not simply for them to understand what artificial intelligence is, but to understand how it works. We encourage them to build something with AI, and when they get it wrong, we help them understand why and try again. We also have students who are already working on real-world projects while they are still in school.
The goal is not simply for them to understand what artificial intelligence is, but to understand how it works
This may be a different way of thinking about education for some, but it exposes students to the reality that problems rarely arrive neatly packaged, and that the answer at the back of the book may not be the only correct solution.
Schools cannot do this alone
It’s important that this conversation extends beyond the school board and administrative office because when technology changes this quickly, no one institution has all the knowledge it needs.
Technology companies have real-time visibility into changing tools, platforms, and professional expectations. Partnering with them provides insight and resources few schools have on their own. Our collaboration with Apple led to Armenia’s first Apple Authorised Training Center for Education (AATCE) and brings internationally recognized training and industry standards to students without having to go abroad.
Various government agencies assess workforce and economic development needs. We are fortunate to work with forward-thinking leaders such as Narek Mkrtchyan, former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs (now Armenia’s ambassador to the US), and Tatev Aslanyan, Deputy Minister of High-Tech and AI.
They have helped align our initiatives with the country’s broader technology and workforce priorities, increasing our exposure and access to resources.
In many countries, nonprofit organisations and NGOs are able to navigate access, funding, and community challenges in ways that schools may not. We have seen that firsthand, as The Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) has made ACT accessible to students and supported its development.
Students don’t see these separate entities working in the background, and perhaps that is how we should envision it as well. If we expect them to be able to collaborate across disciplines and adapt to changing environments, we need to show them how it can work.
The global challenge
I live and work in Armenia, but this is far from just a regional phenomenon. A recent Stanford study found that employment levels for young workers (ages 22 to 25) in highly AI-exposed occupations, such as coding and support, have dropped by roughly 16%-19% compared to peers in less AI-exposed fields.
So, should schools splash “AI” into every syllabus and declare the problem solved? I wish it were that simple. We need to be constantly envisioning new ways to integrate AI into our curriculum at lower levels to lay a foundation for later learning. We are developing computer science and AI learning programs for younger students in conjunction with the Hovnanian School in New Jersey to help students think differently and develop skills to work alongside AI rather than compete with it.
When we design education around the latest technology, we will always be behind. When we build it around the ability to think, build, question, experiment, and adapt, students have a much better chance of keeping up with whatever comes next.
Amalya Yeghoyan is a global leader in the design and implementation of integrated technology, education, and workforce development systems aimed at driving human capital development and global economic competitiveness in Armenia.
As the executive director of The Gyumri IT Center (GITC), created in 2005 by The Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) to leverage technology education to provide long-term employment opportunities in the region and founder of ACT College, Yeghoyan oversees the sustainability of institutional models that merge education with employability. Her work is built around education and workplace development aimed at reskilling and upskilling programs aligned with real-world labor market demands. She also helped to create SheCan with GITC and The Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) to empower women, mostly displaced from Artsakh, with vetting their business plans, providing seed money to expand what they have already started and marketing their products.
