AI is here, reshaping how we work, teach, lead, and learn. The real question isn’t whether AI belongs in FE, but whether we have the courage to shape it in a way that serves our sector, our students, our employers and our communities.
This week, the government laid out its blueprint to accelerate AI transformation of our economy. I’ve always been a digital optimist. Technology, when used well, has transformed the human condition—we live longer, healthier, better-connected lives because of it. But every industrial revolution has brought both progress and disruption. AI is no different. It will change how we work, how we teach, and how we prepare students for the future. That change is already happening—not next year, not in five years, but now.
And change, especially on this scale, scares people. We’ve seen it in every technological shift. The printing press, the steam engine, the internet—all of them triggered huge social and labour market shifts. But what separates success from failure in these moments is leadership. Those who lean in and shape the change can thrive, those who stand back, waiting for permission, could be left behind.
That’s why we wrote Hello Future – a book with 12 colleges contributing 22 chapters of AI expertise written by the sector, for the sector, and free to the sector.
AI is already reshaping Further Education, and if there’s one thing our sector does well, it’s coming together to tackle challenges head-on. We don’t sit back and wait for change to happen to us—we collaborate, we share, and we build on each other’s successes. That’s the spirit behind Hello Future.
The colleges contributed because they recognised that AI heralds a fundamental shift in how we teach, lead, and operate. Across the country, FE leaders and practitioners are already testing and embedding AI in lesson planning, assessment, governance, student support, and administration. Through this collective effort, we’re showing that AI isn’t about replacing the human elements of education—it’s about strengthening them.
AI is already making life easier for the FE leaders, teachers, and support staff who use it. The real challenge isn’t whether we should use it, it’s how we use it well. Across our sector, AI has the potential to save teachers hours each week by streamlining lesson planning, generating teaching and assessment materials, and reducing admin burdens. It can help leaders make smarter decisions with real-time data insights and can support students with more personalised learning than ever before.
But with opportunity comes responsibility. AI is not a magic fix, it’s a tool, and like any tool, it’s only as good as the hands that guide it. We must be clear-eyed about the risks: bias in AI models, ethical concerns around data privacy, and the very real danger of widening, rather than closing, the digital divide. If we get this wrong, we risk creating a system where AI benefits some but leaves others behind.
That’s why Hello Future is about the practicalities. How do we adopt AI in a way that’s ethical, responsible, and genuinely improves education? How do we make sure AI supports teachers, rather than becoming another layer of complexity? And crucially, how do we ensure that no student, no college, and no educator is left out of the AI conversation?
The best way to understand the power of AI in FE is to see it in action. Just today, I used AI to pull together a clear, concise summary of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025—something that would have taken hours manually. I worked with our HR team to develop a talent attraction brochure showcasing the Humber region, using AI to refine messaging and highlight the strengths that make it such a great place to work. And later, I was in a discussion with our digital innovation team, using AI-generated concepts to shape the design of a digital avatar that will become the face of our online learning offer.
‘Hello Future’ is full of examples like these, shared by colleges across the country who are already experimenting, adapting, and learning together, because the future won’t wait. It isn’t something to prepare for; it’s something to create.
In true Hullraiser style – Let’s get on with it!
Hello Future can be downloaded from https://www.hull-college.ac.uk/publications from 20th January.
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