A COLLEGE has launched a course with a 12-year waiting list aimed at filling jobs that don’t yet exist – but it is hoping its novel solution will prepare today’s children for the workplace of the future.

Glasgow Clyde College said 65% of today’s five-year-olds are predicted to be destined for job roles that have not yet been devised.

It said studies also show that children begin to make judgements about their career aspirations from as early as the age of four, and can start to limit their ambitions by the time they are seven, which can often remain unchanged into their late teens.

Glasgow Clyde is promoting the importance of opening doors as early as possible for the next generation, with the new course open for registration now – even though it will not actually launch until 2035.

The cutting-edge course will be based on predictions from college experts of the types of job roles which will feature heavily in the labour market of 2035.

It will span areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), pioneering computer programming, cryptocurrencies, robotics and aerial drones.

By registering an interest now, parents will be able to unlock fun-filled advice and an interactive game to help them begin talking to their children about the changing world and the types of possibilities that future jobs can hold. To coincide with the course announcement, the college has also released a short film that sees some former students explain their current high-tech jobs – a drone pilot, an eSports tournament director and app developer – to inquisitive P1 pupils.

Glasgow Clyde College Principal, Jon Vincent, said: “Inspirational learning and changing lives is our mission at Glasgow Clyde College, preparing students for their future careers.

“We know parents are the most important influence on young children’s aspirations so it’s important they talk about the future from an early age, laying the initial foundations to really help broaden their horizons about what they want to be when they grow up. There will be jobs available in 15 years’ time which now seem closer to science fiction films than potential career opportunities, but we only have to look at the rate of technological change over the last decade and a half to predict what lies ahead.”