The campaign centres on an informative interview style video, in which television presenter and actress Zoe Hardman, and a panel of successful entrepreneurs discuss employment prospects and skills gaps in current UK market. The entrepreneurs predict the most in-demand jobs anticipated for major growth over the next five years.

By focusing on a specific niche and current social topic of interest, The Open University aimed to expand its external audience and remain relevant to the education industry. The campaign aims to inspire people to explore new career paths and consider upskilling with flexibility. The panel discuss how the sustainability, business and cyber sectors are currently thriving, with the role of sustainability officer and AI developer set to become the most in demand.

The panel is diverse in terms of ethnicity and industry expertise in order to ensure The Open University’s ethos of inclusivity resonates with the audience. “To inspire prospective students and shed light on the top jobs of the future, we enlisted some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs. It was key to get a diverse range of experts to whittle down to a cohesive list of top five jobs but also speak to young audiences,” says Jody Hall, PR partner at 23red.

Lisa Bunker, campaign manager at The Open University, says “Amidst the uncertainty of the current UK workforce and barriers to upskilling, our aim is to highlight through this campaign that there are many ways to pursue new and exciting paths that range from free short courses to degree level qualifications.”

Still image assets were shared across social media with the full video having been published on YouTube.