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Labour markets are transforming rapidly due to technological change, with major implications for young people
This policy brief summarises key findings and implications from the ‘Motivating Futures’ report, a research and impact project funded by the EY Foundation (EYF), an independent charity delivering learning programmes to young people from low-income backgrounds.
As AI rapidly transforms workplaces, there is an urgent need – and golden opportunity – to steer it towards greater opportunity, not deeper inequality. As evidenced in our Pissarides Review, better technical skills and ‘AI literacy’ alone will not be enough for young people from low-income backgrounds to thrive. Intrinsic motivation and self-agency are becoming increasingly important for young people to adapt and succeed in this fast-evolving and technologising labour market.
Human-centric skills such as critical thinking, communication, creativity, and problem-solving flourish when young people have intrinsic and internal forms of motivation – when they engage in learning and work for inherent satisfaction rather than external rewards alone. While the findings indicate that many young people exhibit strong intrinsic or internal motivation linked to their values and identity, the research also reveals if young people are lacking this, it can hold them back from building fulfilling careers.
Yet evidence indicates that while young children generally start with similar levels of intrinsic motivation, it often erodes more quickly over time for children from low-income backgrounds. This is a critical insight because this group of young people are more likely to feel excluded from new learning opportunities, such as those presented by AI.
As a result, there is a real risk that – without intervention – the rapid adoption of AI could further entrench existing inequalities. Encouragingly though, the research also suggests that intrinsic and internalised motivation can be cultivated through targeted support, and the next stage of this research will focus on testing an intervention designed for this, with findings expected in October 2025.
Integrating analysis from work focusing on young people from low-income backgrounds with a future of work lens, the project offers a significant and novel contribution to the field of motivation research. Insights from this report will therefore be relevant to those exploring policy goals around promoting social mobility, improving educational outcomes, and increasing youth employment.
Joana Geisler
Policy brief
Prioritising people
