What capabilities must a person develop when AI can answer?
The human graduate profile in the AI era: technological and human capabilities, competency progression and evidence connected to employability.
June 28, 2026 · Xavi Pascual · 1 min read
The World Economic Forum estimates that close to 40% of the competencies used at work will change before 2030. AI, big data and cybersecurity are growing fast; analytical thinking, creativity, resilience, leadership and collaboration remain central.
This raises the decisive university question: what capabilities must a person develop when they permanently have access to systems capable of generating information, analysis and solutions?
The answer is not a list of competencies
It is an architecture:
- Observable graduate profile — capabilities formulated as demonstrable behaviours.
- Competency progression — development milestones across the curriculum.
- Experiences that generate evidence — challenges and projects where capabilities are genuinely exercised.
- Process assessment — instruments that capture reasoning and transfer.
- Verifiable portfolio — longitudinal evidence the market can read.
Skills-first
The OECD describes a transition that prioritises demonstrable capabilities over exclusive reliance on credentials. The university that can explain what each graduate can actually do will have a structural advantage in employability, accreditation and reputation.
The question is no longer what degree you deliver. It is what evidence you deliver.
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