Helen Fawcett, Head of Early Careers, explores why manager readiness is becoming just as important as graduate readiness and their approach at National Grid.
For years, the emerging talent profession has debated a familiar question: Are young people work ready?
We discuss employability skills, workplace behaviours, resilience, communication, and, more recently, AI literacy. Universities, colleges and employers invest significant time and effort trying to bridge the gap between education and employment.
But perhaps we are spending too much time asking whether graduates are ready for work and not enough time asking a different question.
Are managers ready for graduates?
The world our emerging talent is entering looks markedly different from the one many managers experienced. AI is reshaping how work gets done. Structures are evolving, teams are more distributed and priorities can change quickly.
Yet our expectations of managers continue to grow.
We expect them to deliver results, lead through ambiguity, support wellbeing, build inclusive teams, coach performance, embrace new technology and develop the next generation of talent.
It is perhaps unsurprising that many managers feel overwhelmed.
The graduate manager gap
The ISE Student Development Survey 2026 found that manager capability to support emerging talent hires was identified as a concern by 38% of employers, making it one of the most significant challenges organisations anticipate over the next five years. This year’s findings draw on responses from 144 employers across a range of sectors and organisation types.
Importantly, this sits alongside concerns about AI, candidate quality and retention. Employers increasingly recognise that emerging talent programmes depend not only on the quality of talent recruited, but also on the capability of the people leading them.
The same survey highlights growing concerns around work readiness, with employers focusing more on professional conduct, workplace behaviours and helping emerging talent hires navigate organisational life.
But this challenge is not owned by graduates alone. Many managers have never managed a graduate before, have not been equipped to lead an intergenerational team and are also learning how AI is changing their role.
Research from the Chartered Management Institute found that 82% of workers entering management positions have not had formal management and leadership training, adding to the UK’s stock of ‘accidental managers’.
That statistic should give every emerging talent professional pause for thought.
If we are worried about the readiness of graduates, should we not also be concerned about the readiness of the people managing them?
Managers are the experience
When organisations evaluate emerging talent programmes, they often focus on recruitment, induction, learning content or programme structures.
All important. But in our experience, when graduates reflect on what has shaped their confidence and development, one theme often stands out:
Their manager.
A supportive manager can accelerate confidence, performance and belonging.
An absent manager can undermine even the best designed programme.
Managers help emerging talent hires interpret culture, access opportunities, receive feedback and translate academic knowledge into business impact. In many ways, managers shape the programme experience.
That is why developing manager capability should not be viewed as a separate activity from developing emerging talent. The two are intrinsically linked.
A changing management challenge
The challenge facing managers today is arguably greater than ever.
ISE’s analysis of the Student Development Survey 2026 shows that 54% of employers identified automation and AI as the biggest issue likely to affect emerging talent development over the next five years.
At the same time, employers want new hires to demonstrate critical thinking, communication, adaptability and AI literacy, while also reporting concerns about preparedness for organisational life.
Managers therefore find themselves in a unique position.
They must simultaneously:
- Develop the next generation of talent
- Learn new technologies themselves
- Lead through significant organisational change
- Build inclusive, psychologically safe environments
- Deliver business results
That is a significant ask. Yet manager support often remains fragmented, reactive or optional.
What we're learning at National Grid
At National Grid, we have started to challenge ourselves to think differently, with a clear aim: to improve the experience and confidence of both emerging talent colleagues and the managers who support them.
If we genuinely believe managers are critical to the success of our graduates and students, then we need to invest in them with the same intent that we invest in our emerging talent.
That has led us to place increasing focus on supporting managers of emerging talent colleagues, not just the colleagues themselves. The process has been deliberately practical, focused on the moments where managers tell us they need the most clarity and confidence.
Our approach includes:
- In depth manager briefings before cohorts join with a focus on managing intergenerational teams and managing performance
- One to one support and guidance
- Inviting managers into key events and programme experiences
- Practical resources to help them at moments that matter
- Signposting into broader management development programmes
Importantly, this is not about creating additional work. It is about building confidence.
Many managers want to do a great job. They simply need clearer expectations, better tools and easier access to support.
When managers understand what graduates are learning, what challenges they may face and how to support them effectively, the experience improves for everyone.
Early feedback is helping us understand where managers need more support, particularly around setting expectations, giving feedback and navigating performance conversations.
This is just the start and we will be looking for ways to further enhance manager confidence when our 2026 cohorts join in September.
Time for a mindset shift?
The future success of emerging talent programmes will not depend solely on hiring smarter, assessing differently or redesigning development pathways. It will also depend on whether managers feel capable and equipped to support emerging talent in a world of uncertainty, technological change and constant reinvention.
Perhaps the next evolution of the work readiness debate is not about graduates at all.
Perhaps it is about managers. Because if we want graduates who are ready for work, we need managers who are ready for them.