AI’s impact on entry level jobs
By Dr. Natasha Hirst on 22 June 2026
This year’s Oliver Wyman Forum and New York Stock Exchange survey of large company CEOs shows that AI deployment brings mixed news for different cohorts of the workforce. They report a dramatic planned change to workforce composition, stating that, “the share of CEOs planning to shift away from junior roles over the next two years has more than doubled… to 43% today.”
It may be good news for senior workers who are usually the target of redundancies when organisations are seeking to make cuts. It doesn’t bode well for younger and inexperienced workers if entry routes are lost as AI takes up more basic, repetitive tasks often assigned to junior roles.
Gita Singham-Willis, Strategic Engagement Director at Transform, is concerned about the long-term risks of this approach if organisations fail to develop future leaders. The risks for the tech industry are applicable across other sectors. She said, “we cannot simply replace junior roles with AI tools and expect a healthy pipeline of skilled mid and senior technologists to emerge. It may well require a deliberate business decision to invest time in training junior employees on tasks that AI could execute more efficiently, precisely to preserve the capability pipeline into more senior roles.”
Gen AI risks reinforcing inequalities
The UK Government is clear about the need to upskill young people with tech and AI skills. This month, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall, announced pilots of AI bootcamps, tech training and paid AI apprenticeships targeted at disadvantaged schools.
This alone won’t mitigate the existing loss of entry routes, nor the screening out of graduate and diverse talent as recruitment processes are handed over to AI. This is especially problematic when a narrow selection of algorithms are responsible for filtering CVs and applications throughout the job market. Stanford University researchers discovered an over-reliance on the same providers, building systemic rejection rates that disproportionately filtered out Black and Asian applicants.
The Cardiff University-based Data Justice Lab report, ‘AI Inequality at Work’, also found significant evidence of AI exacerbating inequalities for women and on the grounds of race, disability, age and minority languages – “those already disadvantaged tend to be the most at risk of harm”. The report identifies how entry level positions are most likely to be displaced by generative AI. Despite assumptions about ‘digital natives’ being most adaptable, they are also more likely to be in precarious and low-paid work.
Digital Society and Public Relations expert, Polly Thomas, is one of a multitude of graduates who struggled to secure work. “AI has been a huge barrier to getting my foot in the door. I graduated university at the start of the AI boom and spent over a year applying for junior roles in my field to no avail. I was lucky to receive a rejection email. Usually I wouldn’t hear back — even for roles that fit my skillset and experience perfectly. This happened across the public, third and private sectors. This was devastating and had a massive impact on my mental health and self-worth. I later found out that CVs are increasingly screened by AI software that automatically discounts applicants on criteria that isn’t transparently available to the employers using it. I’ve very recently managed to get a good job, but only because I was able to volunteer my skills first and then get my CV to people who already knew me and would read it directly. So many people don’t have that opportunity.”
Identifying risks and opportunities
There’s a real value to engaging with Trade Unions when developing AI policies, whether linked to recruitment, workload allocation or any other aspects of workflow and delivery.
TUC Cymru, Policy Officer Ceri Williams said, “TUC Cymru is very concerned that nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the United Kingdom are not in education, employment or training. A significant factor is that many entry-level jobs, which would have provided young people with employment in the past are being replaced by AI. As a recent BSI report found, business leaders are prioritising automation through AI to fill skills gaps, instead of training for junior employees”.
The 2025 BSI Group ‘Evolving Together’ report shows that 38% of UK business leaders expect to reduce junior or entry level roles due to AI efficiencies. The report notes that businesses may be underemphasising the need to invest in human talent alongside introducing AI and new technologies – “This highlights a potential gap in the business narrative around AI, one that could have significant implications for workforce readiness and societal adaptation to AI-driven change.”
Williams adds, “Unions can play a key role in shaping discussions around AI in the workplace. TUC Cymru has negotiated guidance with public service employers in Wales about the principles which are central when AI is introduced at work – including Fair Work, training and ensuring human managers are in control of the technology. Unions hold the key to ensuring that workers get the promised benefits of AI.”
The benefits of AI can be reinvested into the workforce, bolstering efforts to create more inclusive workplaces with improved staff wellbeing. Williams concludes, “TUC Cymru is calling for a strong voice for unions on AI. Unions must be consulted before AI is introduced to a company – and jobs must be protected. Workers should benefit from the efficiencies of AI – for example through shorter hours for the same pay. Government must invest in skills training so that workers are ready for the jobs of the future.”
Planning for a changing talent pipeline
Hannah Larsen, Policy Officer at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said, “BCC research currently shows AI is largely boosting productivity rather than replacing jobs outright, with more than 80% of firms reporting no immediate impact on headcount. However, as businesses lean further into adopting new technologies, many routine and clerical tasks that once formed the backbone of entry-level roles are likely to be automated, narrowing the traditional pathway into work.”
Larsen encourages employers to plan for the long term, “firms should be supported to invest in training, reskilling and creating clear career pathways for young people. A balanced approach, combining AI adoption with investment in people, is essential to protect the UK’s future talent pipeline and boost growth.”
AI is changing every role in the tech sector, from the skills needed, to pathways into leadership. Singham-Willis said, “there is a growing need for roles with deep skills on the ethics side, as well as in more technical AI and LLM architecture specialisms – and strong AI governance roles to ensure that increasing use of AI, both internally and in products and services delivered for clients, is underpinned by rigorous governance and compliance.”
Singham-Willis believes that junior roles will be redefined. This will be less about doing the work themselves, and more about being skilled users and assurers of AI outputs. She said, “we need to place much more emphasis on becoming an expert in enabling AI change and adoption, or in AI ethics, data, and model architecture. These specific skills are not yet built into promotion pathways.”
As well as developing clear and ethical AI policies and career development pipelines, the bread and butter of EDI matters here too. Inclusive policies and strengthening diversity are vital for making the connection between AI tools and human work.
Kathryn Diaz, Chief People Officer for Cognizant recommends rethinking entry-level roles and seeking candidates with AI skills who can make sound judgement calls on its use and outputs.
Diaz advises that, “newcomers can be involved with monitoring workflows, identifying breakdowns and inefficiencies, and ensuring AI outputs stay high-quality. By doing so, they would help build a future workforce that understands both AI tools and the business context in which they operate.”
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