The Future of Young Workers in an AI-powered Workforce
Tue 25 Aug 2026 | Mark Williams | Hugh Scantlebury | Victoria Knight | Chris Richards | Russell Attwood | Paraic O’Lochlainn
The youth of today are entering a labour market unlike any before, with AI adoption sweeping across the working world. In the face of this rapid and unpredictable change, many recent graduates are concerned about how this will affect the traditional entry-level roles that have acted as the first step for previous generations. Even typically ‘future-proof’ STEM sectors are seeing a shift in workplace roles and responsibilities due to enhanced automation and AI capabilities.
For students who have received their exam results this summer and are considering their next steps, the future – at face value – can appear bleak. This is why it is important for businesses to support and encourage young graduates, helping them to prepare for a future where skilled workers are needed more than ever.
The Impact of AI on Early Career Jobs
There can be no mistaking the impact AI has had across all industries – it has reshaped many jobs and, in some cases, replaced them entirely. However, for Mark Williams, Managing Director, EMEA & Global Customer Success at WorkJam, technology cannot replace the value that entry-level roles bring to the workforce. These roles, he argued, “are crucial in helping young people transition from education to the workplace, enabling them to gain the experience needed to build strong foundations for their careers. Unfortunately, as organisations are under pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency, these jobs are becoming more limited.”
As these vital roles grow sparser, Williams explained that organisations need to find ways to balance investment in both AI and early-career staff.
“It isn’t just about getting young people into work. Employers also need to ensure that they offer routes for progression so they can develop their careers,” he encouraged. “Ultimately, we owe it to the next generation to protect these opportunities and support early career staff, even when economic pressures make doing so more difficult.”
Although they’re the first generation to enter an AI-powered workplace, today’s young workers are arguably the best prepared.
“Today’s graduates are increasingly AI natives,” said Hugh Scantlebury, CEO and Founder of Aqilla. “They’ve grown up with AI becoming part of education and everyday life, so they naturally expect it to play a role in how work gets done. They’re likely to look for opportunities to use it to automate routine tasks and improve efficiency. In many cases, they may even introduce new ways of working that more experienced colleagues haven’t yet considered!”
“The real opportunity is ensuring AI accelerates learning rather than replacing it,” he continued. “Today’s graduates will be moved into the position of first-line reviewer far quicker than the generations before them. So, although AI may change how graduates begin their careers, it won’t change the importance of developing the human judgement that underpins good decision-making.”
However, for all the hype surrounding the technology, Bron Gondwana, CEO of Fastmail, has argued that “for young people starting their careers, the focus needs to be less on trying to predict which jobs AI might change and more on developing expertise that makes you valuable, regardless.
“While you have the energy, become really good at something, then look for the intersection between different skills or disciplines that nobody else is combining,” he added. “That’s where innovation happens and where you’ll be hardest to replace. AI will continue to change how we work, but curiosity, adaptability and deep expertise will always matter.”
How Can Businesses Help?
As young people enter this new working world, Chris Richards, SVP International Sales at Syspro, emphasised the role employers must play in helping them understand where they stand. She stressed that “if AI is increasingly taking on many of the tasks that previously would have been carried out by those in entry-level roles, then the role itself needs refreshing.”
This is especially the case in traditionally ‘hands-on’ industries.
“We cannot expect young people to enter the workforce already proficient in how AI is being used in our sector, so manufacturers need to create environments in which employees can experiment with it, learning through real work and building confidence through hands-on experience,” she explained. “Only then will young people gain meaningful opportunities to use AI while still developing the judgement, business understanding and human expertise that technology cannot provide.”
Victoria Knight, Chief People Officer at Node4, reiterated the importance of building workplace practices that support young workers.
“Being job-ready no longer means entering the workforce with every technical skill already mastered,” she said. “AI is changing roles faster than education can keep pace, so it isn’t realistic for employers to expect young people to arrive as the finished product. Instead, we have to look for critical thinking, adaptability, and sound judgement.”
For Knight, “hiring potential also means committing to developing it. Employers need to provide the structured pathways that help young people build the skills to thrive at work.”
University is No Longer the Only Way
For the longest time, university has been seen as the sign of success, resulting in a degree and an office job. However, in an economy that lacks the skilled technicians needed to deliver on the UK’s growth ambitions, this is no longer the case. Paraic O’Lochlainn, VP of eMaint, a Fluke Brand, drove this point home; he emphasised that “we have over a million young people outside education or work, while industries like manufacturing offering paid training, progression, and long-term demand can’t find enough people.”
“We don’t just need more opportunities,” he said. “We need to stop hiding the ones that already exist behind outdated assumptions about what a ‘good career’ looks like.”
O’Lochlainn has acknowledged that university is a valuable route, but he is keen to point out that “it is not the only respectable one. For young people, manufacturing and the trades should not be a Plan B. They are a direct route into skill, income, purpose, and the ‘first rung’ we keep claiming is missing.”
As students digest their results and start to look to the future, those who didn’t achieve their desired grades can often feel stressed and despondent. However, Russell Attwood, CEO and Founder of Route 101, notes that these results aren’t the be-all and end-all.
“I left school at 16, dropped out of a BTEC business course after three months and started building my career through work, sales and on-the-job learning. That eventually led me to build a multi-million-pound technology company employing almost 200 people,” said Attwood.
He encouraged young people to focus on the bigger picture.
“Students today should not judge their entire future by a single set of grades,” added Attwood. “Keep learning, work hard, and be prepared to take the next opportunity. There are many routes forward, and your first step does not have to define where you finish.”
