Entry level and graduate jobs in the era of AI

The current landscape for entry level and graduate jobs is challenging. Adzuna's latest data shows UK graduate listings fell below 10,000 in January – a 45% drop year-on-year – following their 2025 analysis revealing around a third fewer entry-level roles since ChatGPT's launch. While employer surveys like that from the Institute of Student Employers report smaller graduate hiring dips (8%) and apprentice role growth, labour costs and financial pressures on employers are growing, and junior positions are clearly under pressure.

This raises important questions: are we seeing a temporary correction driven by increasing costs, weak economic growth and organisational belt-tightening, or a structural shift where AI automates tasks and roles that once trained new entrants to the labour market?

Research by FDM Group found that just 2% of employers expected a decline in graduate roles because of AI, while over half believe AI will underpin all early-career roles. Indeed, some organisations are increasing entry-level hiring, others are redesigning early career opportunities in response to AI’s impact, and many are increasing their focus on skills-based hiring.

In any case, converging trends that point to a decline in junior roles risk creating a ‘missing generation’ of early-career talent, with knock-on effects for skills pipelines, social mobility and regional economies.

This hybrid event – taking place online and at FDM Group’s offices as part of techUK's Exploring the Future of Work event series – will bring together industry, recruiters, and labour market experts to separate hype from data, scrutinise hiring shifts beyond the headlines, and identify practical steps to support early-career pathways.

Please select your chosen joining options, either online or in-person, during registration – and note that online joining details will be provided closer to the date. 

Agenda

13:30 | Arrival

14:00 - 15:15 | Panel discussion

15:15 - 15:45 | Networking

Panellists will discuss:

• To what extent the data reflects true demand for junior roles among employers and what factors are driving shifts

• What tasks and roles are being most impacted by AI, and what this means for skills demands and the education system

• How employers are thinking about their talent pipelines, early-career programmes and recruitment approaches in response to AI

• How we can ensure and protect opportunities for young people in an evolving labour market

• What policy levers government should pull on early career hiring and skills, as well as the role employers should play

Speakers: