2pm – 3.15pm29 April 2026
FDM Group, 3rd Floor, Cottons Centre, Cottons Lane, London SE1 2QG
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.
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
For more information or to get involved, please contact the team below.
Nimmi Patel
Associate Director for Policy, techUK
Nimmi Patel
Associate Director for Policy, techUK
Nimmi Patel is the Associate Director of Policy at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre’s research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers, and governments.
Prior to joining the techUK team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds an MA in Strategic Communications at King’s College London and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester. She also took part in the 2024-25 University of Bath Institute for Policy Research Policy Fellowship Programme and is the Education and Skills Policy Co-lead for Labour in Communications.
Jake has been the Policy Manager for Skills and Future of Work since May 2022, supporting techUK's work to empower the UK to skill, attract and retain the brightest global talent, and prepare for the digital transformations of the future workplace.
Previously, Jake was the Programme Assistant for Policy. He joined techUK in March 2019 and has also worked across the EU Exit, International Trade, and Cloud, Data Analytics and AI programmes.
He also holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Sussex, as well as a BA(Hons) in International Politics from Aberystwyth University. During his time at Aberystwyth University, he won the International Politics Dissertation Prize.
Archie Breare joined techUK in September 2022 as the Telecoms Programme intern, and moved into the Policy and Public Affairs team in February 2023.
Before starting at techUK, Archie was a student at the University of Cambridge, completing an undergraduate degree in History and a master's degree in Modern British History.
In his spare time, he likes to read, discuss current affairs, and to try and persuade himself to cycle more.
The Early Tech Career Network was established by techUK to bring together leading technology companies and enable people entering the tech industry (such as graduates, apprentices, interns, entry-level role-holders, career changers, or returners to work) the opportunity to build their knowledge and add value to the organisations for which they work.
The main purpose of the network is to connect with others who are also new to the sector and network to build up a platform for support. It’s a great community where people from different organisations can network in an informal setting and hear from fantastic speakers. Join the LinkedIn page.
techUK's Skills, Talent and Diversity Programme activities
techUK work with our members to signpost the opportunity of digital jobs and ensure these opportunities are open to people of diverse backgrounds. We strive to help our members attract, recruit, and retain a diverse workforce, whilst showcasing their work on workplace innovation. Visit the programme page here.
Jobs and Skills
To make sure that the UK is a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone, it is crucial that people have the digital skills needed for life and work. Rapid digitalisation is creating surging demand for digital skills across the economy and the current domestic skills pipeline cannot keep up. Digitalisation is also leading to rapid changes in the labour market that means some traditional roles are being displaced. There is an urgent need to better match the demand and supply.
The future of work is changing. Technology is powering a growth in flexible work across the economy, whilst emerging technologies such as robotics and AI are set to become common place. techUK believes the UK must consider the implications of digital transformation in the world of work now, equipping people and businesses across the country with the skills and conditions needed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the 4IR.
Diversity and inclusion sits at the heart of digital growth. The tech sector understands that innovation thrives from diversity of thought and is continually looking to attract, recruit and retain a diverse workforce. techUK is proud to support a number of initiatives that promote this, from doing outreach work to ensure that people regardless of their background are inspired into tech, to initiatives that help build more inclusive workplaces for those with different accessibility needs.
Returners programmes offer a supported bridge back to work for people who have taken a career break. Providing ways for people to ease back into work after a career break is a vital way to make sure we do not lose out on their talent and experience. The techUK returners hub was created as a one-stop-shop for people looking to return to a career in digital.
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
