2pm – 3.45pm29 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.
More speakers will be confirmed in due course.
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
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.
Tess joined techUK as an Policy and Public Affairs Team Assistant in November of 2024. In this role, she supports areas such as administration, member communications and media content.
Before joining the Team, she gained experience working as an Intern in both campaign support for MPs and Councilors during the 2024 Local and General Election, and working for the Casimir Pulaski Foundation on defence and international secuirty. She has worked for multiple charities, on issues such as the climate crisis, educational inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). In 2023, Tess obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
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.
Charlie Ball is the in-house specialist on the graduate labour market at Jisc. He researches and analyses all things to do with post-18 employment, including regional economies, skills supply and demand and postgraduate issues, usually with a careers and employability perspective.
Tushar Prabhu is the chair of Trustees at The Kartik Foundation and a Board member of Variety International, the Children’s Charity. Both organisations are dedicated to advancing the lives of underprivileged children and young people.
At The Kartik Foundation, Tushar leads the development of gradvisor, a digital platform that uses the power of stories to inform and inspire career choices. Through it, students and graduates get access to thousands of bitesize voice-notes from early career professionals across a range of roles and sectors. Relevant, relatable, real voices describe their journeys, explaining ‘what a role is like’ or ‘where it can lead’, so that applicants from low socioeconomic backgrounds can gain invaluable insights into actual career possibilities.
At Variety, Tushar founded the Disability Sports Awards in partnership with Paralympics GB, Channel 4 and Invictus Games to recognise the achievements of disabled elite and non-elite sportspeople. He also cofounded Access Interns, a mentoring initiative to introduce the world of work and build the confidence of disabled young people.
Prior to these roles, Tushar has held Board, Chief Executive and Director positions in private, non-profit and government organisations around the world.
UK Graduate, Apprenticeship and Student Programme Leader, IBM
Jenny Taylor MBE is Leader of IBM UK's Early Professional programmes (Foundation) with responsibility for all aspects of the schemes, including recruitment, career management, development of education programmes and financial management. She operates across the full spectrum of IBM's various business lines, managing Early Professional programmes for graduates, interns and apprentices, plus sponsoring T Level work experience placements.
Jenny was a finalist in the Everywomen in Technology Inspiration of the Year award 2015, the CMI Manager of the Year 2020 and the Apprenticeship Guide "Leader of Apprenticeships" award 2025. Jenny was at the forefront of developing Degree Apprenticeships in 2015 and is Chair of the Digital and Technology Solutions Level 6 Trailblazer. She was leader of IBM's Girls' Schools' and Dare2BDifferent outreach programmes which were recognised in the Opportunity Now Work Inspiration awards 2011 and 2014.
Jenny is currently Chair of the Digital Degree Apprenticeship Trailblazer. She is a member of the TechSkills Employer Board and the City and Guilds Council. Jenny was named Apprenticeship Champion of the Year 2020, in the National Apprenticeship Service awards. Jenny was awarded an MBE for Services to Education in the New Year's Honours List 2022.
James has spent 15 years at FDM helping shape the firm’s approach to client partnership, talent strategy, and innovation. He has worked closely with leading global technology organisations to support the development and deployment of talent at scale, while also contributing to the evolution of FDM’s wider workforce model. More recently, his focus has been on the practical application of AI across the business: building internal capability, supporting consultant readiness, and advising on how clients are adopting AI as part of broader workforce and operating model transformation. He is passionate about social mobility and creating accessible pathways into technology, and believes the strongest organisations will use AI to augment human capability rather than simply automate it.
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 Aberyswyth University, he won the International Politics Dissertation Prize.
