Entry-level jobs down since ChatGPT launch, research shows – HR Magazine
Claire Muir
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Entry-level jobs in the UK have dropped by almost a third (32%) since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, according to research by job search site Adzuna. We asked commentators how HR can redesign entry-level jobs and futureproof graduate recruitment.
Graduate jobs, apprenticeships, internships and junior roles now account for 25% of the UK job market, down from 28.9% in 2022, Adzuna’s research, published yesterday (30 June), highlighted.
Global hiring platform Indeed’s Mid-Year Labour Market Update, released on 25 June, confirmed that graduates are facing the toughest job market since 2018: in absolute terms, there are 33% less graduate roles compared with the same period last year.
However, it is “too early for AI to impact graduate job numbers”, according to Stephen Isherwood, joint CEO at early talent support network, the Institute of Student Employers.
Instead, he told HR magazine, “a flat economy combined with rise in employers’ national insurance contributions is having the biggest impact” on these vacancies.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, agreed that the eight-year low “can’t be attributed solely to the rise of AI” but stressed that employers should “think seriously about how these roles are designed”.
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Kennedy told HR magazine: “HR teams have a critical opportunity to reshape entry-level jobs; building in meaningful tasks, development opportunities and exposure to new technologies like GenAI.”
Karie Willyerd, chief learning officer at virtual IT lab Skillable, warned HR magazine that “soon, every job description will assume AI capability not as a separate skill, but woven into the fabric of daily work”, making it crucial for HR to test for “the ability to work alongside AI”.
Willyerd continued: “Everyone is becoming a manager, not of people but of AI outputs” so entry-level workers now need skills in “critical thinking and feedback for their ‘AI direct reports’”.
Similarly, Anastasia Pshegodskaya, director of talent acquisition at HR platform Remote, recommended offering “early-career roles that combine AI-enabled tasks with real-world problem solving” and highlighted to HR magazine that entry-level roles could now transform from “stepping stones” into “foundational development opportunities”.
Read more: Fewer women plan to upskill in AI than men
Looking at HR processes, EY Foundation CEO Lynne Peabody said they must avoid “embedding unintended biases that can hold back young people from more marginalised communities”. The charity chief recommended “involving young people at risk of being negatively impacted in the development and implementation of AI-based recruitment”.
Raoul Gabriel-Urma, CEO of AI training business Cambridge Spark, discussed the impact on businesses’ talent pipelines with HR magazine: “Entry-level employees are the next generation of C-suite leaders.
“And if their roles are increasingly being automated, HR leaders must ensure those still making the cut are the assets they need for today’s AI-powered workplace.”
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