AI is killing entry-level jobs. Who will become tomorrow's leaders?

Every leader begins somewhere, not in the boardroom, but in entry-level roles where routine work, mentorship and real-world experience help build judgement, business context and decision-making capabilities over time.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now changing that equation.

As organisations automate routine work and rethink workforce structures, the most important question may no longer be how many jobs AI can replace, but what happens if it replaces the very roles that prepare future leaders.

That concern lies at the heart of the World Economic Forum's report, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Entry-Level Work: A Framework for Safeguarding and Reinventing Early Career Pathways. While AI promises significant productivity gains, the report argues that organisations must also consider its long-term implications for talent development, workforce participation and economic mobility.

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AI is changing the first rung of the career ladder

The transformation is already underway.

According to the report, more than one in three (37%) young workers globally are employed in occupations with medium to high exposure to AI-driven task change. The exposure rises sharply across Eastern Asia (75%), Northern America (69%) and Europe (63%). Industries such as financial services, information and communication, professional services, science and education are expected to experience some of the greatest disruption, while sectors including agriculture, construction and food services remain comparatively less exposed.

The report points to emerging hiring slowdowns in occupations with greater AI exposure. While it stops short of attributing these entirely to AI, it notes that employers are reassessing which routine tasks still require human intervention. At the same time, more than one in five entry-level (20%) workers are changing careers, re-entering the workforce or moving into new industries later in life, suggesting that early-career pathways are becoming increasingly fluid.

Rather than allowing AI adoption to unintentionally reduce opportunities for newcomers, the report recommends making entry-level hiring an explicit component of workforce planning, with organisations setting clear targets to maintain or expand early-career hiring alongside investments in automation.

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The AI paradox

One of the report's most striking findings is that AI is improving productivity without necessarily making work easier.

While 68% of entry-level workers say AI has made them more productive, 45% also report spending more time working because of it.

The report argues that organisations are increasingly required to balance short-term efficiency with long-term capability building. Companies generating the strongest financial outcomes from AI are significantly more likely to redesign workflows than simply deploy AI tools. Yet many organisations are still figuring out what effective AI-enabled entry-level jobs should actually look like.

Instead of layering AI onto existing roles, the report calls for redesigning early-career jobs, so they continue to develop critical thinking, judgement and problem-solving capabilities while allowing AI to automate repetitive work.

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The leadership pipeline companies cannot afford to lose

The World Economic Forum complements its research with perspectives from business leaders, many of whom warn against treating entry-level roles purely as a cost to be optimised.

Hannah Calhoon, Vice President of AI at Indeed, notes, "by eliminating junior roles, leaders are effectively cutting off their future talent pipeline".

Her argument is that entry-level roles are where future leaders build judgement and business understanding capabilities AI cannot replicate.

Myriam Beatove, Chief Human Resources Officer at Randstad, makes a similar point from a workforce strategy perspective. As AI takes over more routine work, she argues, the capabilities that distinguish people from machines become even more valuable. "The more capable AI becomes, the more valuable human judgment becomes," she observes.

Her message is equally balanced. The goal should neither be to preserve entry-level jobs exactly as they exist today nor to automate them away entirely. Instead, organisations should deliberately redesign these roles to accelerate the development of critical thinking, adaptability, collaboration, resilience and continuous learning.

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Redesign jobs, not remove them

Rather than preserving or eliminating jobs, the report argues for redesigning them.

Routine administrative work, first drafts, data gathering and repetitive processes may increasingly be handled by AI. But that creates room for entry-level employees to engage earlier in analytical work, collaboration, client interactions, reviewing AI-generated outputs and solving more complex business problems.

Organisations that redesign work around uniquely human strengths—supported by stronger mentorship and learning pathways are likely to derive greater long-term value from AI.

Why this matters beyond HR

Reducing entry-level opportunities risks affecting social mobility, workforce diversity and long-term organisational resilience.

In the WEF discussion accompanying the report, Angie Kamath, Dean of the NYU School of Professional Studies, argues that companies should "automate repetitive tasks, not the learning environment".

Entry-level jobs have traditionally served as gateways for first-generation professionals, career changers and individuals without established professional networks. They are also where organisations build institutional knowledge and develop future leaders.

If those opportunities shrink without alternative pathways emerging, the consequences extend beyond recruitment. They affect inclusion, succession planning and the future composition of leadership itself.

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Education must evolve alongside work

The report adds that education systems are struggling to keep pace with changing workplace demands.

Entry-level roles experiencing the highest AI exposure are seeing skills requirements evolve nearly twice as fast as non-entry-level roles. Meanwhile, 28% of entry-level workers believe that half or fewer of their current skills will remain relevant within three years.

Traditional degrees will continue to matter, but employers are increasingly looking beyond academic qualifications. Applied experience, real-world problem-solving, familiarity with workplace technologies and work-integrated learning are becoming increasingly important indicators of job readiness.

The report therefore calls for closer collaboration between employers, educators and policymakers to ensure curricula evolve alongside workplace technologies while expanding alternative pathways into employment.

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The real challenge

AI will continue to reshape entry-level work, but the bigger challenge for organisations is not deciding what to automate, it's deciding what must remain human.

The real competitive advantage in the AI era may therefore lie not in replacing freshers, but in reinventing early-career roles so they continue to build the judgement, adaptability and leadership capabilities that no technology can fast-track.