The Vanishing Entry-Level Job: Why Young Workers Are Being Left Behind

Why today’s young workers face the toughest transition into the workforce in modern history.

Article link: https://open.substack.com/pub/johanosteyn/p/the-vanishing-entry-level-job-why?r=73gqa&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Audio summary: https://youtu.be/u60obOwoyPU

I write about various issues of interest to me that I want to bring to the reader’s attention. While my main work is in Artificial Intelligence and technology, I also cover areas around politics, education, and the future of our children. This article explores the profound impact of AI on the entry-level job market, a critical issue for societal stability and the prospects of the next generation.

For generations, entry-level jobs have acted as the vital first rung on the career ladder—a place where young professionals learned the fundamentals, built confidence, and developed the experience needed to advance. Today, that rung is rapidly disappearing. As Artificial Intelligence and automation sweep through organisations across the world, tasks that once required junior staff are now being completed faster, cheaper, and more accurately by machines. This shift is reshaping the world of work at a pace few anticipated, and it carries profound consequences for young workers, employers, and the future of our societies.

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

Across industries—from finance and law to media, logistics, and professional services—the early-career landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Traditional entry-level duties such as basic research, data capture, scheduling, drafting reports, and handling customer queries are increasingly automated. What once justified hiring a cohort of graduates or interns has now become a line item that technology performs in seconds. For organisations under pressure to streamline costs and boost productivity, the business case is compelling.

However, for young job seekers, the implications are deeply worrying. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts that AI could eliminate nearly half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years, potentially pushing unemployment to 10-20 percent. This is happening faster than what has been observed with previous technologies.What emerges is not merely a changing job market but a structural disruption. Without accessible entry points, young people struggle to gain the practical experience required to progress into mid-level and specialist positions. Many find themselves locked out before they can even begin. This problem is compounded by employers who still demand practical experience from applicants, despite eliminating the very roles where such experience is traditionally acquired.

It is a paradox that leaves countless young people facing unemployment, underemployment, or work far below their level of qualification. A report by SignalFire found that new graduate hiring dropped 50% in 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels, with recent college graduates experiencing a higher unemployment rate than the national average for the first time in 45 years.

INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS

The consequences are not only personal but societal. A generation unable to access meaningful early work risks long-term scarring: delayed financial independence, reduced upward mobility, and weakened confidence in public institutions. In countries like South Africa, where youth unemployment is already alarmingly high, exceeding 60% for those aged 15-24, the disappearance of entry-level jobs threatens to deepen inequalities and widen the gap between the digitally skilled and the digitally excluded.

This is particularly important to me personally, as a father raising a child in South Africa; the prospect of my son and millions of other young South Africans facing a future with limited career entry points is deeply concerning. The economic stagnation and skills mismatch in the country further compound this challenge.Yet this moment also presents an opportunity—if approached with foresight, collaboration, and urgency. The organisations that will thrive in an AI-driven future are those that recognise the deep value of human creativity, emotional intelligence, contextual judgement, and ethical reasoning.

These are the skills machines cannot replicate, and they must become central to how employers design early-career pathways. While some reports suggest an increase in entry-level opportunities in certain sectors due to AI, particularly in the public sector in Australia, the overall trend points towards a significant reshaping of roles, demanding new skill sets.

One promising strategy is the emergence of AI-augmented apprenticeships: programmes where young workers learn to collaborate with AI tools rather than compete against them. Instead of removing junior roles, companies redesign them to focus on areas where human judgment is essential—client interaction, problem-solving, strategic thinking—while letting AI handle repetitive tasks.

This creates hybrid roles that equip young employees with both domain expertise and digital fluency. Such initiatives are crucial for the future of our country, ensuring that our workforce remains competitive and adaptable.

IMPLICATIONS

Educational institutions also have a critical role to play. Universities and colleges must accelerate the shift towards future-ready curricula that build data literacy, technological confidence, adaptability, and critical thinking. Young people need exposure to AI tools not in a theoretical sense, but in a hands-on, practical manner that prepares them for real workplace environments. Many graduates currently feel unprepared for the changes brought by AI, highlighting a worrying gap between academia and industry needs.

Governments, too, cannot remain on the sidelines. Policy frameworks must support digital skills development, incentivise youth employment in emerging sectors, and ensure that technological progress does not leave millions behind. This includes investments in connectivity, access to devices, and national digital literacy initiatives that empower young people across all socio-economic backgrounds.

Initiatives like Microsoft’s partnership with Presidential Youth Employment Services (YES) in South Africa, aiming to certify millions in AI-related skills, are vital steps in the right direction. These actions are essential to safeguard the future of our children, ensuring they have the opportunities to thrive in an AI-driven world.

CLOSING TAKEAWAY

The disappearance of entry-level roles is one of the most urgent and under-discussed challenges of our time. But with the right strategies, it does not have to define the future of an entire generation. By reimagining early-career pathways, embedding digital skills into education, and fostering partnerships between government, business, and academia, we can create an economy where young people are not casualties of automation but pioneers of a new world of work. AI may be reshaping the labour market—but it is our responsibility to ensure that young workers are not left behind.

Author Bio: Johan Steyn is a prominent AI thought leader, speaker, and author with a deep understanding of artificial intelligence’s impact on business and society. He is passionate about ethical AI development and its role in shaping a better future. Find out more about Johan’s work at https://www.aiforbusiness.net