AI is removing entry-level jobs, experts warn

At London advertising agency Catalyst, one junior employee now oversees work that previously required several people, with AI handling research, producing first drafts of copy and pulling together data.

At London advertising agency Catalyst, one junior employee now oversees work that previously required several people, with AI handling research, producing first drafts of copy and pulling together data.

Founder Tobias Green described the arrangement as a “reverse Mechanical Turk”: AI works in the background while the human remains the face of the business in front of clients.

The shift comes as businesses across the UK reconsider how they hire and develop early-career workers.

The Open University’s Business Barometer 2026, based on a survey of 1,500 UK business leaders conducted by Opinium in April and May, found that 51% said AI was changing their hiring or recruitment processes. The report also found that 19% of organisations had reduced recruitment for early-career roles over the previous 12 months, with 42% of those employers attributing the reduction to the wider use of AI to perform entry-level tasks.

Green said that as AI takes over some of the more routine tasks, employees will need to learn how to work effectively with and instruct AI systems.

Lucy Beaumont of talent assessment firm SHL said organisational structures are increasingly shifting from traditional “pyramids” towards “diamonds,” with more employees concentrated at mid-level and fewer entering at the bottom.

She warned that entry-level positions have traditionally given workers opportunities to make mistakes, gain experience and develop professional judgement. Reducing those opportunities could have consequences for the development of workers further up the career ladder.

Cheney Hamilton, research director at Bloor Research, made a distinction between AI’s ability to increase the amount a junior employee can produce and that employee’s ability to assess whether the AI-generated work is correct.

That judgement, she argues, has traditionally been developed through repetition, experience and dealing with the consequences of mistakes — precisely the kinds of tasks that AI is increasingly taking over.

Research cited in the report found that 45% of organisations were using AI to help junior employees complete tasks more quickly, while almost a quarter believed AI was creating entirely new jobs.

Sheila Flavell, a director at technology and professional services company FDM Group, said software development provides one example of how junior roles are changing. Rather than simply carrying out individual tasks, junior employees may increasingly be required to manage processes involving both AI agents and human colleagues.

Businesses are also reconsidering the types of graduates they recruit. Beaumont said some banks are considering graduates from disciplines such as psychology and law rather than focusing primarily on traditional finance backgrounds.

The changes highlight a broader challenge for employers: while AI can automate some of the tasks traditionally assigned to junior workers, businesses still need ways to give early-career employees the experience and judgement required to progress into more senior roles.

Founder Tobias Green described the arrangement as a “reverse Mechanical Turk”: AI works in the background while the human remains the face of the business in front of clients.

The shift comes as businesses across the UK reconsider how they hire and develop early-career workers.

The Open University’s Business Barometer 2026, based on a survey of 1,500 UK business leaders conducted by Opinium in April and May, found that 51% said AI was changing their hiring or recruitment processes. The report also found that 19% of organisations had reduced recruitment for early-career roles over the previous 12 months, with 42% of those employers attributing the reduction to the wider use of AI to perform entry-level tasks.

Green said that as AI takes over some of the more routine tasks, employees will need to learn how to work effectively with and instruct AI systems.

Lucy Beaumont of talent assessment firm SHL said organisational structures are increasingly shifting from traditional “pyramids” towards “diamonds,” with more employees concentrated at mid-level and fewer entering at the bottom.

She warned that entry-level positions have traditionally given workers opportunities to make mistakes, gain experience and develop professional judgement. Reducing those opportunities could have consequences for the development of workers further up the career ladder.

Cheney Hamilton, research director at Bloor Research, made a distinction between AI’s ability to increase the amount a junior employee can produce and that employee’s ability to assess whether the AI-generated work is correct.

That judgement, she argues, has traditionally been developed through repetition, experience and dealing with the consequences of mistakes — precisely the kinds of tasks that AI is increasingly taking over.

Research cited in the report found that 45% of organisations were using AI to help junior employees complete tasks more quickly, while almost a quarter believed AI was creating entirely new jobs.

Sheila Flavell, a director at technology and professional services company FDM Group, said software development provides one example of how junior roles are changing. Rather than simply carrying out individual tasks, junior employees may increasingly be required to manage processes involving both AI agents and human colleagues.

Businesses are also reconsidering the types of graduates they recruit. Beaumont said some banks are considering graduates from disciplines such as psychology and law rather than focusing primarily on traditional finance backgrounds.

The changes highlight a broader challenge for employers: while AI can automate some of the tasks traditionally assigned to junior workers, businesses still need ways to give early-career employees the experience and judgement required to progress into more senior roles.