How AI Is Transforming Careers and Other Trends in Jobs and Skills
The following contribution is from the World Economic Forum’s Jobs and the Future of Work section.
Author: Till Leopold, Head of Jobs, Wages and Job Creation, World Economic Forum
As AI transforms careers, entry-level positions could face increasing threats.
Our Impact
What is the World Economic Forum doing to drive action on jobs and the future of work?
Overview
Explore and monitor how Artificial Intelligence is impacting economies, industries, and global issues.
Are Entry-Level Jobs Dying?
For decades, entry-level positions have provided essential training for newcomers entering the workforce. From finance to journalism, junior staff have traditionally approached the grind as a rite of passage, as much as a development opportunity.
But as AI transforms the professional ladder, these early entry-level opportunities could be increasingly at risk, according to Bloomberg.
International Workers’ Day, on May 1, commemorates the labor movement’s struggle for workers’ rights. AI stands as one of the most significant challenges—and opportunities—facing the current job market.
Technological change, the green transition, economic uncertainty, geoeconomic fragmentation, and demographic shifts are transforming the labor market. Image: World Economic Forum
While 170 million new jobs are projected to be created this decade,
the rise of AI-based tools threatens to automate as many roles as it creates, especially for entry-level administrative positions.
Bloomberg concludes that AI could replace more than 50% of the tasks performed
by market research analysts (53%) and sales representatives (67%), compared to only 9% and 21% for their managerial counterparts, respectively.
Whether by narrowing entry-level positions or making jobs that previously required specialized skills more accessible, estimates suggest that AI could impact nearly 50 million US jobs in the coming years.
How AI might be closing the door to talent…
The Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 reveals that 40% of employers anticipate reducing their workforce if AI can automate tasks.
Technology, in general, is projected to be the most disruptive force in the labor market, with trends in AI and information processing technology expected to create 11 million jobs while displacing another 9 million.
As entry-level positions shrink, salary expectations are also changing, with those who remain in the workforce expected to take on AI-enabled roles for less money. A recent survey revealed that 49% of Gen Z Americans seeking employment believe AI has diminished the value of their college education in the job market.
At the same time, US companies are expanding their operations in India, where skilled professionals can be recruited at significantly lower costs, notes Charter, further intensifying competition for office jobs.
However, this could create a talent pool problem, with significant implications for social mobility and equitable representation, according to Bloomberg.
…while opening new doors
The AI generation could democratize access to employment, facilitating the development of technical knowledge and skills that have historically excluded skilled workers, according to Charter.
Instead of completely eliminating entry-level opportunities, companies could leverage AI to train the next generation of senior professionals. From eliminating billable hours at law firms to a greater emphasis on apprenticeship programs, traditional structures could be redefined.
As the AI generation becomes more integrated into the workforce, companies will need to invest in significant training initiatives to prepare their employees for the AI-driven economy.
Following global macroeconomic trends, AI is poised to transform the traditional career ladder, potentially
putting entry-level jobs at risk. However, both employers and employees can prioritize the training, education, and level playing field that come with harnessing AI’s potential.
To boost employment amid ongoing economic restructuring, China plans to extend key unemployment insurance policies and job retention incentives until 2025.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the Departments of Labor, Education, and Commerce to focus on employment needs in emerging industries. The goal is to support more than one million apprenticeship programs annually to enhance job training in skilled trades.
With the digital and green transitions expected to transform the labor market, the European Commission has announced its «Skills Union» plan to secure the future of education and training systems across the bloc.
Youth employment in South Korea has experienced its most significant decline in over a decade. With a reduction of 98,000 in the number of workers aged 25 to 29 in the first quarter of 2025, this marks the country’s steepest drop in 12 years. Investors are showing confidence in regions with intensive use of AI, as a new study reveals that countries with more AI job openings experience lower returns on municipal bonds and increased tax revenue.
The AI Paradox and Qualification Requirements: The Competency-Based Hiring Revolution
The following contribution comes from the Institute for Employment Studies website and is authored by Nick Litsardopoulos, Research Economist (Fellow).
The impact of AI on qualification requirements presents an interesting paradox that varies significantly across sectors and jobs.
However, what seems similar across all industries and occupations is the need to become familiar with AI technologies and tools. The data reveals a complexity that could indicate the advances transforming hiring practices across the board.
The use of AI systems and process automation is impacting recruitment for both job seekers and hiring organizations. Advertisements from recruiters for AI agents are becoming increasingly common, as are AI tool advocates who are urging job seekers to use these tools more to increase their chances of being hired. It’s clear how someone’s chances of getting hired can improve if an AI agent reads a job application written by someone else.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce,
argued that his company’s AI agents already complete between 30% and 50% of the task, and that this figure will continue to increase.
If all these tasks at Salesforce, now performed by AI agents, were previously done by graduates in technology, marketing, or business administration, then perhaps there will be fewer jobs available for graduates than for recent graduates?
AI agents can already perform entry-level tasks that until recently were done by recent graduates.
30% Automated by 2030
According to McKinsey’s «A New Future of Work» report, 30% of current working hours could be automated by 2030, resulting in an estimated 12 million occupational transitions in Europe by 2030.
The report mentions that organizations plan to focus on retraining workers rather than hiring new ones. Therefore, skills-based development appears to be a key factor in the era of artificial intelligence tools, rather than traditional formal qualifications.
However, these increasingly sophisticated digital systems require higher skill levels to operate. A paradox arising from the spread of AI technologies across industries is that, as AI capabilities increase and allow tasks to be completed by lower-skilled employees, at the same time, AI tools become more capable and sophisticated, requiring more highly skilled employees.
Both More and Less Experience as a Result of AI
Recent evidence shows that while automation that lowers experience requirements allows less experienced workers to enter the workforce, automation that raises requirements increases the demand for more experienced workers.
We observe that the UK exhibits an exceptionally pragmatic stance regarding formal qualifications. Competency-based recruitment is gaining popularity across the UK, as employers increasingly focus on applicants’ skills and potential, rather than solely on their academic qualifications.
The UK has invested heavily in modern apprenticeship programs, creating viable pathways to skilled employment without traditional university routes.
This has been particularly successful in sectors such as engineering, information technology, and financial services. This cultural foundation may have created fertile ground for AI-driven changes to take root more easily than in highly skilled markets. Using data from the Adzuna intelligence portal, we examined the qualifications required in the overall UK labor market and in several key occupational sectors. In the UK overall, we observed that demand for Real Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 6, i.e., a higher education (HE) degree, has decreased, as has demand for RQF Level 8, i.e., doctoral qualifications. However, demand for master’s degrees (Regional Qualifications Framework Level 7) increased during the same period, along with demand for RQF Levels 4-5, which cover vocational/higher education qualifications and lower-level higher education certificates or diplomas (rather than bachelor’s degrees), and RQF Level 2, which covers Grade 4 or higher GCSEs. Interestingly, Regional Qualifications Framework Levels 1 (most of the basic qualifications available in the UK) and 3 (the A Levels) also declined in the last 12 months analyzed.
Therefore, in the UK in general, the demand for qualifications is quite heterogeneous. However, when considering the evidence of a skills-based labor market—that is, the skills required for jobs in a labor market experiencing an increasingly rapid diffusion and application of AI tools and systems automation—the situation may not be so heterogeneous.
Recent data suggests that new employees using AI agents performed as well as employees with more than six months of experience. It appears that AI agents tend to enhance the skills of less experienced employees, helping them learn and perform tasks at a higher level than would be expected. Nevertheless, more experienced employees benefit the most from leveraging the capabilities of AI tools.
It is possible that hires with advanced vocational/higher education qualifications (i.e., Level 4-5 qualifications of the Regional Qualifications Framework) who use AI tools can perform (or at least are expected to perform) at the same level as employees with a bachelor’s degree (i.e., Level 6 of the Regional Qualifications Framework). Similar expectations could explain the declining demand for doctoral degrees and the increasing demand for master’s degrees, or the declining demand for A-level qualifications and the increasing demand for GCSEs. Indeed, there is a trend toward the disappearance of demand for some mid-level qualifications when the knowledge or experience gap can be bridged by using AI tools (e.g., AI agents).
Analyzing some of the major professional sectors, the demand for qualifications shows significant differences that are likely related to the specific skills requirements of each sector. For example, job postings for Education and Teaching positions show a higher demand for RQF level qualifications, and even higher demand for RQF level 7 qualifications, compared to the overall demand. This is likely directly related to the minimum requirements for teaching positions, which require a bachelor’s degree or higher. This demand could also be related to the increased demand for teachers in the UK.
The sales sector is one of the UK’s largest employers. Looking at changes in the demand for qualifications required in job offers, we see that Level 6 of the Real Qualifications Framework (i.e., a bachelor’s degree) has increased. In contrast, the demand for all other required qualifications has decreased (Level 1 of the Real Qualifications Framework has remained stable, but its share is negligible).
Recent changes in the demand for qualifications are most dramatic in the hospitality and catering sector. The difference in required qualifications reveals a notable increase in Regional Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 2 qualifications (i.e., Grade 4 GCSEs or higher) and also in RQF Level 3 qualifications (i.e., A Levels), while there has been a notable decrease in the qualifications required for RQF Levels 4-5, 7, 8, and 1. Demand for RQF Level 6 qualifications (i.e., a Bachelor’s degree) has remained stable over the period. As in other sectors, higher qualifications appear to have given way to lower ones. It can be argued that the hospitality sector has a lower demand for employees with high-level qualifications.
If recent changes in skills demand are linked to advances in artificial intelligence and high technology, it may be interesting to analyze the situation in IT occupations. Analyzing job postings in this sector, we observe that demand for qualifications has increased for levels 6 and 8 of the Regional Qualifications Framework (RQF), but has decreased for all other qualifications, except for RQF level 1, which has remained unchanged but represents only 0.2% of the demand. Undoubtedly, the most sought-after qualification in IT job postings is RQF level 6.
The Apprenticeship Renaissance
A central aspect of Britain’s unique approach is the reinvention of apprenticeship, which has created robust alternatives to university education, precisely as AI makes them more viable.
The UK’s modern apprenticeship system has evolved far beyond traditional trades to encompass digital skills, financial services, and emerging technology sectors. These programs combine practical work experience with targeted training, producing immediately productive, AI-ready workers. Skills-based recruitment could gain traction across the UK as employers look to leverage British government apprenticeship programs.
Government investment in apprenticeship has been substantial, with initiatives encouraging employers to develop programs aligned with emerging skills needs. This has created pathways from high school graduation to university-equivalent qualifications, facilitating career progression without traditional university routes. The apprenticeship levy system incentivizes large employers to invest in training, creating a feedback loop that benefits both businesses and workers. The timing is crucial, given McKinsey’s analysis indicating that up to 30% of current working hours could be automated by 2030, and that Europe will require up to 12 million occupational transitions. The learning model seems particularly well-suited to the AI era, as it prioritizes continuous learning and practical application over theoretical knowledge.
Work Qualifications in Great Britain
The UK labor market presents a fascinating case study of how advances in artificial intelligence are transforming qualification requirements, revealing trends that are both aligned with and distinct from global trends. The resulting landscape is, in some ways, heterogeneous: a country already moving towards skills-based recruitment in some sectors, while in others, the demand for traditional university education has increased. It is likely that, as the implementation of AI reduces experience requirements in some sectors, allowing for the hiring of lower-skilled employees, in other sectors with higher experience requirements, AI technologies will increase the demand for expert employees.
Sectors with a high degree of in-person work and manual labor will find suitable employees among those without university degrees, while other sectors will continue to demand employees with undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. The UK may be experiencing a demographic shift similar to that of the US, where the gap between manual and administrative jobs continues to widen, both in terms of demand and wages. As young people opt for studies that offer a pathway to higher-paying jobs in technology or engineering, other employment routes, such as intern
