Struggles in recruitment: Nearly six in ten employers encounter difficulties in securing competent mid-level professionals for vacancies
AI and automation are reshaping the landscape of the UK job market, particularly for graduates and entry-level workers. While these technologies are displacing routine and task-based roles, they are also creating new tech-driven opportunities.
Currently, AI technologies like machine learning and generative AI are reducing openings for traditionally human roles, such as clerical jobs, data entry, administrative assistance, and some office-based knowledge work. According to recent estimates, up to 8 million UK jobs could be at risk due to AI automation, with a significant number of these involving routine, repetitive tasks. For instance, data entry roles face drastic declines due to automation tools like OCR, with over 95,000 such jobs at risk in London alone.
However, this shift is not all doom and gloom. New types of roles are emerging in technology development, AI oversight, and data analysis, requiring tech skills and adaptability. Jobs requiring human creativity, empathy, critical judgment, and interpersonal interaction, such as teaching or skilled trades like electricians, are much less likely to be replaced by AI (with only 16-19% automation risk).
This trend suggests a labor market bifurcation: lower-skilled routine jobs will continue to decline while demand for higher-skilled tech and human-centric roles rises. Graduates and early-career workers are advised to focus on acquiring uniquely human skills and to continuously reskill to adapt to evolving demands.
The future impact of AI and automation presents both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, there are fewer traditional entry points into the workforce and increased pressure to upskill. On the other hand, there are new avenues for those who are ready to evolve in a rapidly changing market.
In 2023, roles advertised for recent graduates represent a 7-year low. Over two-fifths (42%) of entry-level professionals feel the need to upskill due to AI and automation. Current research from Robert Walters indicates a sustained decline in graduate and entry-level recruitment is contributing to hiring challenges. In 2020, graduate and entry-level hiring saw a 15% decrease compared to 2019 levels.
However, wages for intermediate positions experienced a +5% year-on-year increase in 2022, reaching a six-year peak. Positions within accountancy, technology, legal services, and engineering noted the biggest surges in average salaries. Chris Eldridge, CEO of Robert Walters UK&I, comments that large-scale cuts to entry-level and graduate intakes can lead to inflated future costs and jeopardise the health of talent pools.
The UK risks falling behind in developing sectors like green energy and advanced technology due to fewer entry-level roles. The future health of the labor market requires careful foresight and planning, not relying on emerging technologies for a single solution.
In conclusion, AI and automation present a double-edged sword for UK graduates and entry-level workers. They challenge traditional job pathways while opening new avenues for those ready to evolve in a rapidly changing market. It is crucial for graduates to develop distinctively human skills, gain proficiency with emerging technologies, and focus on adaptable roles less susceptible to automation.
- The shift towards AI and automation in the UK job market means that graduates and entry-level workers should consider focusing on self-development and education-and-self-development, particularly in areas such as technology, AI oversight, and data analysis, which are creating new tech-driven opportunities and have reduced automation risk.
- As AI technologies reduce openings for routine, task-based roles, particularly for jobs like clerical, data entry, and administrative assistance, finance professionals can leverage this change by acquiring unique human skills, upskilling, and reskilling to adapt to the evolving demands of the job market and position themselves for higher-skilled roles with less automation risk.
