Artificial intelligence is driving newcomers out of the workforce — and in a few years, it could lead to a shortage of experienced experts

A survey of 1,500 UK business representatives this year showed that 51% of respondents noted the impact of artificial intelligence on company personnel policies. In 19% of cases, respondents said they had reduced hiring for entry-level positions, and in 42% of cases, this was directly attributable to the use of AI. Representatives of recruitment agency SHL noted that in the UK many of their colleagues had pointed to a decline in the number of university graduates being hired. Figuratively speaking, this transformation can be illustrated by the transformation of the personnel pyramid into a diamond-shaped outline, with fewer entry-level employees at the base of the pyramid and the widest part in the middle consisting of employees with sufficient experience and ability.

The problem is that, according to experts, experienced experts are not created out of thin air, but are created as a result of the “career maturity” of beginners. This will create a crisis for employers in the future as traditionally trained employees retire and the next generation will not be as large in number as AI replaces entry-level positions of the past.

Image source: Unsplash, Arlington Research Center

At the same time, it cannot be said that junior staff positions are disappearing. Klarus research of 500 UK and Irish mid-sized companies shows that artificial intelligence is improving the speed and quality of junior staff’s work. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of respondents claimed that AI creates new roles and opportunities. FDM Group experts say that in the future, employees’ ability to interact with other staffing units, whether real people or AI agents, will stand out. In this case, younger employees will have the opportunity to more quickly monitor and analyze the work done by others.

Under this circumstance, the employment structure of college graduates has changed. Instead of looking for experts to fill specific functional vacancies, employers are defining the responsibilities of hiring people more broadly, hoping to further narrow their scope by adapting to rapidly changing circumstances. People do hire with future application potential in mind. It no longer matters what training they had in the past.

Representatives of SHL institutions noted that one of the retail banks is currently focusing on recruiting graduates in psychology and law-related majors. The technical skills of hired employees can be inculcated later, while their critical thinking skills become a more important quality. However, some experts have expressed doubts about the ability of such “AI executives” to qualitatively analyze the results of work to which they have never had a personal connection. Traditionally, doing the “dirty, hard work” in organizations was not only a functional burden but also a way of instilling certain competencies in employees. As skeptics argue, young experts will not be able to competently classify the results of AI activities if they have no experience in the field.

A clear way out of this situation might be to mentor senior colleagues who have gained experience in traditional ways. They can teach younger colleagues the proper criteria for analyzing AI results. Real business problems can be used to train people, which will be solved with the help of AI agents. Relying solely on the ability of artificial intelligence to complete a variety of tasks, companies will soon have a generation of employees who are familiar with many tasks, but only superficially.