Research report

Class of 2030

Entry-level work isn’t disappearing. It’s being redesigned.

Is AI replacing entry-level jobs? Our research says no. 81% of employers plan to hire more early career talent. The real challenge is redesigning hiring programs and roles for the age of AI, which is driving up application volumes, eroding trust and reshaping entry-level work itself. We asked more than 5,000 job seekers and 500 HR leaders what needs to change. Here’s what we found.

5000+

students, job seekers and workers

500+

CHROs and talent acquisition leaders

countries across every region

industries, from public sector to banking

The findings

Six shifts shaping early careers

Headlines say AI is eliminating entry-level jobs. Our research tells a different story. We found demand for early career talent remains strong, but the rules for hiring, developing and retaining that talent are being completely rewritten.

Entry-level hiring is growing

What future talent really wants from work

The remote-work myth

Why future talent is looking beyond technology careers

The skills mismatch

AI broke the hiring signal

01.

Entry-level hiring is growing

For three years the message has been the same: AI will wipe out the bottom rung of the career ladder. The employers we surveyed disagree. They are planning to grow their early career intake, and the best-performing companies are leading the charge. This reflects continued investment in graduate recruitment and early-career talent despite concerns about AI’s impact on entry-level work.

What’s changing is the job itself. Junior roles are shifting from repetitive tasks to reviewing AI output, spotting exceptions and exercising judgment. Most employers agree the work will change, but half don’t yet know what it will look like.

81%

of organizations plan to increase early career hiring over the next two years

76%

of TA leaders say entry-level jobs are not disappearing from their organization

81%

companies putting early career talent at the heart of their 2030 strategy

In the full report: the 10 new tasks graduates are being asked to do, and whether apprenticeships are overtaking graduate programs.

1. Entry-level hiring is growing

2. What future talent really wants from work

3. The remote-work myth

4. Why future talent is looking beyond technology careers

5. The skills mismatch

6. AI broke the hiring signal

02.

What future talent really wants from work

58% of young people ready to enter the workforce expect to land a job within a year, and nearly 7 in 10 will take project-based, part-time or temporary work rather than wait for the perfect role.

But one-size-fits-all won’t work. Pay leads globally and across every region except APAC, where work-life balance ranks first. Beyond this, priorities vary by market, with flexible hours ranking highly in North America and health benefits in Latin America. The number one reason candidates decline an offer? The pay changed during the process.

Confident they’ll find a job, by region

Global

58%

North America

67%

APAC

65%

EMEA

55%

Latin America

50%

84%

of Latin American respondents would consider gig or contract work

62%

in North America rank competitive pay as their top factor

In the full report: country-by-country priorities across 12 workplace factors, and how they shift by gender.

03.

The remote-work myth

The widely accepted myth is that young people want to work from their bedrooms. In fact, only 1 in 5 want a fully remote job, falling to just 1 in 10 in North America. They want to be around colleagues, learn by watching and be part of the culture.

That’s good news for employers: 85% believe new graduates should be onsite from day one. The question isn’t whether to bring them in, it’s how to make the office worth the commute and create an environment where early-career talent can learn, develop and build meaningful connections.

How the next generation wants to work

44%

Hybrid

27%

Fully onsite

20%

Fully remote

9%

No preference

Preference for fully onsite work rises with education, peaking at 40% among graduate hires. Women (nearly 1 in 3) are more likely than men (1 in 5) to choose it.

In the full report: schedule preferences by country, from the four-day week to shift work, and onsite expectations by sector.

04.

Why future talent is looking beyond technology careers

They’re the first fully AI-native generation, and they’re steering away from tech. Just 14% name technology as a preferred first sector, the only age group to show such low interest. The public sector now tops their list.

After a year of headlines linking AI to layoffs, they may be hedging against careers they see as exposed, gravitating to work that feels hands-on and purposeful. Employers that put purpose and meaningful work at the center of their brand may be better positioned to attract early-career talent in the class of 2030.

Preferred sectors: students vs. early career

Students / future job seekers

Early career workers

Public sector

25%

17%

Health & life sciences

21%

13%

Energy & industrials

20%

29%

Financial services

18%

27%

Tech & telco

14%

29%

In the full report: sector preferences across every career stage, and what’s driving the shift.

05.

The skills match… and mismatch

On paper, it’s a near-perfect fit. Young job seekers say their strengths are adaptability, emotional intelligence, creativity, communication and AI literacy, almost exactly what employers say they want.

So why do so many managers say new hires aren’t ready? Look closer and the gaps appear, starting with the skill employers value most. A generation shaped by lockdowns, social media and generative AI may simply define and demonstrate these skills differently. Traditional assessments won’t see it.

Where the rankings diverge

Skill	Employers want	Candidates have
Analytical thinking / problem-solving	#1	#6
Functional expertise	#6	#11
Leadership potential	#7	#12
Adaptability / agility	#2	#1

Only about a third of future job seekers cite leadership potential or functional expertise as a strength.

In the full report: the complete top-10 comparison, regional skills profiles and how leading firms are bridging the gap.

06.

AI has broken the hiring signal and trust is next

Generative AI has made it easier for candidates to make multiple applications. Entry-level application volumes have tripled or even quadrupled in some cases (one global firm went from 2 million to 4 million in a year), without bringing in more qualified candidates. Meanwhile, candidates trust employers less than ever. The findings highlight both the opportunities and challenges of AI in talent acquisition, particularly when it comes to assessment, candidate trust and candidate experience.

76%

of organizations say entry-level application volumes have surged

90%

of next-gen candidates have used AI in their job search

55%

have been ghosted by a potential employer mid-process

17%

of job seekers trust AI screening tools to assess them fairly

In the full report: candidate fraud, the shrinking half-life of skills and how leaders are rebuilding trust.

What pacesetters do differently

The recruiting strategies pulling top performers ahead

Pacesetters, companies outperforming their peers on revenue growth and profitability, aren’t relying on legacy graduate programs. They’re blending new practices, and it shows up in their results.

Four recruiting strategies linked to stronger business performance

Skills-based hiring

29% of organizations deploy a skills-first hiring model.

+14%

more likely to drive growth through innovation when done well

AI in recruiting

Only 13% use it well. Those that do stand apart.

~2×

as likely to be seen as an employer of choice, and 20% more likely to beat financial targets

Always-on recruiting

Two-thirds have started; only 7% do it consistently.

+13%

more likely to exceed financial targets

Hyper-personalized experience

65% of pacesetters are deploying it, versus just over half overall.

1.2×

more likely to exceed financial targets

In the full report: the full breakdown of hiring practices by industry and organization size.

Now what?

Five moves to make before the Class of 2030 arrives

Preparing for Gen Alpha takes more than a refresh of your graduate program. It demands a strategic reset. The report sets out a practical playbook for each of these moves.

Make early careers a board-level priority

Treat junior talent as a strategic workforce discipline, not a seasonal recruiting activity.

Build a Gen Alpha intelligence engine

Replace broad assumptions about “young people” with live, market-by-market evidence.

Redesign entry-level work before AI does it for you

Decide which tasks to automate, augment or protect as learning experiences, deliberately.

Turn skills-based from a slogan into an operating model

Carry one skills language from assessment through onboarding, coaching and progression.

Build trust into every candidate interaction

Be open about where you use AI and what data you collect, so automation never feels like a black box.

Webinar: Watch on Demand

Rethink your campus hiring for the next generation of talent

Listen to experts from AMS, The Josh Bersin Company and NACE, who unpack the findings from the research, alongside examples and perspectives in the market.

How we did it

A two-part survey program, conducted with Phronesis Partners, compared future workers’ expectations with employers’ plans. We surveyed more than 5,000 employees, job seekers and students across 13 countries, with a focus on 16- to 24-year-olds, and more than 500 CHROs, talent acquisition and senior HR leaders across 13 countries and 14 industries.

We also spoke with leading organizations about how their graduate and early career hiring is changing, and linked their practices to self-reported financial performance, employer brand, customer retention and innovation.

Free download

Get ready for the Class of 2030

50 pages of data, benchmarks and practical actions, so you can build an early career strategy that wins the next generation, not the last one.

Regional and country benchmarks on pay, flexibility and location
Recruiting practice adoption by sector, region and company size
Case examples from IBM, AstraZeneca, Expedia, EY and more
A five-step action plan for talent leaders

Frequently asked questions

Is AI going to eliminate entry-level jobs?

Our data says no. 76% of talent acquisition leaders say entry-level roles are not disappearing and 81% plan to hire more early career talent in the next two years. What is changing is the work itself, away from repetitive tasks and towards reviewing AI output and exercising judgment.

Who is Gen Alpha, and when will they enter the workforce?

Gen Alpha were born between 2010 and 2024. The oldest are starting to enter the labor market now, and estimates suggest they will make up 19% of the global workforce by 2035, the first generation to arrive fully AI-native.

Should we invest in graduate programs or apprenticeships?

Employers are split down the middle: half say apprenticeships are on the rise, half plan to stick with graduate programs. Each pathway serves a different purpose. The report explores the trade-offs and how leading firms are balancing both.

Who is this report for?

CHROs, talent acquisition and early careers leaders, and anyone responsible for building the workforce their organization will need in 2030 and beyond.