Transcript 0:00 [upbeat music] Welcome back to The Peggy Smedley Show, your voice for our connected world, with your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:14 Hello, listeners, and welcome to today's edition of The Peggy Smedley Show. As always, I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:21 More than half of the supply chain leaders expect advancements in agentic AI that will reduce the need to hire entry-level positions, according to Gartner. Now, think about this. 0:35 Entry-level jobs have long been, as we'd say, the foundation of the workforce. Now, with artificial intelligence creating new opportunities and risks for entry-level talent. Now, I've been thinking a lot about this. 0:52 So to be clear, every major technological shift has changed how work is done. Well, we can think about this. 1:00 It's been the Industrial Revolution did it, the computer revolution did it, and even now, how AI is doing it again. And as a result, the structure of work will fundamentally change. 1:16 The skills will change, and even the pathways into careers will change. 1:21 But one thing should not change, and that is our commitment to prepare people for the future of industry, and even more importantly, to the future of work. 1:34 So that is why on this first segment of the show today, we're gonna talk about how AI is reshaping organizations and the roles for young workers, for industries overall. 1:48 But first, let's really talk about artificial intelligence, I think in its impact on entry-level, overall the job market. I think we have to understand that. The conversation about artificial intelligence is everywhere. 2:03 It's on all of our lips. It's in every conversation. It's in our boardrooms, it's in our classrooms, it's in our homes, it's on our news feeds, and it's in all of our workplaces. It's all around us. 2:17 That's without question. For many organizations, I think the question is no longer if AI will change how work is done. I think the question is when and actually how fast. 2:32 So as we think about this, we've been talking about here on the show for, I think, the past several years, if I go back and think about this, we've been kind of digestion- digesting is this is going to have an impact on the workforce and the role the workforce will need to evolve. 2:51 I think that's been more of what we've been trying to sort through. 2:55 That young entry-level workforce is in a precarious position, if I like to think about students, graduates, early career professionals are entering an interesting work world, and while many of them are prepared technically, I'm not convinced organizations and individuals are prepared for the shift that is currently happening, because it's not just changing jobs, it's changing the entry point into those jobs, and I think that's what we need to understand. 3:31 So let's examine this. For decades, most careers followed this predictable path. So follow me along as I explain this. You start an entry-level role. You learn the basics. You do this pr- repetitive work. 3:47 We've all done it for many years. You gather information, you summarize reports, you process data, and this is how you learn. This shows you how you build experience. At least that's how it's been throughout time. 4:00 You move into roles that require more judgment, more expertise, more leadership. That model has shaped the talent pipelines across industries, from manufacturing to construction and beyond. 4:14 You think about the industries. But AI is starting to rearrange this model, and in some cases, it's skipping that first step entirely. 4:25 So younger workers are entering the workforce expecting to start on equal footing with their colleagues, or I, I would say even more seasoned colleagues, sometimes even assuming they're at the same level. 4:41 It's no longer about earning respect in the same way it once was. Sounds wild or crazy, right? Wrong. This is a new reality of the modern workplace, and leaders who ignore it are already falling behind. 4:59 So AI can now analyze data, work and write basic reports, and handle basic customer service requests. We're experiencing it every day. 5:12 So this means the very nature of entry-level work is going to change, and in many industries, as I've already mentioned, already has. So some early data is already starting to show this shift. 5:30 So Gartner surveyed, I think the number is something like five hundred and nine supply chain leaders globally across industries from July, I think, to October in twenty twenty-five. 5:42 And the numbers and what it found out, it found out that, as I look at it here, it said eighty-six percent of those who answered the questions believe a- adoption of agentic AI will require new processes for developing the future talent pipeline. 5:58 So these leaders plan to prioritize talent strategies, and here's what they plan to do. They wanna upskill...Talent. 6:07 They want to use AI-enabled tools to optimize workforce planning and some sort of ca- candidate engagement, and also increasing automation, advancing technologies to improve efficiency all along the way. 6:25 So the research here, if you look at it, shows the traditional talent pyramid will actually change. So this will be... there will be little need for entry-level roles. That's what it's saying. 6:40 That's what we're talking about right now, which means leaders need to pri- prioritize talent strategy reinvention. So think about that. 6:52 Another new briefing comes from PwC and the World Economic Forum, which I'll talk about here too. The two organizations are exploring how AI is reshaping entry-level jobs and early career pathways around the world. 7:09 Now, there are two key or, or a few key findings, and not just two, but a few key findings, I guess I should say. 7:15 The first is, entry-level workers are more curious and more excited than worried about the impact of AI on their work. So think about this. 7:27 The second is gaps about or emerging between business leaders' expectations and workers' confidence when it comes to job security in the next three years, which I find this interesting overall. 7:43 It's the way they're thinking about what's gonna happen in jobs overall. 7:48 Now, the fourth one is entry-level workers are learning fast, yet many doubt how long their current skills will remain relevant, which we all know because as fast as we learn, things change, and we have to learn again because that's how fast everything's happened. 8:06 So more than one in four entry-level workers believe that half or fewer of their current skills will still be revel- relevant in the next three years. So think about that. Finally, 8:20 we see AI adoption is much lower among older entry-level cohorts, highlighting the need for reskilling. That's not a big surprise there. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of research in this area. 8:36 A Harvard University study, in fact, found junior positions are shrinking at companies integrating AI. 8:43 In fact, a Stanford University study found workers between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five experienced a thirteen percent relative decline in employment. 8:56 On the other hand, older colleagues saw gains working in the same sectors. 9:02 The bottom line here is all of the research is businesses need to rethink how they build skills and use talent, and they need to rethink the role of the entry-level worker. 9:15 So I guess here's my opinion for today because I think a lot is happening, and it's happening quickly, which is no surprise. The real question is whether AI will shape the entry-level worker. It already is. 9:29 We're not saying when it's happening. It is. The real question is how we prepare people for that reality, and this is where I think the conversation needs to shift, and I think this is a big one. 9:44 We need to stop talking about how many jobs are going to be lost. That needs to change, and we need to start really focusing and talking about how this is going to change workers' roles and the workplace as a whole. 9:59 The shift has major implications for employers, employees, and workforce development. 10:05 I think that's very critical because the first rung of the career ladder is changing, and we have to ask the very important question: How do people get on the ladder in the first place? That's critical. 10:20 Entry-level roles have always been more than just jobs. We have to think about that. They're training grounds. 10:29 They are where people learn how organization works, how teams collaborate, how problems get solved, and how professional judgment is developed, and how all that development is critical. 10:41 If those roles evolve, and we have to think carefully about them, what replaces them? Right? Are you thinking about that right now? 'Cause that's critical. 10:51 This is where businesses, educational institution, and workplace n- leaders need to be very intentional. 10:59 Now, I want you to think about very intentional here because we're skipping past all this because AI is not a technology conversation. 11:09 It is a talent conversation, and there are at least three questions every organization should be thinking right now, which is where my tip is for today. 11:21 Ask yourself these three questions because this is what I wanna leave you with. First, are we training people to work with AI? AI literacy is quickly becoming a foundational skill. 11:33 It's critical, not just for engineers or data scientists, but for every worker in every industry. 11:41 Understanding how to use AI tools, and perhaps, I think more importantly, when to trust them and when not to trust them will become a core professional quality. 11:54 Second, are we redefining what entry-level means, or are we letting AI define it, redefine it? Maybe that should be better way of saying it. 12:05 In many organizations, the expectations for early career development are rising.Employees may be expected to do more analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making from day one. 12:20 In many instances, this means learning may need to happen faster, I think, in so many different ways. Apprenticeships are no longer optional. That's very critical. 12:35 Businesses will need more project-based learning and internships in a l- host of different varieties, in different ways than we've ever thought about before. Teaching and training will be more important than ever before. 12:50 So thirdly, are we investing in the human skills that AI cannot replicate? 12:59 We think AI is, can do everything, but we have to think what it can't do, things like critical thinking, communication, adapt- adaptability, teamwork, ethical judgment. 13:15 As AI takes over more routine tasks, these human skills become more and even more valuable than ever before. 13:25 So the most successful workers in this next evolution of work will be those who can, I think as I think about this, will be those that can combine tech skills with strong human skills. 13:40 If we get this right, we can make work more engaging, exciting, and fun, and that's what we want because the way people worked 20 years ago is completely different than the way people are gonna work 20 years from now, or even in a couple years from now, or what we're talking about right now. 13:58 But that is not guaranteed. It depends on the choices we make right now, the choices businesses make about how they design jobs, how they prepare workers, and the choices they make about investing in skills development. 14:14 What will the entry-level job of the future look like? What skills will it require? What experiences will prepare people for it? 14:24 And I guess, how do we make sure the next generation of workers have a clear path to a meaningful career? These are the questions. 14:34 The future of work is about people and preparing them for the next era of work, and I guess it starts right now. Okay, listeners, that's all the time we have for the show today. 14:46 Make sure to subscribe to our episodes each week. Share your thoughts with me on X @connectedworld or follow me on LinkedIn and YouTube. 14:53 We've been doing a lot on YouTube, so I hope you'll continue the conversation there. 14:57 Please check out our website or follow our newsletter and our blogs at connectedworld.com or our show website at thepeggyסmedley show.com. 15:04 Remember, we broadcast live every Tuesday at 12:00 PM Central, and our podcasts go up every Thursday. All right. This is The Peggy Smedley Show, your voice for our connected world. 15:13 And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. [upbeat music]
