AI and the First Rungs of a Young Worker’s Career

How could AI affect a first job?

Artificial intelligence can be used to perform some kinds of work that people have traditionally done. The reports focus on routine duties and the possibility that AI could reduce jobs that serve as an entry point for young workers. ¹²

A first role is often more than a paycheck: it can offer a chance to learn workplace expectations and build experience. If the work that gives beginners that start changes, employers may need to consider how newcomers can learn and take on more responsibility. This is a concern raised by the reports, not a settled prediction about every industry.

Why does the warning focus on young people?

People just entering work have not yet built a long employment record. Georgieva singled out young people entering the labor market as particularly exposed to changes associated with AI. ²

The issue described is a possible gap at the beginning of a career: if some starter tasks are no longer done by new hires, there may be fewer familiar ways to get initial experience. The sources do not show that this is already happening across all workplaces, or that every young worker will face the same effects.

What did the IMF and Jobs Council say?

Georgieva warned that AI could contribute to global growth while also affecting jobs that help young people begin careers, according to Business Insider. ¹ In comments reported by CNBC, she highlighted young people entering work as a group facing particular exposure to labor-market change. ²

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's president and a co-chair of the World Bank's Jobs Council, argued that governments should keep employment support in their policy toolkit beyond emergencies. He also pointed to cooperation with businesses and incentives for firms to take on new graduates. ²

What could employers and governments do?

The reported proposals include continuing programs that help people get into work, coordinating with private businesses, and encouraging companies to hire graduates. Shanmugaratnam's point was that employment support should not be considered only when a crisis occurs. ²

The reports do not prescribe a particular hiring scheme or workplace training model. Still, their focus suggests a useful question for employers: if AI changes the tasks assigned to beginners, what other paid work or learning opportunities will help them develop? That is a question to address, not a guarantee that any one approach will succeed.

What should someone starting work take from this?

The warning is worth following, but it does not provide a job-by-job forecast. It cannot tell a young person which occupation will change, how soon it might happen, or what skills a particular employer will seek. ¹²

For now, the broader point is that entry-level work may need to adapt as AI use changes. Whether new paths to experience and progression emerge will depend in part on decisions by employers and policymakers. The available reporting describes proposed responses, not evidence that those proposals have been adopted or tested.