Korn Ferry survey: 81% of employers plan more early-career hiring

Employers surveyed by AMS, a Korn Ferry company, largely plan to hire more early-career workers even as AI changes what junior employees do. Some 81% expect to increase that hiring over the next two years, according to the company’s Oct. 20 release describing its Class of 2030 research.

The commitment to hiring is clearer than the design of the jobs. Nearly three-quarters of organizations believe entry-level work will change rather than be eliminated, although roughly half do not yet know what that change will look like. Separately, 76% of talent acquisition leaders say entry-level jobs are not disappearing from their organizations.

The research, conducted with Phronesis Partners, included a survey of more than 500 chief human resources officers, talent acquisition executives and senior HR leaders across 13 countries and 14 industries. A separate survey covered more than 5,000 employees and job seekers, with particular analysis of students and early-career candidates aged 16 to 24.

At some leading organizations, the shift in junior work has already begun, Korn Ferry said. Rather than concentrating on repetitive execution, early-career employees are researching and synthesizing information with AI, analyzing data and automating workflows. Their responsibilities also include testing AI-generated outputs and applying human judgment to the results.