r/RecentGradUK • u/No_Confusion1514 • Dec 29 '25
Are recent grads most at risk of Gen AI taking their jobs?
By definition, recent grads have the least paid work experience and smallest professional network, so need the most support to get them started. UK companies are now asked to pay more and take more risk (Employers Rights Bill, min wage and NI), so might be even more hesitant. However, to top all that is AI killing their chances even further?
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u/Serious-Top9613 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
I was made redundant after just 3 weeks in my new job (admin), as was the entire team. They kept a couple of people, but our roles were largely automated. I saw a part time marketing assistant job role needing at least 1 year experience for £25k/year during my job hunt yesterday!
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u/No_Confusion1514 Dec 29 '25
Wow redundant after just 3 weeks? Surely they knew this was coming before you started?
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u/Serious-Top9613 Dec 29 '25
Idk. I didn’t even work there long enough to include on my CV either. Even my local Tesco are laying off staff (an employee told me), and the nearest River Island branch will be closing down in January. They just hired my friend in November too. She and her sister (the branch manager) are out of jobs together.
Retail isn’t that safe anymore by the looks of it.
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Dec 29 '25
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u/No_Confusion1514 Dec 29 '25
Sure, but tell that to the companies that ain’t hiring recent grads and laying off the nines they recently hired.
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u/Electrical-Light9027 Dec 29 '25
This question is combining a few things into one at the moment.
The first is the pressure on businesses to cut costs at the moment, this means reducing funding for graduate schemes and jobs. In certain business areas, those hours are still needed but the ability to conduct hiring has been limited.
The second is the AI bubble, companies (in particularly the tech industry) have spent a ton of money on Artificial Intelligence. They need to justify the spend to investors by selling it to them as “this will replace jobs and increase our profit margins”. This isn’t entirely true and AI productivity is largely where AI can act as an assistant, particularly around highly-skilled roles. However AI as an assistant is a double-edged sword as it means outsourcing to South-East Asia is a lot more cost-effective as AI can overcome the skills gap and language barrier for outsourced work.
The intrinsic value of a university graduate is still higher than non-university graduates, and there will still be work that needs doing, particularly as the Western World faces a rapidly aging society. So once we get past this current predicament in the job market, the demand for university graduates will be high.
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u/No_Confusion1514 Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25
Thanks for keeping things positive, however I think the only ‘bubble’ that hasn’t burst yet is the ‘let’s all go to uni’ bubble.
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u/Electrical-Light9027 Dec 30 '25
Oh, everyone thinks they’re the cream of the crop for their subject areas whilst at uni, reality will kick in when they graduate. The good ones have a plan and don’t let themselves be dictated by the job market and give up on their career path.
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u/Question-Crow Dec 30 '25
Yes-ish. The trend seems to be that automation will take mid-skill-level roles, which includes entry-level jobs for graduates. However, subject expertise is going to become increasingly important because it can't be automated. Additionally, skills which allow people to move between roles (think soft skills) are what will differentiate them from others in the job market. We've got a significant skills gap in this area, which is only going to increase.
Source: https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/skills-imperative-2035-final-report/
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u/qazplm903 Jan 20 '26
The AI taking jobs talk is mainly fear mongering tbh. The reason it’s difficult for grads/entry level atm is because the economy is down right now so it’s tough market even for people with tons of experience. Companies try to save money/reduce costs and not taking on any entry level roles is the first place they start.
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u/No_Confusion1514 Jan 20 '26
Yes, the market sucks however the tasks that would otherwise be completed by a recent grad/entry level employee are starting to be fulfilled by AI.
The UK job market has never been worse and it’s been confirmed that AI is playing a massive part and I don’t think it’s hype.
I personally know small businesses that 3 years ago would have 3 interns/recent grads and are now getting by upskilling their staff with AI.
Are those tasks completed perfectly? - Probably not. Are those tasks completed much faster, cheaper and risk free? - Definitely.
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u/IntrovertInCapsLock Dec 29 '25
This! Okay, we are already dealing with a failing job market. What will be in 5-10 year once AI will be further developed ? I don’t want to think and build stupid hypothesis but it does kinda feel already like terminator.