- Tech jobs are at risk thanks to artificial intelligence and hiring costs
- Newbies are particularly affected, and it’s getting worse
- The UK tech industry has seen a 46% drop in graduate jobs
A new report from the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) has found that the UK tech industry has seen a 46% drop in tech graduate jobs from 2024, with a further 53% drop expected by 2026.
This probably won’t come as much of a shock to many, but emerging technologies most likely have AI to blame for the dramatic drop in job supply. After all, why train a junior worker for basic digital tasks, coding or data analysis when you could ask AI to do it?
Britain is not the only country suffering. Junior technicians are in trouble all over the world. The Stanford Digital Economy Lab released statistics confirming that entry-level tech job postings have fallen by 67% between 2023-2024, with a 13% drop in employment for 22-25-year-olds since AI hit the scene in late 2022.
All industries at risk
Techjobs aren’t the only ones facing this problem. Employers reduced hiring by 8% in the last academic year (2024/2025) and a further 7% is expected for the coming year – but this figure focuses on responses from three major employers.
“It’s a tough market for students and young people in general. There’s not much upturn in the job market and young people are suffering,” Stephen Isherwod, joint chief executive of the ISE, told the Financial Times.
The data suggests that organizations are simply focusing on hiring experienced employees and cutting juniors out of the corporate structure as a cost-cutting measure and to become more efficient.
While companies may see short-term gains with this strategy, it sets up a 10-20 year scenario where experienced professionals will retire but no one has invested in training juniors to take their place.
But unfortunately, experienced tech employees can’t necessarily relax as tech companies have instituted several rounds of layoffs, including big names like Amazon, Intel, and Microsoft, all cutting significant chunks of their workforces.
Via: The register
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