Entry-level roles? Much of what I did in my first HR job is now handled by a computer. How has your early careers strategy for education leavers adapted to this change?

Thanks for raising this Michael. It’s such an important (and very real) challenge for many people in the 'early careers' stage of their journey.

Here in the UK, I’m seeing a real squeeze at the entry-level end of HR. Many of the “first step” tasks that used to give people a way in (processing forms, basic admin, starter/leaver processes), have either been automated or outsourced. That creates a bottleneck: fewer opportunities for people to get a foothold, while competition for the roles that do exist has intensified.

I was speaking recently to a cohort of CIPD graduates, and the theme that came through loud and clear was the sheer difficulty of breaking into that first HR role. The struggle is real - talented, motivated people are out there, but the pathways are narrower than ever.

For me, the strategy has to be two-fold:

1) Employers thinking more creatively about how to structure early careers roles (so they’re not just “what the system can’t do”), but rather a deliberate mix of human, relational, and project-based tasks that give people real exposure and growth.

2) And candidates finding ways to build evidence of value outside of a first “official” HR role - through volunteering, project work, temp roles, or even adjacent experience they can frame through an HR lens (i.e. roles that do involve an element of people / HR related work).

It’s a tough market, but with intention on both sides, it is possible to open doors again and get that all important first step on the (HR) career ladder.

The workplace has never stopped transforming. It is often only in the afterwards that we realized how much had changed. The pace of change has quickened recently with the adoption of AI and it is difficult to predict how the future will look like. The best approach is to take it easy and continue to sharpen your saw.