How to start building a career in the age of AI Premium

Recent advances in artificial intelligence and agentic systems are quickly making this ‘on-the-job’ learning and hiring channel vulnerable – much to the dismay of students and young adults.

Internships and apprenticeships have long been effective for graduates and young adults to test their learning, develop new skills and secure employment. For organisations, they provided a way to identify potential hires.

However, recent advances in artificial intelligence and agentic systems are quickly making this ‘on-the-job’ learning and hiring channel vulnerable – much to the dismay of students and young adults.

Many organisations are now rethinking entry-level roles and budgets, increasing AI spending while reducing these positions. This shift raises questions about career prospects for those looking to build a future in the coming decades.

Let’s start with the basics. A career is a long-term professional journey marked by skill development, mobility and rewards. This journey has become increasingly chaotic for successive generations, but the biggest change began with Gen X (those entering the workforce between the mid-80s and mid-90s).

Gen X witnessed a major shift in employment that challenged the traditional linear progression theory, where people typically start and end their careers at a single company. They entered a job market that valued individual competency over loyalty.

Looking back, we can see how the Internet, personal computers and globalisation transformed the stable job market of the Silent Generation. These changes flattened organisational hierarchies and created a new, laterally mobile talent pool. However, a deeper analysis reveals a hidden pattern: a world in flux that needed a new breed of talent.