Entry-level vacancies are falling, driven by the growing adoption of AI and mounting pressures on business costs. Attention often focuses on graduate recruitment, where vacancies have declined more than 40 per cent over the past year. But this is only part of the story. Non-graduate entry-level opportunities are also under pressure, making it increasingly difficult for young people to secure that crucial first step into employment. Two challenges are emerging. First, competition for available jobs is intensifying, with employers reporting rising numbers of applications for each vacancy. Second, as AI becomes more embedded in business, employers are placing renewed emphasis on the human capabilities they need from their future workforce. These two trends are closely connected. As technology transforms jobs, human skills are becoming more important than ever. Skills such as judgment, communication, collaboration and critical thinking are being re-emphasised as essential to business growth and resilience – and to young people’s employability and readiness for work. Gaps between employer needs and young people’s confidence New evidence suggests we cannot take young people’s work readiness for granted. Our research, drawing on more than 527,000 responses from young people across nearly 2,000 secondary education settings in England, reveals a mixed picture when we compare the skills employers increasingly value with the capabilities young people feel confident in. Between year 7 and year 11, confidence in creativity rises by 17 per centage points and problem-solving by 10 percentage points. But confidence in other essential workplace skills moves in the opposite direction. Over the same period, confidence in teamwork falls by 12 percentage points, listening by 5 and leadership by 4. This matters. The skills young people are losing confidence in are precisely those they will need to navigate increasingly complex workplaces, work effectively with others and make the most of new technologies. The picture is not the same for everyone. Among year 11 students, 70 per cent of white British boys eligible for free school meals reported confidence in problem-solving, compared with 79 per cent of their peers who are not eligible. Meanwhile, 63 per cent of students with special educational needs in mainstream schools felt confident in teamwork, compared with 74 per cent of those without special educational needs. These differences underline why developing essential skills must be an inclusive priority. The education secretary’s recent ambition to give oracy equal status with reading and writing is a welcome step in this direction, recognising the importance of developing communication skills for all young people as AI changes how we work. And timing matters. Confidence in these capabilities can help young people navigate critical transition points, whether moving into further education, apprenticeships or employment. Clear pathways and meaningful work experience Our research also shows that understanding of different education and training options remains uneven. While 84 per cent of year 11 students understand A-levels and 82 per cent understand apprenticeships, this falls to 49 per cent for T-levels and 56 per cent for other vocational qualifications, including BTECs. Among year 9 students, understanding of T-levels is lower still, at just 20 per cent. This lack of awareness risks narrowing young people’s ambitions and limiting the choices they make. Employers have an important role to play in opening up pathways into their sectors and helping young people understand the opportunities available. But understanding a career pathway is only part of the equation. Young people also need opportunities to experience the workplace and develop the skills and confidence to succeed in it. Alan Milburn’s forthcoming NEET report has highlighted the importance of expanding opportunities for young people to build their skills, confidence and employability through work experience. He identifies a lack of work experience as the single most cited barrier to work among young people. Our own research reinforces its value. Among year 11 students who have experienced the workplace, 66 per cent say it has shaped their ideas about jobs, while 65 per cent say it has influenced their thinking about their next steps. However, as technology changes the nature of different careers, we must also rethink what meaningful work experience looks like. Simply observing a workplace for a week or two isn’t enough. The value is much greater when young people are given the chance to collaborate on a real challenge, communicate with professionals, exercise judgment and see how technology is being used to solve problems and deliver results. The government’s national mission on work experience provides an important opportunity to make this happen at scale. Nobody can predict exactly how AI will reshape the labour market over the next decade. But one thing is clear: young people will need more than technical knowledge alone. We must act now to help young people develop the skills our economy needs, and to carve out a clear line of sight into a positive future.