As entry-level jobs dry up in NZ, how can we help young people find their way into work?
As entry-level jobs dry up in NZ, how can we help young people find their way into work?
Publish Date: 2026-04-19 15:35:00
Source Domain: theconversation.com
Getting a first foothold on the career ladder has never been easy for young workers.
But in the past, that path was more visible, with advanced economies such as New Zealand’s relying on entry-level roles to bring in new talent and sustain the workforce over time.
A glance at recent job statistics suggests today’s young people face a different reality. The unemployment rate among New Zealand’s 15- to 24-year-olds is around 15% – higher than in recent years and roughly triple that of the wider working-age population.
Many of the roles through which young people have entered the workforce – especially junior office and administrative jobs – have been shrinking.
With this shift has come the erosion of a function of the labour market that is arguably just as important as output. These on-ramps to the workforce have also taught tomorrow’s leaders how organisations work, how judgment develops and how capability is built through practice.
Take them away, and the problem facing the economy becomes much more serious than unemployment.
How much is AI to blame?
There has been no shortage of dramatic news headlines about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs. However, rather than eliminating entire occupations, AI has so far been automating many of the traditional tasks within them.
In a global survey of 5,500 organisations last year by US-based market analysts International Data Corporation (IDC), 91% reported that AI had already changed or displaced job roles.
Among the New Zealand-based employers surveyed, more than half reported AI was driving significant job displacement and that they were now slowing or stopping entry-level hiring. Nearly nine in ten also expected to see a slowdown in these roles within three years.
There are clear reasons for these trends. Many of the tasks most exposed to AI disruption overlap with the type of work – predictable, repetitive or data-based – that has long been carried out by entry-level…
