The silent tsunami
There is a threat emerging slowly in front of us. Perhaps because it is not arriving with noise, we are failing to understand its scale. But if we do nothing, it will eventually hit companies and society like a tsunami.
I am referring to the lack of opportunities for young talent finishing university degrees and master’s programmes.
Artificial intelligence is already absorbing many of the tasks traditionally assigned to junior professionals: initial research, first drafts, summaries, translations, data preparation and routine analysis. For a company, the short-term calculation is understandable. Why hire someone inexperienced to perform work that technology can complete faster and at almost no marginal cost?
Individually, the decision may appear rational. Collectively, we may be making an enormous strategic mistake.
I am not against AI. Quite the opposite. I use it, believe in it and see its enormous potential. My concern is not the technology, but how we choose to apply it.
Those tasks were not merely cheap labour. They were the training ground on which young professionals learned how a company works, made mistakes, received feedback, developed judgement and gradually became valuable. We risk removing the first rung of the ladder and then wondering why nobody is able to climb it.
If we do not allow people to be juniors, where will tomorrow’s senior professionals come from?
A generation that feels misled
Many young people did what society asked of them. They studied, learned languages, completed postgraduate programmes and prepared themselves for a professional future. During that journey, they were led to believe that qualifications, effort and specialisation would open a door.
For many, that door is no longer opening.
They send applications and receive no answer. They are asked for experience before anybody has given them the opportunity to acquire it. In some fields, they are told directly that finding work related to their studies is almost impossible.
I am seeing this at close range in areas such as sports journalism and translation. Both are being transformed by technology, and both are increasingly difficult for a young professional to enter.
I do not accept that the answer should simply be: “There is no future for you here.”
The path has changed, certainly. It has become harder and less predictable. But difficult does not mean impossible. Our responsibility is to help young people understand the new rules and prepare themselves to compete in this new environment.
Knowledge is no longer enough
Young graduates often possess the technical knowledge. If they do not, they can find much of it within seconds through artificial intelligence. Knowledge remains important, but it is no longer the only differentiator.
The real advantage increasingly lies in judgement, initiative, communication, credibility, curiosity, relationships and the ability to turn information into action. In other words, employability depends more than ever on human skills.
We should therefore return to the basics:
- Build authority by demonstrating what you know. Do not wait for a job title to begin producing valuable work.
- Develop a genuine network. Relationships are built by showing interest, contributing and remaining present over time.
- Select your target. Know which companies, sectors and people you genuinely want to work with.
- Approach them directly with a clear and relevant message.
- Follow up intelligently if they do not answer: without becoming intrusive, and always trying to add value.
- Earn their interest. Do not merely ask for an opportunity; show what you could contribute.
- Take care of your digital presence. Today it is often your most visible CV.
- Find an experienced person who can challenge you, guide you and, when appropriate, provide a reference or open a door.
And then comes what has always mattered: hard work, effort, attitude, determination, perseverance, integrity, ethics and honesty.
Technology changes the tools. It does not eliminate the value of character.
Senior professionals must also take responsibility
Those of us with decades of experience are among the people benefiting most from artificial intelligence. The technology makes us faster and more productive because we can combine it with context, judgement and experience accumulated over many years.
That advantage creates a responsibility.
If AI gives us a productivity dividend, we should reinvest part of it in developing the next generation. We should devote time to mentoring, explaining the unwritten rules, challenging young people, making introductions and helping them find their own professional path.
Mentoring does not mean doing their work for them. It does not mean guaranteeing them a position or protecting them from every disappointment. It means helping them understand where they want to go, demanding commitment, telling them the truth and sometimes opening a door. Their talent and effort must do the rest.
Companies also need to rethink entry-level opportunities. Hiring and developing young professionals is not charity. It is succession planning. It is how an organisation renews its ideas, builds future leadership and avoids waking up one day with experience at the top but nobody prepared to replace it.
Young people bring energy, new questions, digital instinct and a different way of seeing the world. What they often lack is not ability, but context, confidence and the first real opportunity.
There is light at the end of the tunnel
I believe there is a future for young talent, but it will not be built by repeating the old formulas. Young people must become more proactive, visible and focused. Educational institutions must prepare them for the market that actually exists. Companies must preserve places where people can learn. And senior professionals must make themselves available.
We cannot celebrate everything artificial intelligence gives us while ignoring the generation that may be left outside the door.
If we remove the ladder, we should not be surprised when nobody can climb it.
Young people need us. Many of us were once given an opportunity before we had proved everything we would later become. Society, a teacher, a manager, an entrepreneur or a colleague placed their trust in us.