AI is making it harder for young people to get their first job

Artificial intelligence is taking over more routine tasks, making it harder for young people to enter the labour market, while increasing demand for experienced professionals who can assess and improve AI-generated content, ERR reports.

Marketing expert and entrepreneur Hando Sinisalu said some jobs were disappearing as AI took over tasks, while others were being created. In marketing, he said, AI already handles simpler work such as writing basic texts, creating visuals and automating certain activities.

That shift could leave young people without the entry-level experience they traditionally gain through internships or junior roles, Sinisalu said. Tasks once given to newcomers may now be more efficiently assigned to AI.

Young people may miss out on early experience

Young people have the advantage of learning quickly, Sinisalu said. Those currently finishing basic school will have grown up using AI by the time they enter the labour market. But he said it remained unclear what kind of first work experience they would need.

Marketing now needs experienced editors and curators who can judge AI-generated text and images, improve good material and reject unsuitable work, Sinisalu said. This requires experience and good taste, he added.

AI can also produce work quickly and cheaply that is no worse than a person’s work, and can sometimes be better. Agencies and designers have previously been paid to create advertisements and basic informational materials, but AI can now do such work, the article said.

Experienced communications specialists gain value

Ann Hiiemaa, a partner at communications firm Meta Advisory, said AI had increased the value of experienced communications specialists. People whose work has mainly involved creating content, however, are more easily replaced.

Professionals who can put a company’s business, audiences, customers and wider social changes into context, then use that understanding to support company growth, are more highly valued than before, Hiiemaa said. Jobs focused mainly on writing or producing average content are under pressure, she added.

Content can include press releases, articles, memos and analyses. Hiiemaa said it was important to draw out the key information and put it into context. She added that communication remained valuable because people’s attention spans were getting shorter, making it important to present information in a way they can understand and accept.