Contrary to concerns that artificial intelligence will reduce entry-level jobs, corporate HR leaders are more likely to see new entry-level roles emerging within the next 5 years, a survey found.

On June 22, IT outlet TechRadar reported that 94 percent of HR managers in a joint survey by U.S. IT services company Cognizant and global education company Pearson said AI would create entirely new entry-level jobs.

A notable finding was that the nature of junior roles itself is changing. Some 96 percent of respondents said entry-level work would evolve into roles with more oversight and management. It reflected a view that jobs could shift from simple repetitive tasks to handling AI systems and reviewing results.

Many respondents also said middle managers would play a bigger role in the process. More than 90 percent said middle managers would take a key role in redesigning new jobs and deciding how work practices would change. That is because they must coordinate operational management and workforce deployment as AI is integrated into on-the-ground work.

Demand is already rising. Some 91 percent of HR managers said demand for AI training among employees increased over the past year. The survey found junior staff in particular are seeking opportunities to move into roles managing AI systems. But organisational support fell short. Only 54 percent of organisations provide AI training.

The survey also found that internal capability-building systems are not keeping pace with the spread of AI. Some 60 percent of surveyed companies acknowledged their current learning and development programmes are hard to align with the speed of AI-driven change. While entry-level hiring and retraining must be coordinated, existing talent development systems are not yet fully supporting that shift.

Hiring standards are also changing. The survey found 97 percent of respondents said adaptability, problem-solving skills and human judgement have become more important than specialised degrees. It suggests that in entry-level hiring it is becoming harder to explain competitiveness through specific major-related knowledge alone, and more emphasis is being placed on general capabilities needed to work alongside AI.

Ali Bebo (알리 베보), Pearson's chief human resources officer, said, "The more successful an organisation is, the more it will focus on building capabilities that help humans and AI work together, rather than focusing on AI replacing work." The comment shows that the core of AI adoption is shifting from workforce reduction to role redesign and building collaboration systems.

The findings differ from a recent perception that new graduates and junior workers could be among the first to face job risks from AI. They also showed that because corporate training provision is not sufficient, entry-level workers and job seekers need to strengthen their skills on their own. How quickly companies overhaul job redesign and retraining systems is expected to be a key variable in the entry-level hiring market going forward.