AI Isn’t Killing Entry-Level Jobs. It’s Rewriting the Playbook 

Technology changes everything eventually and has always shaped how we work. The difference today is the speed at which that change is unfolding. Advances in AI are accelerating the world of work at a speed most organizations and individuals are currently struggling to grasp. 

In Canada, headlines often focus on the threat of the elimination of roles and concerns that younger generations will struggle to enter the labour market, yet far less attention is paid to the incredible opportunity for progress. 

I’ve been in business for five decades, just over half of which have been in an analogue world. I remember the advent of email over 20 years ago. In most instances, the companies that were deeply skeptical and hung on to the old and familiar didn’t survive the transition. Progress moved on without them. 

Today, we are at a similar inflection point. AI is already boosting productivity, opening up entirely new career paths, and challenging the status quo. A study by Vector Institute reveals that Canada is projected to achieve $298 billion in AI-driven economic growth and add 41,500 new jobs annually over the next decade, with a 1.5% boost in national labour productivity by 2035.

The reality is that the real engine behind this growth is talent, and the youngest members of the workforce play a huge role in this. As organizations race to capture AI’s economic potential, it is younger employees who are helping to drive adoption. 

Gen Z Play Pivotal Role in AI Adoption in the Workplace

International Workplace Group (IWG)conducted research in Canada that shows Gen Z are actually playing a pivotal role in driving AI adoption across the workforce. It found that over half (55%) of younger workers are actively helping older colleagues learn and use AI tools from hands-on coaching to practical tips that embed AI into everyday workflows. This reverse mentoring is unlocking real gains in productivity and collaboration. 

In fact, 73% of workers who use AI report that it is saving them time, with an average of 47 minutes gained per day, the equivalent of nearly an extra day per week. Additionally, 61% of directors report that AI innovations introduced by younger colleagues have unlocked new business opportunities and a remarkable 78% of Gen Z workers say AI is accelerating their career progression. 

Yet despite this, anxiety dominates much of the conversation. There seems to be a growing fear that entry-level jobs are being automated away, leaving young people without the stepping stones they need to progress into senior roles. In KPMG’s Generative AI Adoption Index Survey, 64% of Canadian students say they are concerned about entering the job market, as AI has eliminated entry-level roles. While that reality makes some people nervous, we live in a world where AI creates a wealth of new roles and opportunities, and many Gen Z workers in Canada are stepping up as leaders in their workplace.

AI-enhanced learning is accelerating learning in ways we’ve never seen, which is allowing young people to move up the learning curve faster than previous generations. The chairs are going to move around, and while there could be a small decrease in employment, the reality is that jobs are going to change. Young people will have to be much more focused on what their entry point will be if they’re coming into the job market, let’s say in a year, two years, three years or five years’ time.

Moore’s Law and Exponential Progress 

To understand what’s happening now, it’s worth looking back. In the early 1970s, Intel released the 4004, the world’s first commercial microprocessor. Soon after, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore noticed something curious: the number of transistors on a chip seemed to double roughly every two years. Moore didn’t intend this as a marketing slogan, but it captured something profound: Progress wasn’t linear; it was exponential.

That observation became known as Moore’s Law. The message was simple and powerful: If you wait two years, you won’t get a small upgrade; you’ll get a dramatic leap forward. 

The Velocity of Business 

This is the mistake we’re making with AI today. We’re treating it like a modest efficiency tool, when in reality it’s part of an exponential curve – the most significant shift I’ve seen since starting Regus in 1989. Exponential change doesn’t just tweak jobs; it changes the velocity of business itself.

I’ve seen this before. With the advent of email, I can remember respectable companies insisting they would never adopt it. They didn’t trust it. They said the postal service had worked for centuries, so why change? But email was progress. And once email, smartphones and the internet were used properly, business didn’t slow down – it sped up massively.

AI will do the same. The assumption many people are making is that business will continue moving at the same pace, just with fewer people. That’s wrong. When individuals can do ten or twenty times more work in a day, organizations don’t stand still. They expand what’s possible.

Yes, jobs will change. There may be fewer of them in certain categories, and entry points into the workforce will look different. Young people will need to be more intentional about where and how they start their careers. But technological shifts in the past didn’t reduce economic activity; they reshaped it. People had to develop new skills to demonstrate their value, and those who adapted moved faster than everyone else.

AI is also a far better teacher than the old model of learning by osmosis. AI-enhanced training can get people up the learning curve faster than ever before, increasingly starting in the classroom, well before someone lands their first job. By removing drudgery and creating massive efficiencies, AI frees people to do what humans do best: think creatively, solve problems, and come up with new ideas.

In an AI World, Self-Starters Win 

One of the qualities I look for in future talent is their ability to use AI effectively, recognizing how this can turbocharge a business’s potential. People who already have a subscription to an AI tool and are actively learning how to leverage it today are at an advantage. They can bring new skills, energy and innovation to rapidly expanding businesses, driving further productivity and growth. 

Young people need to think ahead and ask themselves: “Where will I get the best career experience in this new world?” “Do I have the skills that future companies will value?” In the past, ambitious employees learned to program in the evenings or picked up additional qualifications alongside their jobs. That mindset is more critical than ever now. 

While 77% of Canadian students in a KPMG study say they want their educational institution to offer courses on how to use AI, waiting for institutions to lead isn’t enough. Seek out an AI club. Join a community. Teach yourself the tools that are transforming industries. Take responsibility for your own development.

Paving the Way Ahead

Every major technological shift throughout history follows the same pattern: many cling to what they know, while a smaller group adapts early and captures the gains. What makes this moment different is speed. The velocity of business is increasing faster than at any point in recent memory.

AI, like Intel’s early chips, is a foundational technology, one that compounds and reshapes everything built on top of it. It’s not a distant possibility or a passing trend; it’s already the engine of scale and competitive advantage.

Those willing to engage, learn and experiment with AI now will find that opportunity expands rather than contracts. History is clear on this: in periods of exponential change, those who move first gain the most.