How can companies find and promote the AI-savvy employees they need in the future when there are fewer and fewer positions for entry-level professionals? With the help of a future-oriented strategy for young talent.

Fewer opportunities to start a career

The situation on the labor market has deteriorated significantly for applicants with less than five years of professional experience. SAP studies show that the number of job offers in the ten most common entry-level positions fell by 35 percent in 2025 compared to 2024.*

HR leaders attribute this year-on-year decline to, among other things, budget restrictions, hiring freezes and uncertainty about the return on investment in young talent as AI increasingly takes over manual, routine tasks.

Flood of applications

AI has also transformed the recruiting process: Given the limited number of job openings, more than half of young applicants are using AI in their job search – a process that takes an average of eight months, with applicants often submitting more than 300 applications submit.*

Human resources is also under pressure when selecting candidates: since 2021, the number of applicants per entry-level role has doubled. In addition, a high number of applicants are submitting AI-generated resumes and applications, making it increasingly difficult to filter out reliable information about candidates' skills, suitability and potential.

This situation is stressful for both HR teams and applicants. In addition, the entire process is error-prone and unsustainable in the long term. And for companies that don't act quickly enough, this can have far-reaching consequences.

HR managers express concerns

If you play the current scenario through to its logical conclusion, then the following question arises: What happens when the pool of young talent is exhausted at some point? HR managers are already all too aware of this risk. “If we don’t invest more in young talent, create us ultimately “Our pipeline of young talent is decreasing,” says an executive responsible for global early talent programs at a high-tech company is.*

And a senior HR director of a high-tech company commented: “If we continue to move in this direction and do not offer young talent opportunities to start their careers, there will be a massive shortage of skilled workers in the future.”

Comprehensive cuts in the recruitment of young talent will lead to skills gaps – and this will have its consequences later on, as companies will find it difficult to build skills internally, retain knowledge and promote future managers.

HR managers particularly warn that the AI ​​experience of young talent is being underestimated. If companies fail to understand this group's expertise in this area, they may be missing an important opportunity to unlock AI innovation and expand AI use internally.

Tackle the challenge

HR managers can now act more purposefully and strategically and develop their strategies for promoting young talent from the ground up redesign. With the right approach, companies can secure competitive advantages.

You should proceed in three steps:

Step 1: Entry Roles redefine

Traditionally, junior staff were primarily tasked with repetitive, routine tasks. However, combined with a frustratingly slow pace of career advancement, this leads to declining morale and commitment.

That's why a better strategy is in order, because the way people work is changing rapidly. It is no longer appropriate to assign annoying routine tasks to junior staff. Rather, career starters must have the opportunity to develop quickly and take on important tasks that contribute to solving business challenges.

Human resources has the opportunity to redesign entry-level positions and provide support, assistance and tools to help new employees do more meaningful work. This includes, for example, receiving the appropriate guidance for working on more important projects, taking care of customers and even being responsible for certain processes from start to finish.

This approach not only enables young talent to make a more positive contribution to the company more quickly, but in combination with clear goals, regular feedback and occasional coaching, it also promotes motivation and commitment.

Step 2: Technology as a basis for strategies

Hiring and developing young talent has become more complex – from evaluating AI-generated applications to redesigning roles and meeting goals in a rapidly changing business context. As the workflows of young professionals change, leaders need tools to identify the new skills needed for long-term success and to demonstrate the value of their programs for young talent.

And this is where technology comes into play. During the hiring process, technology can help employers identify the aspects that really matter from the mass of AI-generated applications in order to shortlist specific candidates and make more informed hiring decisions. Technology can also help you stay in touch with other promising candidates who have applied, in case opportunities arise again.

And once young professionals start their jobs, modern technology can help track their participation in support programs and their progress toward goals. It also offers individual learning opportunities and helps to demonstrate the profitability of investments in young talent. In one Quick guide We have put together research-based recommendations for using technology to select and promote young talent.

Step 3: Realign the business case for young talent

The way young talent works is changing – as are the technologies they use to do it. HR leaders therefore agree that the current business case for investing in young professionals needs to be reconsidered. Many companies are focused on closing critical skills gaps and implementing comprehensive AI transformation projects. Although young professionals lack experience, they show a high willingness to learn and want to understand how they can work effectively with AI.

Research has also shown that by using modern tools and technologies, young talent is able to contribute to important and value-added tasks much faster than before.

A contemporary business case for young talent is characterized by the focus on faster integration into meaningful work, reducing critical skills gaps and leveraging the AI ​​skills of young professionals.

Individual strategy for develop young talents

HR managers cannot sit idly by and watch the potential of an AI-savvy generation go untapped – they must now set the course for building a future-ready workforce.

For more information on this topic, see our report “Early talent in peril: How HR can strategically select and develop the workforce of tomorrow“.In ours Research Library publish We will be conducting phase two of this study later this year.

Dr. Autumn D. Krauss is Chief Scientist at SAP SuccessFactors.