Businesses urged to rethink young workers entry paths

Technology and industrial leaders are using World Youth Skills Day to warn that employers risk deepening skills shortages if they do not rethink how they bring young people into the workforce.

They point to mounting pressure in cybersecurity, frontline services, and industrial sectors, and call for new digital tools and training approaches.

The comments come as policymakers and businesses focus on how artificial intelligence, automation, and tighter labour markets are reshaping entry-level work. Youth unemployment has risen in many developed economies, even as employers continue to report shortages in technical and digital roles.

Mark Williams, Managing Director, EMEA and Global Customer Success at WorkJam, said pressure on sectors that have traditionally absorbed young workers is narrowing early-career options. Retail and hospitality face rising costs and regulatory demands, leading many operators to curb hiring and focus on efficiency gains.

"As youth unemployment reaches its highest level in more than a decade, many of the industries that have traditionally provided a gateway into work, such as retail and hospitality, are under increasing pressure. Rising labour costs, tighter operating margins and growing regulatory complexity are forcing frontline employers to slow hiring, making it harder for young people to gain the workplace experience that has long been the foundation of their careers. But reducing those opportunities too aggressively risks creating longer-term workforce challenges. Businesses instead need to find the right balance between operational efficiency and continued investment in early-career talent," said Mark Williams, Managing Director, EMEA and Global Customer Success at WorkJam.

He pointed to frontline workforce technology as one response. Digital tools are increasingly combining messaging, training content, and shift information in a single system, while employers are also testing artificial intelligence to support new starters in real time.

Williams said mobile software is starting to underpin this shift. In this model, frontline workers receive onboarding materials, micro-learning modules, and task lists through an app instead of paper manuals or static intranets. AI-based assistants then answer procedural questions while staff are on shift.

Structured pathways sit alongside this operational layer. Firms are building tiered curricula and using digital credentials as staff complete modules and move into more complex roles.

"Technology has an important role to play in making this possible. By bringing together communication, learning, scheduling and task management in a single frontline operations platform, businesses can simplify and automate many of the operational processes associated with hiring and supporting entry-level employees. Accessible through a mobile app, employees have everything they need in the palm of their hand - from onboarding and training to shift information and company updates - making it particularly well suited to younger, digitally native workers. As AI becomes more embedded in frontline workplaces, it can also provide real-time guidance and answer questions in the flow of work, helping new starters become productive more quickly while reducing pressure on time-stretched managers," Williams said.

"At the same time, structured learning pathways help turn entry-level roles into genuine development opportunities. As employees complete training modules within the app, those newly acquired capabilities can be recognised through digital skills badges, which unlock opportunities to take on new responsibilities, work across different roles and progress their careers," he added.

"The businesses best placed to navigate this period successfully will be those that continue investing in both operational efficiency and frontline employee experience, rather than viewing entry-level hiring as a cost pressure. Taking an active role in supporting young people into employment through flexible entry pathways, training, and clearer progression opportunities will remain important not only from a social responsibility perspective, but also for building resilient and sustainable frontline workforces for the future," Williams said.

Industrial maintenance and engineering leaders are raising similar concerns from a different angle. Paraic O'Lochlainn, Vice President at eMaint, a Fluke brand, linked the skills debate to wider shifts in manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure.

"World Youth Skills Day is an important reminder that preparing young people for the future of work is a shared responsibility. UNESCO's mission to equip the next generation with the technical and practical skills needed to build more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable industries has never been more relevant," said Paraic O'Lochlainn, Vice President at eMaint, a Fluke brand.

O'Lochlainn said demand for technical skills is rising as AI and connected equipment spread through industrial sites. He argued that entry-level expectations have shifted faster than training systems and hiring practices.

"We need to be aware of what the workplace now asks of young people. The first rung of the career ladder is not disappearing, but it is definitely changing. Increasing AI implementation, along with shifting business priorities, means technical skills matter more than ever. Yet the answer cannot be to expect young people to arrive fluent in every new tool and already possessing the knowledge that can only come from years of experience," O'Lochlainn said.

He criticised reliance on experience-based recruitment for junior posts and urged closer collaboration between employers and educators. In his view, apprenticeships and structured on-the-job learning remain central.

"Too often, employers recruit for experience rather than potential, and then wonder why the talent pipeline is shrinking. Young people cannot build experience unless they are first given the opportunity. That's why partnerships between industry and education, along with apprenticeships and structured workplace development, remain essential," O'Lochlainn said.

"If we want young people to thrive in a world shaped by AI, we should stop asking only whether they are prepared for work and instead ask whether work is prepared to support them," he added.

The cybersecurity sector illustrates the challenge from another angle. Kara Sprague, Chief Executive Officer at HackerOne, said the widely cited global shortage of security professionals reflects how companies access talent, rather than a lack of interest from young people.

"The world is short more than four million cybersecurity professionals, and the gap is widening faster than any university program can close it. We keep talking about that number as a hiring problem. It is really a talent-access problem. The people who could close it are already out there. Most of them just don't have a door," said Kara Sprague, Chief Executive Officer at HackerOne.

Sprague argued that security research and bug bounty programmes offer an alternative entry route. Young people can develop skills on live systems, publish findings, and earn income without formal credentials.

"Security research is the door. A 19-year-old in Lagos, Manila, or Buenos Aires can learn to find a real vulnerability in a real system, get it fixed, and get paid for the work, without a security clearance, a computer-science degree, or a plane ticket. The skill is learnable. The proof is public. And the pay is based on what you find, not who you know. The numbers make the case better than I can. In the first half of this year alone, security researchers earned roughly $47 million on HackerOne, up 25 percent over the same period last year. Seventy-seven researchers have now earned more than a million dollars each for their work. This is a real profession with real earning power, built on skill rather than pedigree. We see where it starts every day. Some of the strongest researchers in the world began as teenagers reading writeups and testing themselves on free programs, and they built a track record before they were old enough to rent a car. They didn't wait for permission. They built it one finding at a time," Sprague said.

She framed World Youth Skills Day as a test of whether institutions can match young people's appetite for self-directed learning.

"That is what World Youth Skills Day is actually about: not the promise of opportunity, but a working path to it. For young people deciding where to point their curiosity, security research offers something rare. Real problems, real stakes, and a global stage that pays attention the moment you're good, regardless of where you started," Sprague said.

"The talent gap won't be solved by the same institutions that created it. It will be solved by the next generation of security researchers, and by the companies willing to let them prove it," she added.