HR’s role in a re-shaped landscape for entry-level roles, by Deel

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept; it is already actively reshaping the workforce. In the face of “one of the most far-reaching and rapid” transformations of workplaces in history, human resources teams and professionals must focus on skills transformation, workforce resilience, and responsible AI adoption. Doing so, Deel says, it is not just about a business’ competitiveness, but also its long-term viability.

Late last year, global payroll and HR platform Deel commissioned IDC to survey 5,500 business leaders across 22 countries. The research, AI at Work: The Role of AI in the Global Workforce underscored how AI is redefining the pace of hiring and desired skillsets for certain workers, with entry-level jobs being especially impacted.

As reported by HR Leader, AI is no longer emerging, but is “fully here”. Speaking at the time, Deel global head of policy Nick Catino said: “It’s reshaping how we work and how businesses operate. Entry-level jobs are changing, and the skills companies look for are too. Both workers and businesses need to adapt quickly.”

Technological and environmental shifts have significant implications for the HR function. HR professionals will need to be able to support businesses and organisations in developing suitable skills, enabling responsible adoption of AI platforms, and ensuring the workforce is resilient amid ongoing changes.

Here – in partnership with Deel – we explore the implications of these findings and how HR can and must respond, not only to mitigate risk for businesses, but also to seize the opportunities presented by this new landscape.

Deel’s findings

The provider’s research found, among other things, that in Australian businesses:

• 98 per cent say that AI is reshaping the pace of hiring or the desired skill sets of junior roles;
• Eight per cent have stopped hiring entry-level staff altogether, while 30 per cent have slowed their recruitment;
• 93 per cent anticipate reducing the general hiring of entry-level staff in the next 1-5 years;
• 90 per cent have experienced role changes or displacement, with 28 per cent undergoing significant workforce restructuring to integrate AI;
• 70 per cent have moved beyond pilots for AI implementation to full integration;
• Almost 75 per cent report growing difficulty recruiting and training future leaders due to the loss of entry-level learning pathways; and
• 74 per cent say fewer on-the-job development opportunities now exist for junior employees.

In conversation with HR Leader, Deel country manager in ANZ Shannon Karaka – who last year appeared on The HR Leader Podcast to discuss how businesses can leverage the borderless workforce – said that the research shows that AI has precipitated a reduction in the hiring of entry-level staff. Businesses either rethinking the nature of such roles, or pausing recruitment altogether.

To drive home the point, Karaka pointed to the tertiary sector, which he said has experienced a “rude awakening”. Traditional university degrees, he said, “are losing importance”.

“Barely over one per cent of organisations surveyed now view them as essential for entry-level roles, and businesses are prioritising hands-on, practical skills,” he said.

The top three requirements for entry-level talent, Karaka said, now include technical certifications in AI tools or coding bootcamps (68 per cent), problem-solving and critical thinking abilities (66 per cent), and a portfolio of work (58 per cent).

This, he said, is a “dramatic shift from academic credentials to real-world capability”, with employers also valuing agility, continuous learning and human creativity, alongside technical fluency.

Flow-on consequences

What the findings show, Karaka posited, is that businesses are not standing still.

“Seventy per cent are already investing in AI training programs to upskill workers and future-proof their teams, and almost a third are implementing company-wide training. Companies that act now to reskill, redesign roles, and reimagine how talent grows will be the ones best positioned to thrive in an AI-driven economy,” he said.

“Those organisations that are responding to the AI opportunity in a piecemeal, ad hoc way are likely to be seriously disadvantaged.”

Deel’s research also illustrates, Karaka continued, that the reshaping of roles is not just confined to entry-level roles, “albeit it seems the immediate impacts are most acute at this level”.

Because of AI, he said, nine in ten Australian organisations (90 per cent) have experienced role changes or displacement, with 28 per cent undergoing significant workforce restructuring to integrate AI.

“Every organisation will be impacted by AI, and every entry-level candidate should be able to demonstrate proficiency across a variety of AI tools,” he proclaimed.

The implications for workplace hierarchy are stark. Automation of entry-level jobs, Karaka said, “puts tomorrow’s leaders at risk”.

Deel’s findings show, he said, there are three headline concerns pertaining to the taking of entry-level jobs and tasks by AI: 71 per cent are worried about increased difficulty recruiting and training future leaders, 69 per cent identified fewer opportunities for on-the-job learning and development, and 62 per cent pointed to the possibility of widening socioeconomic and workforce diversity gaps.

How HR must respond

In the face of such change: how can HR pivot accordingly?

Karaka said: “We are experiencing one of the most far-reaching and rapid global workplace and economic transformations in history.”

“During this period of flux, organisations must constantly ask themselves what their organisation and industry looks like in five years’ time as a result of AI. Assess, re-evaluate, and repeat this process,” he advised.

HR teams, Karaka submitted, need to think strategically, through a risks and opportunities lens: that is, the approach must be about “mitigating risks, [and] seizing opportunities”.

Without doubt, AI comes with risks, he mused.

“For instance, 44 per cent of Australian organisations still see concerns about data privacy, ethics, or compliance as a problem. And we’ve seen some high-profile missteps in the media, particularly in the professional services sector, as the result of AI hallucinations.”

This said, he added, “perhaps the greater risk lies in inaction, in not responding to AI swiftly enough”.

“It’s not just about staying competitive; it’s about staying viable,” he warned.

There are numerous steps that employers and HR alike must take, Karaka outlined.

Firstly, he said, they must develop an iterative strategic AI plan and bring the board into the fold: “You need to work strategically and get the governance right. However, don’t let perfection be the enemy of good – aim for progress, not just planning.”

Upskilling in AI, he said, must be funded appropriately: “56 per cent of organisations we surveyed said budget constraints were inhibiting AI upskilling,” he said.

Consideration must also be given, Karaka continued, to how the HR function is using AI tools to attract, recruit, and retain staff.

Elsewhere, it is essential that the workforce be brought on the journey of change, he stressed.

“When deploying AI training, take the time to explain the rationale. 69 per cent of organisations said limited employee engagement was a barrier to effective AI training,” he said.

Finally, Karaka said, “if you find great AI educators, hold on to them: 34 per cent of organisations we surveyed struggled to find expert trainers”.

On the subject of headline priorities for HR in 2026 and beyond, Karaka noted that one of the greatest challenges for businesses right now is recruiting and keeping AI-trained talent.

“Companies often lack the right internal infrastructure to effectively utilise their talent, making them easy targets for rivals,” he said.

“There is globally a low awareness of the variety and scope of AI-related roles (66 per cent), a persistent shortage of skilled professionals for key AI positions (63 per cent), and even more concerningly, a lack of clear, long-term career development for AI roles (61 per cent).”

Additionally, he added, HR plays a pivotal role as a key facilitator of the organisational change required to adopt AI.

Looking ahead

It should not, Karaka noted, be lost on HR professionals that there also exist opportunities in the face of such challenges and responsibilities.

By automating administrative and high-volume tasks, he said, AI allows HR professionals’ time “to be redirected to what truly matters” – that is, human contact, subjective evaluation, and care for candidates and employees.

“Paradoxically, it is by adopting AI tools that HR professionals can become more human,” he said.

Moving forward, the adoption of AI is “necessitating rapid, often aggressive, changes in the workplace”, Karaka went on.

“HR is often at the centre of organisational change, and the effective adoption of AI should be no different. In this respect, HR professionals ought to be pivotal to AI adoption.”

HR professionals, he concluded, “have a crucial role to play in communicating ahead and during these changes, navigating cultural dynamics and attitudes to AI, and putting employees at the centre of the process”.

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