Published on the 28/08/2025 | Written by Heather Wright

Tech sector may be among first to restructure entry-level intake…

The idea of AI stealing our jobs is overblown, with almost all jobs instead augmented by AI according to a ‘landmark’ new Australian study, but the impact will nonetheless be big, and yes, some people will be ‘displaced’ particularly those in administrative and clerical roles.

Jobs and Skills Australia’s GenAI Capacity Study – billed as the country’s first whole-of-labour market study focused on the potential opportunities and challenges of GenAI for the workforce says the technology is more likely to augment human work than replace it.

“Our research shows that the complementary human skills are increasingly in demand.”

The report notes that among the Australian companies reporting group retrenchments of 15 or more employees in 2024, just 12 cited GenAI or related to technological change as a reason.

“Many of these companies also retained a portion of the affected workforce and upskilled employees, ultimately transferring them to different divisions within the company,” the GenAI Capacity Study says.

“Current genAI technologies are more likely to enhance workers efforts in completing tasks, rather than replace them, especially in high-skilled occupations. The higher potential for automation is concentrated in routine clerical and administrative roles.”

And it’s those roles, including data entry, record keeping, accounting, marketing and comms that are among the most ‘vulnerable’, while those among the most vulnerable in society, including older workers, First Nations Australians and those with disabilities, may also face ‘disproportionate risks’. Likewise, those in entry-level occupations could be affected, with the report noting that some large tech companies have suggested they will significantly reduce their intake of junior and potentially mid-level software engineers, or adjust how they recruit entry level digital workers. But the report also notes that there is not strong evidence to suggest that’s occurring ‘to the same extent’ in Australia.

Barney Glover, commissioner of Jobs and Skills Australia, says while we haven’t yet seen an impact on entry-level roles in Australia, it will be important that the labour market continues to provide these valuable formative roles, which provide foundational experiences in their careers.

He says genAI is a ‘tremendous’ opportunity for the country and workforce to boost its productivity and create new ways of working.

“We need to be conscious that generative AI has the potential to augment the work we do, as well as to automate some tasks. This has the potential to displace people in some jobs, particularly administrative and clerical roles.”

Glover notes that just like any other technological change, getting people trained up will be important to enable transition to new roles, with adapability critical for Australia to realise the benefits from AI.

“Ensuring that we have the right digital and AI skills for a modern labour market will be essential, and our research shows that the complementary human skills are increasingly in demand.”

The report includes 10 recommendations, including the Australian governments committing to digital and AI capability uplift across the entire skills system as a priority, and ensuring foundational digital skills and AI literacy are included in foundation skills initiatives while also acknowledging that genAI will raise the importance of all foundational skills including literacy and numeracy. The report also calls for governments to prioritise efforts to embed contemporary data, digital and AI skills in qualifications.

Those recommendations, and others around increasing digital and AI skills, were supported by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with the Australian Industry Group, Business Council of Australia and Council of Small Business organisations of Australia.

In a joint statement, the group said the government needs to play a critical role in supporting uplift of skills needed to ensure businesses have access to workers with the relevant skills.

But four of the reports recommendations, proposing a government-led, centralised stewardship of Australia’s AI and digital tech transition, have been panned by the group, which says if adopted, the recommendations would undermine technology adoption by businesses of all sizes and harm workers, businesses and the Australian community.

“The recommendations propose a government-led, centralised stewardship of Australia’s AI and digital tech transition, creating additional bureaucratic layers over market and non-market sectors. This could include imposing an entirely new government institution, sidelining market decisions for top-down processes,” the industry bodies said.

“This approach would undermine businesses’ ability to run their own operations and choose suitable technology for their business, workforce and the challenges and opportunities they face.”

Somewhat ironically, the Australian report’s release coincided with the release of a US report which shows that at a time when demand continues to outpace talent availability, nearly 30 percent of tech professionals are considering leaving the sector – and they’re blaming the use of AI in the hiring process.

The AI Trust Gap looked at how AI is reshaping trust in the hiring process as AI screening tools proliferate.

The issue the report notes, isn’t in the technology itself, but rather in how it is being implemented and perceived by candidates.

Seventy-eight percent of 212 US tech workers surveyed say today’s practices pressure candidates to exaggerate qualifications just to get noticed, and 92 percent believe AI tools miss qualified candidates who don’t optimise for keywords. With that in mind, 65 percent have modified their resumes specifically to improve their chances with AI tools.

Dice, which commissioned the report, says perceptions of AI screening have triggered a ‘gaming arms race’ where candidates believe deception is necessary for success and authenticity is rendered a competitive disadvantage.

Professionals report removing accomplishments and personality from resumes, spending hours keyword-optimising applications and using AI tools to mass-apply to positions they know nothing about.

The report says the solution lies in implementing human-AI hybrid approaches that maintain efficiency while restoring trust.

“Organisations that get this right will capture talent that competitors are actively alienating.”