{"id":586916,"date":"2026-07-15T12:51:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T12:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/586916\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T12:51:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T12:51:29","slug":"what-effect-is-ai-having-on-entry-level-roles-in-ireland-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/586916\/","title":{"rendered":"What effect is AI having on entry-level roles in Ireland? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although there is not necessarily a collapse in graduate hiring in Ireland, there is certainly a \u201ctightening of the market\u201d due to the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI)<\/a>, according to recruitment professionals.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s graduates are entering a workforce \u201cshaped by AI\u201d, they say, with employers increasingly turning to automation for tasks traditionally fulfilled by entry-level recruits.<\/p>\n

This is resulting in fewer traditional, \u201clarger\u201d graduate intakes and stronger competition, meaning those entering the workforce must adapt.<\/p>\n

That is according to Breda Dooley, head of recruitment at Matrix Recruitment, who says employers are using AI and automation for \u201crepetitive and time-consuming\u201d tasks, though they are not \u201celiminating entire roles\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers are raising the bar for entry-level hires, and this means graduate roles are becoming more diverse,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Competition for jobs is \u201cundoubtedly increasing\u201d, Dooley says, with today\u2019s graduates requiring stronger commercial awareness, better communication skills and the ability to interpret data, \u201cnot just process it\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Workplace trends 2026: Increase in workers \u2018unfit\u2019 to attend office, but fit to work from homeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

This is particularly the case in accounting, human resources (HR) and administrative roles, Dooley says, where some tasks traditionally assigned to interns or graduates are now \u201cpartially automated\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, there are fewer opportunities to learn solely through routine on-the-job tasks, but AI is designed to work alongside employees and improve efficiency, not replace them entirely,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Noting a definite \u201ctightening of the market\u201d, rather than a \u201ccollapse in graduate hiring\u201d, Dooley says her firm is seeing fewer large-scale graduate intake programmes in favour of more \u201ctargeted hiring\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cGraduate opportunities still exist, but as companies focus on controlling costs, these roles are increasingly linked to immediate business needs rather than long-term talent pipeline building,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Trayc Keevans, global foreign direct investment director and head of research at Morgan McKinley, says the recruitment agency is not seeing fewer graduate opportunities \u201cas a whole\u201d but rather a \u201credistribution of them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is certainly making some traditional graduate employers more selective, but it\u2019s also creating opportunities for a much wider range of businesses to compete for graduate talent,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"How can tech offer solutions for obesity and weight management?<\/p>\n

Graduate recruitment in Ireland has historically been heavily concentrated among a relatively small number of employers, she says, particularly the \u201cBig Four\u201d \u2013 PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY- and large multinational graduate programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile some of those employers have become more selective, the opportunities for graduates we are now seeing as of 2026 span a much wider range of sectors,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The greatest impact of AI is being seen within organisations that have invested most heavily in automation, Keevans says, which is most evident in \u201cparts of the Big Four and professional services, particularly audit\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, that trend has not yet been replicated across the \u201cwider industry ecosystem\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost organisations are still at a much earlier stage of AI adoption and are continuing to recruit graduates to build capability while introducing AI into their businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Almost half of Irish workers \u2018worry about AI taking their jobs\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Technology remains one of the strongest areas of graduate demand, she says, while retail is another sector undergoing \u201csignificant transformation\u201d as companies continue to invest in a range of areas, including digital commerce and customer insight.<\/p>\n

AI is also creating new career opportunities for graduates, Keevans says, noting that roles such as \u201cprompt engineering\u201d are beginning to emerge.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor graduates, the message is encouraging. The market is becoming more competitive, but it is also becoming broader,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

While there is \u201ccertainly a risk\u201d associated with the effects of AI on graduate and entry-level opportunities, Keevans does not believe they will struggle to enter the workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greater challenge is ensuring that organisations continue to provide meaningful early career development as AI changes the nature of entry-level work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Although AI brings clear productivity benefits, employers should ensure learning opportunities are \u201creplaced rather than removed\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect to see graduate programmes evolving with this change. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe organisations that will benefit most from AI will be those that use it to reduce repetitive work while allowing it to augment graduates\u2019 work, enabling them to become involved in more meaningful projects earlier in their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Pay transparency rules could cause conflict in workplaces, say HR and law expertsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Keevans argues there is also an important role for Ireland\u2019s education system, saying AI literacy should be introduced \u201cmuch earlier\u201d at both second and third level, while also placing an even greater emphasis on critical thinking and communication skills as well as adaptability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the capabilities that will continue to differentiate people in an AI-enabled workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keevans believes employers that significantly reduce investment in early-career hiring today risk creating a shortage of experienced professionals in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw an element of that after the post-Celtic Tiger crash when professional services firms reduced their intake in response to the global economic downturn and were caught wanting for these skills when the market bounced back.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have work-related questions, from how to deal with burnout to running your own business, The Irish Times Work Q&A column is here to help. You can use the form below to submit your question. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less and please include a phone number. Your name and contact details will be confidential and only be used for verification purposes. Any details about your employer will also be anonymised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although there is not necessarily a collapse in graduate hiring in Ireland, there is certainly a \u201ctightening of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":563100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,289,290,18,46878,19,17,82,162346,70755],"class_list":["post-586916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-eire","tag-graduates","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology","tag-work-q-a","tag-your-stories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116924088038442175","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}