The Business Case for Early Careers

How can organisations rethink early careers to drive long-term business value in an increasingly disrupted landscape?

From tightening budgets to AI disruption and evolving talent pathways, there’s both challenges and opportunities shaping the future of early careers.

Early Careers is continually seen as a strategic growth lever, amongst employers and remains critical to sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

However, investment in early careers is facing increased scrutiny:

• 21% of employers have reduced budgets, despite over half maintaining current investment levels

• The average cost per hire has decreased year-on-year, signalling a drive for efficiency

• While 91% of employers continue recruiting graduates, only 66% recruit school and college leavers

At the same time, hiring patterns are shifting. The gap between graduate and school leaver hiring is narrowing, with organisations increasingly exploring more diverse entry routes into the workforce.

One common challenge for employers is proving the value of investing in early careers and the growing need to demonstrate ROI. 76% of organisations measure ROI, yet proving impact remains a key challenge. Early careers teams must evolve into strategic partners, building clear, data-driven narratives that connect talent investment directly to business outcomes.

The most common success metrics include:

• Retention

• Performance and progression
• Time to productivity
• Business impact

Despite strong retention rates, many organisations struggle with:

• Data availability

• Measuring productivity

• Securing stakeholder buy-in

AI has emerged as a major disruptor across attraction, assessment, and development.

Up to 79% of students use AI for interview preparation, with widespread use across applications and assessments. Plus, organisations are investing in AI, but only 5% have fully integrated it into workflows, and most pilots fail to deliver ROI.

At the same time, a new generation of “AI natives” is entering the workforce:

• Highly adaptable and fast learners

• Comfortable delegating to AI
• Willing to challenge traditional ways of working

This dynamic is reshaping recruitment and development, with increased focus on:

• New assessment approaches

• Skills-based evaluation
• Continuous, “micro-feedback” performance models

For some time now, our sector has suggested traditional pathways into employment are no longer fit for purpose, with the rise of flexible, skills-led talent pathways continuing to appear.

Key drivers include:

• Changing government policy and funding models

• Rising numbers of young people not in education, employment or training

• Growing demand for practical, work-ready skills

New pathways are emerging to meet these needs:

• Certificates of Higher Education (CertHEs)

• Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs)

• Hybrid “School Leaver Plus” programmes co-designed with employers

For organisations, this represents a significant opportunity to broaden talent pipelines, reduce costs and build skill-based workforces.

The overarching message from the latest edition of Breakfast News was a shift in mindset, suggesting that early careers is no longer just about hiring pipelines, it is about creating measurable business impact.

To succeed, organisations must:

• Adopt skills-first hiring strategies

• Build flexible, non-linear career pathways

• Embed robust measurement frameworks

• Leverage AI responsibly and effectively

• Position early careers teams as strategic advisors to the business

For support with early careers and emerging talent challenges end-to-end, or more information on the resources, please contact dan.doherty@groupgti.com

You can view the recordings, slide deck and photo gallery below.