29% of leaders would not hire today’s entry-level employees – General Assembly’s CEO explains why

Soft skills are an essential part of any employee’s toolkit – but is there a shortage amongst entry-level employees?

Only 22% of company leaders share that they have confidence that entry-level employees are very or completely prepared to do their jobs – a 12% increase for 2024 according to a new report from the General Assembly.

The perception of the readiness of entry-level employees from other workers remains unchanged, with 38% saying they believe they’re well-prepared.

But what does this mean for the future of skills in the workplace? In an exclusive conversation with Daniele Grassi, General Assembly’s CEO, UNLEASH explores more.

How is AI impacting soft skills?

More than half of US and UK leaders believe that entry-level employees are not prepared for the workforce with only 47% showing confidence in their ability, compared to 31% reporting they don’t feel confident at all, according to General Assembly’s new report.

Consequently, 29% of leaders would not hire today’s entry-level employees.

Additionally, 56% of leaders believe the lack of soft skills is the key reason why entry-level employees are unprepared to enter the workforce. This figure is up from 50% in 2024.

42% of employees in non-leadership positions also agreed with this idea, up from 37% in 2024.

"Dismissing the development of entry-level talent is a short-sighted approach that will ultimately lead businesses into an unprecedented skills gap,” Grassi tells UNLEASH.

While AI can handle many repetitive tasks traditionally handled by less experienced workers, it can't replace human workers' soft skills and domain knowledge, both of which tend to be developed on the job and through targeted training and mentorship programs.While AI can handle many repetitive tasks traditionally handled by less experienced workers, it can't replace human workers' soft skills and domain knowledge, both of which tend to be developed on the job and through targeted training and mentorship programs.

“That's why forward-thinking organizations are investing in enterprise-wide upskilling that includes entry-level workers.

“Historically, younger employees have been some of the quickest to embrace emerging technologies and today's cohort of entry-level employees could very well be at the forefront of the AI-driven transformation of the workplace.”

In addition, leaders in the US reported a higher skills gap (58%) than those in the UK (41%), with the biggest gaps showing at large employers with over 1,000 employees (64%).

This gap highlights why 83% of employees feel that it’s “at least somewhat likely” that AI will be able to perform entry-level jobs, with 48% sharing they think “it’s very or completely likely”.

Of course, this raises the questions: Who is responsible for employees acquiring these soft skills?

The majority (78%) of leaders believe that employees should take control of their own learning, an increase from 74% in 2024. In comparison, 61% shared that employees should be responsible for this learning, an increase from 66% in 2024.

What’s more, 62% of employees said that the responsibility should fall equally on employees and employers.

This data begs the next question – is your business doing enough to provide soft skills to employees?