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By Brenda Greathouse
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For generations, education and employment were connected by a familiar promise: earn a qualification, enter at the bottom, learn from experienced colleagues and advance.
Artificial intelligence is now changing the first rungs of that ladder. I believe the danger is not simply that some tasks may disappear: it is that millions of people could lose the structured beginning through which judgment, confidence and leadership are developed.
The evidence demands a measured response, not panic. A 2025 International Labour Organization study found that one in four workers worldwide is in an occupation with some exposure to generative AI, but concluded that job transformation is more likely than outright replacement. I consider that distinction crucial. Work will remain, but the route into it and the capabilities required to progress are changing.
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Early career workers can already see the mismatch. In a 2026 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, more than one-third of entry-level jobs required AI skills, nearly three times the share reported in fall 2025. Yet I do not believe technical familiarity alone will prepare someone for a career in which tools, roles, and business models may change repeatedly.
The old bargain also fails employers. Entry-level work has traditionally allowed organizations to develop their own future managers. In my view, leaders who automate junior tasks without replacing the learning those tasks once provided may save time today while weakening their future pipeline.
Remote and hybrid work can compound the problem when observation, feedback, and informal mentorship are left to chance.
I believe we need to replace the career ladder with a career lattice. A ladder assumes steady movement in one direction. A lattice allows people to move across functions, acquire new credentials, test different strengths and redirect their careers as circumstances change.
This requires what I call an ownership mindset: the capacity to plan, learn and adapt rather than wait for one employer or qualification to provide lifelong security.
A Skills Passport Program To Empower Employees And Students
Ownership, however, must not become an excuse for institutions to abandon people. I believe workers should direct their development, but universities, employers and governments must make that development visible and accessible.
The OECD reported in 2026 that governments are creating skills passports that combine education, work experience and verified capabilities in one interface. These records can help people identify gaps and show what they know beyond a job title or degree.
In my view, a useful passport must capture more than certificates and software proficiency. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that employers expect 39 percent of workers’ core skills to change by 2030. It also ranked analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, leadership, and social influence among the capabilities organizations value most.
Empathy, active listening, and lifelong learning also appeared among its core skills.
I do not consider these decorative soft skills. They are how people exercise judgment, earn trust, mentor others, and use technology responsibly.
I see AI as a tool, not a substitute for human responsibility. It can accelerate research, summarize information, or assist with routine work. It cannot be accountable for a difficult decision, understand a family’s needs, or build a durable culture of trust. When organizations confuse assistance with leadership, they risk producing efficient outputs without developing capable people.
I believe the alternative is a healthier cycle. Young workers gain clearer routes into changing careers. Employers build adaptable talent instead of repeatedly searching for ready-made experience. Families gain greater resilience when one lost role does not erase a person’s occupational identity. Businesses also gain employees who can move between operations, innovation and management as needs evolve.
I am calling on all universities and employers with more than 100 students or employees to establish a verified skills-passport program by the end of 2027, giving individuals the tools and knowledge they need to decide their own futures.
But that alone is not enough; each participant should receive an annual skills review, a written learning plan, access to at least one cross-functional project, and a named mentor who meets with them quarterly. Governments should publish common verification standards so those records can move between institutions and jobs.
If we automate the first rung and preserve everything else, the ladder will fail. If we redesign the pathway around learning, mobility, and human judgment, I believe AI can become a tool for progress without closing the door on the people expected to lead next.
Brenda Greathouse, Founder and CEO of Enveria, has spent four decades working at the intersection of information, technology, and human development.
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