IBM and The Coca-Cola Company share how AI is impacting entry-level development programmes.
AI is already influencing how employers design work and the skills they seek. They are rethinking how entry-level roles create value. Yet while AI is transforming graduate and apprentice jobs, leading employers maintain that investing in early careers remains critical to future success.
This year’s ISE Student Development Survey found that while some entry-level roles will dramatically change in scope, the shift is less about jobs disappearing and more about tasks evolving.
Insights from IBM and The Coca-Cola Company reveal a similar picture of evolution rather than wholesale replacement. Both organisations are adapting roles to take advantage of AI, while continuing to recruit graduates and apprentices into their talent pipelines.
At Coca-Cola, AI is already changing how work gets done. Jake Bustos, who leads Early Careers and Employer Brand for Europe, says the nature of entry-level work is changing, with AI increasingly supporting tasks that were traditionally performed by junior employees.
“AI is increasingly supporting junior employees with first drafts, research summaries, data analysis, presentation building, workflow automation, content ideation, meeting summaries and basic insight generation,” he explains.
However, the most valuable aspects of work remain firmly human. “What remains distinctly human is the ability to ask the right question, understand context, influence stakeholders, build trust, make ethical decisions, apply judgment and connect ideas to real business priorities. AI can speed up work, but people still need to decide what matters.”
IBM is seeing a similar shift. Jenny Taylor leads the UK's Early Professional programmes. She emphasises that graduates, apprentices and interns continue to be recruited into meaningful roles across the company's technology and consulting businesses.
“Our entry level hires have always performed real roles,” she says. “The real skill now is knowing how to use AI to accelerate any routine parts while focusing time on the reasoning, problem solving and collaboration that only humans can do.”
Rather than replacing junior talent, IBM is increasingly seeing entry-level employees use AI as part of delivering solutions for clients.
New priorities for hiring
As AI becomes embedded in daily work, employers are reassessing the capabilities they prioritise in early-career recruits. ISE data shows that human skills remain vital, particularly around adaptability.
For Coca-Cola, these capabilities fall into two broad categories. The first is technical capability, including AI literacy, digital fluency, analytical thinking, problem-solving, project management and the ability to use data effectively. The second is leadership capability, encompassing resilience, adaptability, teamwork, collaboration, curiosity and the ability to learn quickly.
“The strongest early talent will not necessarily be the people who know every tool today,” says Jake. “They will be the people who can keep learning as tools evolve.”
IBM's approach is similar. While maintaining its long-standing ‘skills first’ hiring strategy, the company is placing greater emphasis on candidates' ability to learn emerging technologies and work effectively alongside AI.
“AI literacy is becoming important across both technical and non-technical roles,” says Jenny. “Not as deep expertise, but as the ability to use AI tools effectively and question their output.”
Crucially, she stresses that foundational skills have not diminished in importance. Communication, critical thinking and strong technical or domain knowledge remain essential. “For me, the shift isn’t about AI changing everything, but about showing that entry-level hires can work alongside AI, stay adaptable, and keep building their core skills.”
Business pressures are accelerating change
The business case for AI adoption is clear. Jake at Coca-Cola explained that productivity and efficiency are major drivers, “The question is: how do we create more impact given limited resources, less complexity and better use of technology?”
This is particularly important as the company pursues growth through marketing, innovation, revenue growth management and integrated execution. Early careers programmes therefore have a strategic role in building future-ready capability rather than simply filling short-term roles. “We need agile talent who can thrive in a fast-evolving organisation, use AI responsibly and focus on the work that creates the most value” says Jake.
IBM also points to a broad set of outcomes that organisations should monitor when measuring AI's impact, including productivity, quality, engagement and cost reduction.
For Coca-Cola, another metric is becoming increasingly important: learning velocity.
“How quickly can a junior employee understand the business, use the right tools and contribute meaningful work?” Jake asks. “AI should not just help people do work faster. It should help teams simplify and reduce noise, focus on what matters, improve decision-making and free people up for higher-value work.”
Rethinking work, not just adopting tools
One of the strongest messages from both employers is that AI should not be viewed simply as another technology to deploy.
Jake notes that organisations often underestimate the complexity of automation. Some tasks that appear straightforward require significant contextual understanding, stakeholder judgement or local business knowledge.
He also highlights a common misconception: that AI immediately reduces workloads. “AI can sometimes increase work before it reduces work. Teams need time to learn the tools, build confidence, check quality and redesign processes properly.”
AI should be seen as a workforce redesign opportunity. The real value is not just automation. It is simplification. AI can help teams reduce noise, focus on what matters, improve decision-making and free people up for higher-value work.
Jenny agrees that the greatest benefits come when organisations rethink how work is designed, rather than considering AI as an add-on. “Start treating it as a chance to redesign how work gets done,” she advises. “The real value comes from rethinking workflows, not just plugging AI into old processes.”
Her advice is to identify tasks suitable for automation, invest in workforce upskilling to instil confidence, redesign roles around higher-value activities and establish clear governance frameworks before scaling adoption.
The future remains human
Perhaps most notably, neither organisation sees AI as a threat to its future leadership pipeline.
IBM is actively increasing entry-level recruitment globally, with Jenny describing the quality of current hires as ‘inspirational’.
For employers concerned about the future of early careers, the lesson is clear. AI may reduce the need for some routine tasks, but it is simultaneously increasing demand for people who can exercise judgment, solve complex problems, collaborate effectively and learn continuously.
The challenge is no longer deciding whether to adopt AI. It is redesigning work so that people and technology complement each other effectively.
As Jake puts it, employers should stop asking, “Where can we plug in AI?” and start asking a more fundamental question: “How should work change now that AI exists?”