The impact of artificial intelligence on guidance and employment in Europe: a new frontier for equal opportunities

Artificial intelligence is no longer a promise for the future. It is a reality that is redefining how we learn, how we work and, undoubtedly, how we access employment.

In Europe, this transformation is advancing at an accelerated pace. According to INCO Group’s report “AI at Work in Europe”, we are not only facing a technological change, but also a profound reconfiguration of the labour market, especially in entry-level jobs.

For Fundación Exit, this diagnosis is not abstract. It has a direct impact on the lives of thousands of young people in situations of social vulnerability who are trying to take their first step into the labour market.

First jobs are no longer what they used to be

The most critical impact of artificial intelligence is not taking place in highly qualified jobs, but in the place where almost every professional journey begins: the first job.

For decades, first jobs have been a relatively stable entry point: basic tasks, progressive learning and practical guidance. That model is changing.

The INCO report points to a clear trend: automation is not only eliminating isolated tasks, but also reducing the volume of basic functions that historically served as a gateway into the labour market.

This is especially relevant because a first job is not just a work experience. It is a learning structure:

• learning work routines
• acquiring progressive responsibility
• developing social skills in a professional environment
• understanding organisational dynamics
• building confidence and future employability

If these initial tasks are automated or disappear, the effect is not only technical. It has a direct consequence: the first step of a professional career is narrowing. In other words, the labour market is losing intermediate learning spaces. In the past, junior employment functioned as a “protected environment” where making mistakes, learning and progressing were part of the process.

With automation, simple tasks disappear or are outsourced to systems, teams become smaller, productivity demands are higher from the outset and the margin for error is reduced.

This may generate a new phenomenon: a more abrupt transition between education and employment.

What this means in Spain

If we apply these trends to the Spanish context, the impact becomes even more significant due to three structural factors:

1. High structural youth unemployment

Spain already starts from a situation where access to a first job is more difficult than the European average. If first jobs become even more limited because of automation:

• competition increases for fewer entry-level positions
• first work experiences are delayed
• the time between studies and stable employment grows longer

2. Labour market segmentation

The Spanish labour market has a strong dual structure:

• highly qualified jobs with accelerated digitalisation
• low-skilled jobs with high turnover and precarious conditions

AI may reinforce this gap by destroying part of the basic digital entry-level jobs without automatically creating equivalent learning alternatives.

3. Dependence on first jobs for future employability

In Spain, as in other Southern European countries, the first job plays a decisive role in future career trajectories. If that first job arrives later, becomes more demanding or offers less training, the cumulative effect is clear: career development is weakened from the very beginning.

AI does not replace employment, but it redefines access

One of the report’s most important messages is that artificial intelligence is not eliminating entire professions, but transforming tasks within jobs.

This means that the key is no longer “which profession to choose”, but rather which skills allow people to work with AI, not against it.

Companies are incorporating artificial intelligence tools into almost every sector: from marketing to programming, data analysis and customer service. And this is no longer a future scenario. In a significant share of job offers in Europe, the use of AI already appears as a requirement or a desirable skill. In other words, AI is no longer a specialisation, but a new basic language of work.

A new type of inequality: the artificial intelligence gap

One of the report’s key findings is that the main risk is not technological, but social.

The adoption of artificial intelligence is advancing faster than people’s ability to train for it. This may be creating a new divide. Not between those who have access to the internet and those who do not, but between those who know how to work with artificial intelligence and those who do not. And this divide is not neutral.

It particularly affects young people who are already in disadvantaged situations: less access to digital training, fewer professional networks and fewer opportunities to be exposed to technological environments.

In this context, equal opportunities no longer depend only on talent or motivation, but also on access to key skills for the jobs of the future.

Human value is not disappearing, it is shifting

Although automation is transforming many technical tasks, the report also highlights an important change: the value of human work is shifting towards new competencies. Companies are increasingly looking for skills such as:

• critical thinking
• adaptability
• effective communication
• data interpretation
• complex problem-solving
• supervision of automated systems

In other words, artificial intelligence does not eliminate human value, but it does force us to redefine it.

The challenge is no longer simply carrying out tasks, but understanding, interpreting and improving them in collaboration with intelligent systems.

An opportunity that must not lead to exclusion

Artificial intelligence can be a tool for inclusion if it is properly supported, but the report warns of a clear risk: without training and guidance, AI may widen existing inequalities in access to employment.

As we have highlighted throughout this article, artificial intelligence is redefining employment in Europe from the ground up. First jobs, traditionally the gateway into the labour market, are undergoing profound changes. For young people in situations of social vulnerability, this transformation represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is not to stop the transformation, but to ensure that no one is left behind.

At Fundación Exit, we believe that the future of employment must be built without leaving any young person behind. And that means supporting them not only towards employment, but also towards the skills that will define that employment.

Because in the age of artificial intelligence, equal opportunities begin with access to knowledge.