The experience gap reshaping workforce development
Key points:
- • Pressure on some entry-level roles is raising questions about where new workers will gain the experience needed to advance.
- • Internships, practicums, and instruction in responsible AI use can strengthen preparation, alongside continued training from employers.
- • More accessible degree pathways can broaden the talent pool, but completion and local job opportunities must work together.
October 2026 — Employers speaking with Frank Buckless, dean of NC State University’s Poole College of Management, describe a change in their organizations: fewer positions at the bottom and a greater reliance on experienced workers in the middle. That raises a difficult question in education. If companies offer fewer opportunities to learn on the job, how will new graduates build the experience employers want?
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Buckless uses a diamond-shaped organizational chart to describe what those employers are seeing. “Those entry-level jobs based on basic or repetitive skills are disappearing,” he told Invest: Raleigh-Durham.
That concern does not describe every industry or employer. But it captures a challenge facing workforce development: preparing people for jobs that increasingly require judgment and practical experience, even at the start of a career.
A changing starting point
Recent graduates are entering a difficult market. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported unemployment of about 5.6% among recent college graduates in 2Q26, with 42% working in occupations that typically do not require a college degree.
Those figures do not establish that AI is responsible. Research from the Stanford Digital Economy Lab identifies weaker hiring of young workers in AI-exposed occupations, while emphasizing that the findings do not demonstrate widespread displacement or establish causation.
Saby Mitra, dean of business and management at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, sees a potential challenge ahead. Generative AI could make workers productive enough that companies need fewer entry-level hires, he told Invest: Jacksonville.
In San Antonio, Romanita Matta-Barrera, chief impact officer at greater Regional Economic Partnership, also sees signs of AI disruption in some entry-level professional services jobs. At the same time, she points to continued healthcare demand and manufacturers’ use of robotics to improve productivity.
The implications vary by occupation. Across educators and employers, the common question is how to preserve opportunities to develop skills as the work itself changes.
Experience before the first job
Poole College places students in practicums that involve real company projects, giving them practical experience while faculty receive feedback from employers. Warrington requires an internship and is opening a Jacksonville campus to strengthen connections with industry.
These experiences cannot substitute for years on the job. They can, however, help students understand workplace expectations and apply what they have learned before entering a full-time role.
Genesys Works begins that process in high school. Its Houston program starts working with students near the end of their junior year and supports them through the transition to their first full-time professional role, often six or seven years later.
“Organizations aren’t simply hiring differently; they’re redefining what entry-level talent needs to know on day one,” Daphane Carter, executive director of Genesys Works, told Invest: Houston.
Carter shared that about 47% of interns are subsequently hired by the companies where they interned. That provides one example of how structured work experience can connect students with employers.
The approach also requires businesses to participate in developing talent. If employers expect graduates to arrive with experience, internships, mentoring, and supervised projects become part of building their own future workforce.
Judgment alongside technical skills
As technology changes, educators say employers continue to value skills that help workers adapt.
Amy Bosley, president of Northwest Vista College, hears consistent requests for critical thinking, quantitative and qualitative reasoning, problem-solving, and teamwork, she explained in an interview with Invest: San Antonio.
Buckless similarly emphasizes graduates’ ability to evaluate AI-generated work. Using a tool quickly is only part of the task; workers also need enough subject knowledge to recognize errors and challenge its conclusions.
Paul Maurer, president and CEO of Montreat College, says company leaders emphasize character, communication, and adaptability alongside job-specific training. “They want people of character who can think on their feet, work well with others, and write a one-page memo,” he said.
Carter frames responsible AI use in similar terms. “AI should never think for you; it should think with you,” she said.
At St. David’s School in Raleigh, some assignments permit structured AI use, while others require independent work so students can compare the experiences. Kenneth Cheeseman, head of school, told Invest: Raleigh-Durham that preparation must extend beyond credentials: “The Triangle does not simply need more educated people. It needs more wise people.”
Making education accessible
Preparing students for work also means helping them complete their education.
Bosley describes Northwest Vista students balancing classes with employment, parenting, and caregiving. “Time is the enemy of degree completion,” she said.
One response is to let students begin earlier. Northwest Vista reported 54% growth in dual-credit enrollment in one year, reaching more than 11,000 students. These programs allow high school students to earn college credit, potentially reducing the time and expense required after graduation.
In Pittsburgh, Carlow University President Kathy Humphrey is advocating for greater flexibility in degree requirements. In an interview with Invest: Pittsburgh, she questioned whether every bachelor’s degree needs 120 credit hours: “If someone can complete a degree in 90 credit hours, why require 120?”
The workforce implications depend on what a shorter program delivers. Reducing time and cost can broaden access, but a shorter pathway must still provide the knowledge and practical preparation graduates need.
These efforts address a different obstacle from reduced hiring. They can help more students reach the job market; employers must still offer opportunities to enter it.
Connecting preparation with opportunity
For regional leaders, workforce development links education with the ability to attract and retain employers.
Lee Lilley, North Carolina’s secretary of commerce, says companies frequently ask whether the state can supply the workers they need.
“You cannot do that unless you have great talent and the ability to train, reskill, and upskill that workforce,” he told Invest: Raleigh-Durham.
In San Antonio, greater’s MOMENTUM:2030 strategy includes a goal of raising regional educational attainment to 45% by 2030. That effort can expand the pool of qualified residents, while local employment opportunities help determine whether they stay.
The challenge runs in both directions. Regions need workers prepared for available jobs, and new workers need employers willing to help them develop. As expectations for entry-level talent change, a stronger connection between education and employment will depend on both.
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