How AI Is Changing Entry-Level Jobs and What Young Cameroonians Can Do to Prepare

For generations, the transition from education into employment has followed a relatively familiar pattern. Young people complete their studies, apply for entry-level positions, and gradually build professional experience by taking on routine responsibilities. These early roles provide an opportunity to understand how organisations operate, develop practical skills, and gain the experience needed to progress into more demanding positions.

Artificial intelligence is beginning to change that pathway. Tasks that once provided an introduction to professional work, including preparing reports, conducting basic research, organising information, responding to customer enquiries, and producing initial drafts of documents, can increasingly be completed or supported by generative AI tools.

For young people preparing to enter the workforce, this raises important questions about what employers will expect from new graduates and how they can develop relevant experience in a changing labour market.

The debate around AI and employment is often dominated by opposing predictions. Some suggest that artificial intelligence will eliminate large numbers of jobs, while others argue that it will create new opportunities and make workers more productive. Research suggests a more complicated picture, with the effects varying considerably across occupations, industries, and countries.

For young Cameroonians, understanding these developments matters. While the country's employment landscape differs significantly from that of more developed economies, the growing use of AI in professional settings could influence both the opportunities available to young people and the capabilities they need to access them.

What research tells us about AI and employment

In May 2025, the International Labour Organization (ILO) published Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure, a study examining how generative AI could affect occupations across different countries and economic sectors.

The research found that approximately one in four jobs worldwide is exposed to generative AI to some degree. However, the ILO concluded that most affected jobs are more likely to undergo changes in their tasks and responsibilities than disappear entirely, partly because they still involve activities requiring human input, judgement, and interaction.

The extent of exposure also differs significantly between countries. In high-income economies, approximately 34% of employment falls within occupations potentially exposed to generative AI, compared with 11% in low-income countries. These differences largely reflect the nature of employment, with office-based, administrative, and digitally intensive occupations generally more exposed than many forms of manual and agricultural work.

This distinction is particularly relevant in Cameroon, where employment is heavily concentrated in the informal economy. According to the National Institute of Statistics' 2021 employment survey, approximately 86.6% of jobs are in the informal sector, including activities in agriculture, commerce, and small-scale services.

Although many of these occupations currently have lower levels of direct exposure to generative AI, the situation is different for some of the formal employment opportunities that university graduates typically pursue.

Administrative work, customer service, data entry, basic accounting, content development, and translation are among the areas where AI tools can increasingly perform tasks that previously required considerable human effort. These occupations also represent potential entry points into the labour market for young people completing their studies.

The distinction between occupational exposure and actual job losses is important. The fact that AI can perform certain tasks does not automatically mean that employers will eliminate the positions associated with them. Organisations may instead redesign roles, increase productivity, or assign employees responsibilities that require more complex judgement and interpersonal skills.

Nevertheless, changes to the tasks involved in entry-level positions could have important implications for how young people gain their first professional experience.

Why entry-level workers may face particular challenges

One of the most significant concerns emerging from recent research is the possibility that AI could affect young workers differently from their more experienced colleagues.

In August 2025, researchers at Stanford University published a study examining employment patterns among millions of workers in the United States. Their initial findings indicated that employment among workers aged 22 to 25 in occupations highly exposed to AI had declined by approximately 13% relative to comparable workers in less exposed occupations.

An updated version of the research, published in August 2026 using payroll data through June 2026, found that employment among young workers in AI-exposed occupations was approximately 19% below the level it would have reached had it grown at the same rate as employment among their less-exposed peers. The researchers found no comparable gap among more experienced workers and no evidence of widespread job displacement across the economy.

While the findings are based on the American labour market and cannot be directly applied to Cameroon, they raise an important question about the changing nature of early career opportunities.

Traditionally, many graduates have developed professional skills through relatively routine assignments. A junior analyst might begin by compiling research and preparing basic reports, while an entry-level communications professional may spend considerable time drafting content, organising information, and preparing presentations.

These responsibilities allow new employees to understand their organisation's work, receive feedback, and gradually develop the judgement required for more complex assignments.

As AI systems become capable of completing some of these tasks more quickly, employers may reconsider how they organise junior roles and what they expect new employees to contribute.

This could create challenges for graduates who have limited practical experience, particularly if employers increasingly expect them to perform responsibilities that previously required several years of professional development.

It also highlights the need for universities, training providers, and employers to reconsider how young people acquire experience when some traditional learning opportunities are changing.

Employers are beginning to value AI capabilities

As organisations experiment with artificial intelligence, the ability to use digital tools effectively is becoming an increasingly relevant professional capability.

The 2024 Work Trend Index, published by Microsoft and LinkedIn, surveyed 31,000 people across 31 countries to understand how AI was influencing workplace practices and recruitment decisions.

Among the business leaders surveyed, 66% indicated that they would not hire someone without AI skills, while 71% said they would prefer a less experienced candidate with AI capabilities over a more experienced candidate who lacked them.

These findings reflect the views of employers surveyed at a particular stage of AI adoption, rather than a universal recruitment requirement. Nevertheless, they suggest that familiarity with artificial intelligence is becoming an important consideration in some professional environments.

For young people, this creates an opportunity to develop relevant capabilities before entering the workforce.

Learning to use AI tools can help students conduct research more efficiently, organise information, develop ideas, analyse data, and improve aspects of their academic and professional work. However, the value of these tools depends on understanding when to use them, how to evaluate their outputs, and where human judgement remains necessary.

Someone who can generate a report using an AI assistant may save time, but they must still be able to assess whether the information is accurate, interpret its relevance, and communicate findings appropriately.

This combination of digital proficiency, critical thinking, and practical judgement is likely to become increasingly valuable as organisations integrate AI into their operations.

What does this mean for young people in Cameroon?

Cameroon's digital landscape presents both opportunities and barriers for young people seeking to develop AI-related skills.

According to DataReportal's Digital 2025: Cameroon report, the country had approximately 12.4 million internet users at the beginning of 2025, representing 41.9% of the population. Mobile connectivity plays an important role in digital access, with many people relying on smartphones rather than personal computers.

For young people with internet access, this creates an opportunity to begin experimenting with AI without necessarily investing in expensive equipment. Many AI assistants can be accessed through mobile applications or web browsers, and several offer free versions with varying usage limits.

A university student, for example, could use an AI assistant to understand a difficult concept, organise notes from a course, prepare for an interview, or develop an initial plan for a community project.

An aspiring entrepreneur could experiment with market research, customer communication, or basic financial planning, while someone interested in communications might use AI to explore content ideas, improve written materials, or analyse audience feedback.

However, access to these tools remains uneven. Internet costs, unreliable electricity, limited connectivity, digital literacy gaps, and the availability of suitable devices can all affect young people's ability to use AI consistently.

There is also a difference between having access to a tool and knowing how to apply it productively. Students may be familiar with AI applications but have limited experience using them to complete meaningful tasks, evaluate information, or solve practical problems.

Addressing these challenges will require greater attention to digital and AI literacy within education, skills development, and workforce preparation initiatives.

For individual young people, however, there are practical steps that can be taken with the resources already available to them.

Five ways to begin preparing for an AI-driven workplace

The changing nature of work can feel overwhelming, particularly when predictions about the future of AI are often uncertain. Rather than trying to anticipate every technological development, young people can focus on building skills and habits that remain useful across different professional environments.

1. Start using AI to complete practical tasks

One of the most effective ways to understand artificial intelligence is to experiment with it regularly.

If you are a student, begin with tasks you already encounter during your studies. You might use an AI assistant to explain a difficult concept, help you organise a research project, suggest improvements to an essay, or prepare questions for an upcoming examination.

For someone interested in entrepreneurship, experimenting with AI could involve developing a basic marketing plan, comparing business ideas, or preparing customer communication materials.

The important consideration is to use the tools in situations where you can assess whether they are genuinely improving your work.

For the next 30 days, consider choosing one practical task each day that could benefit from AI assistance. Pay attention to what the tool does well, where it produces inaccurate or unhelpful information, and how much additional work is required to produce a satisfactory result.

This experience can help you develop a more realistic understanding of AI's capabilities and limitations than simply reading about the technology.

2. Strengthen your ability to evaluate information

As AI-generated information becomes more common, the ability to evaluate its accuracy and relevance is increasingly important.

Generative AI systems can produce convincing explanations, summaries, and recommendations, even when the underlying information is incorrect. They may misunderstand a question, overlook important context, or generate references and statistics that do not exist.

Young people therefore need to develop the habit of checking information before relying on it, particularly when using AI for academic research, professional communication, or decisions with significant consequences.

When an AI tool provides a statistic, try to identify the original source. When it recommends a particular approach, consider whether the suggestion reflects the circumstances of your community, organisation, or intended audience.

This is especially relevant in Cameroon, where information generated by globally trained systems may not always reflect local regulations, market conditions, languages, or institutional realities.

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies analytical thinking as the most widely valued core skill among the employers it surveyed. Developing the ability to question assumptions, evaluate evidence, and make informed decisions can therefore support both effective AI use and broader professional development.

3. Continue developing skills that depend on human interaction and judgement

Although AI systems are increasingly capable of performing complex tasks, professional work still requires people to understand situations, build relationships, manage uncertainty, and make decisions that account for human needs.

A customer service professional, for instance, may use AI to prepare responses to common enquiries, but resolving a sensitive complaint can require empathy, negotiation, and an understanding of the customer's circumstances.

Similarly, a project manager may use AI to develop schedules and organise information, but coordinating a team involves managing relationships, responding to unexpected challenges, and making decisions when priorities conflict.

These examples help explain why durable skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability remain relevant.

For young people preparing for work, developing these capabilities alongside digital skills can create a stronger foundation for navigating changing professional expectations.

University group projects, volunteering, internships, student associations, and community initiatives provide opportunities to practise these skills in situations where outcomes depend on working effectively with others.

4. Build a portfolio that demonstrates what you can do

As employers place greater emphasis on practical capabilities, young people can benefit from documenting experiences that demonstrate how they apply their knowledge and skills.

A portfolio does not need to be complicated or limited to creative professions. It can include a research report, a project plan, a presentation, a financial model, a website, or a community initiative that you helped design or implement.

For example, a student interested in business development could use AI to support research into a local industry, analyse potential customer segments, and prepare a short market assessment. The final document could explain the research process, the insights generated, and the recommendations developed.

Someone interested in communications might prepare a social media strategy for a student organisation or small business, using AI to explore ideas while applying their own knowledge of the intended audience.

What makes these experiences valuable is the ability to explain the decisions behind the work.

When presenting a project to a potential employer, be prepared to describe the problem you were addressing, the tools you used, how you evaluated the results, and what you contributed personally.

This provides a more meaningful demonstration of your abilities than simply listing AI tools among the skills on your CV.

5. Learn to use AI responsibly

The growing availability of AI tools also creates new responsibilities for the people using them.

Students and early-career professionals should understand the importance of protecting personal information, respecting confidentiality, and being transparent about how AI contributes to their work.

For example, uploading confidential organisational documents, customer records, passwords, or other sensitive information to an AI platform without appropriate authorisation can create privacy and security risks.

Similarly, submitting AI-generated information without verifying its accuracy can damage professional credibility, particularly when the information is used to support important decisions.

Responsible AI use also requires understanding the expectations of the institution or organisation you are working with. Some employers and educational institutions have specific rules governing when AI may be used, what information can be shared, and how its use should be disclosed.

Developing these habits early can help young people use AI more effectively while building the trust and professional judgement required in the workplace.

Preparing young people for work will also require changes from employers and educators

While individual young people have an important role to play in preparing for technological change, responsibility cannot rest entirely on them.

If AI changes the nature of entry-level responsibilities, employers will need to reconsider how graduates acquire the experience traditionally developed through junior positions.

Routine assignments have historically allowed new employees to learn organisational processes, understand professional expectations, and develop confidence before taking on more complex responsibilities. As some of these tasks become automated, organisations may need to create more deliberate opportunities for learning through structured internships, supervised projects, mentorship, and practical training.

Educational institutions will also need to consider how AI literacy can be integrated into learning experiences without weakening the critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills that education is intended to develop.

This requires moving beyond simply introducing students to AI applications. Young people need opportunities to use these technologies in meaningful contexts, question their outputs, and understand how they can support different kinds of professional work.

For organisations working in youth employment and workforce development, the challenge is to ensure that digital skills training remains connected to real labour market needs and pathways into opportunity.

A young person who completes an AI course may gain useful knowledge, but translating that knowledge into employment or entrepreneurship often requires practical experience, professional guidance, and access to networks.

Partnerships between employers, educational institutions, and youth development organisations can help create these opportunities.

How Impact Axis is responding to the changing world of work

At Impact Axis, we believe preparing young people for meaningful work requires an approach that brings together durable skills, applied learning, mentorship, and digital readiness.

Our programmes are designed around the understanding that young people need opportunities to practise what they learn, receive feedback, develop professional relationships, and build the confidence required to navigate unfamiliar environments.

As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into professional work, digital and AI readiness is an increasingly important part of this approach.

Through the Goodwill Fellowship and our Skills & Employability initiatives, we aim to help young Cameroonians develop capabilities that remain valuable as technologies and labour market expectations evolve.

This includes strengthening critical thinking, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability, while encouraging young people to explore how digital tools can support their learning and professional development.

We also recognise that preparing young people for technological change requires continuous learning on our part. AI capabilities are evolving rapidly, and the evidence about their longer-term effects on employment is still emerging.

Our approach must therefore remain responsive to what employers need, what young people experience, and what new research reveals about the future of work.

Looking ahead

Artificial intelligence is likely to influence the opportunities available to the next generation of workers, but its effects will depend on how organisations adopt the technology, how education and training systems respond, and whether young people have equitable access to the tools and support they need.

For Cameroon, this presents an important opportunity to rethink how young people are prepared for employment, particularly at a time when the transition from education into meaningful work is already challenging.

Students and recent graduates can begin by developing familiarity with AI tools, strengthening their ability to evaluate information, and seeking practical experiences that demonstrate their capabilities. Employers and educators, meanwhile, have a responsibility to create learning pathways that help young people acquire experience as entry-level work evolves.

There is still considerable uncertainty about how quickly AI will reshape different occupations and what this will mean for employment in African economies. What is already clear, however, is that young people will benefit from being able to learn continuously, adapt to unfamiliar situations, and use emerging technologies responsibly.

At Impact Axis, we want to contribute to that preparation by helping more young Cameroonians build the skills, relationships, and practical experiences they need to access meaningful and dignified opportunities, even as the nature of work continues to change.

Explore our programmes to learn more about opportunities to develop durable skills, strengthen your digital readiness, and connect with other young people preparing for the future of work.

Sources

• International Labour Organization and NASK. Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure. ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025.
• Brynjolfsson, E., Chandar, B., and Chen, R. Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence. Stanford Digital Economy Lab, revised August 2026.
• Microsoft and LinkedIn. 2024 Work Trend Index, May 2024.
• DataReportal. Digital 2025: Cameroon.
• World Economic Forum. The Future of Jobs Report 2025, January 2025.
• Institut National de la Statistique (INS). Third Employment and Informal Sector Survey (EESI3), 2021.