The Next Decade of Early-Career Hiring (2026–2036)

This report examines how early-career hiring in the UK is likely to change between 2026 and 2036, and what that means for graduates, school and college leavers, employers, universities and career-support providers. It sets out ten forces that are reshaping how employers attract, assess and develop entry-level talent, and traces how those forces interact rather than treating each in isolation. Three scenarios for 2036 then explore how the forces might combine, giving decision-makers a range of plausible futures to plan against instead of a single forecast. A nine-layer capability map, organised by time horizon, sets out what candidates, employers and careers services will need to build now, next and later to stay effective across all three scenarios. The report is written for university careers services, outplacement providers, early-careers teams and policy-makers, and closes with practical implications for each group. It is published by Nothing But Value Ltd, the company behind Your AI Career Copilot, as a public edition of its internal research.