Christopher Payne

So Meta, I think the larger tech companies, there's definitely, to use that phrase, AI washing.

There's definitely a little bit of that happening because there are publicly listed large companies and they need to make sure that they are cutting their cloth, but also making sure that whatever they go out to the market with is about increasing share price and stuff as well.

So most people in Ireland are employed by SMEs.

And so we shouldn't get too concerned about just looking at the metas or the really large tech organisations as difficult as it is for those 350 or so people who will be impacted.

Yeah, our research is telling us that 47% of businesses have told us that they plan to reduce graduate roles and entry-level roles.

And to be honest, Jess, like you, I learned more in my first three years.

I'm a little bit longer new, actually, in Irish jobs.

I'm here just under 20 years now.

And I learned more in my first couple of years, including going through a financial crash that I did also in UCD, but with politics and economics.

So I definitely agree with you that learning on the job is important.

I think where a lot of graduate roles traditionally, exactly as you just said, involved admin, first drafts, basic analysis, research reporting.

Unfortunately, these are the tasks that AI can now support.

So employers may expect graduates to add value faster than they did before.

But I think that's one of the things that is slightly concerning because previous research we did also said that employers are crying out for people who have soft skills and that they're really struggling to find people with soft skills.

So although the generic graduate role is maybe under pressure,

I think if graduates can show they have soft skills like adaptability, emotional intelligence, they'll still have a really good chance.

And the other one, of course, is it is kind of like me and you clearly did the same degree in UCD.

But I think where we're seeing the real slowdown is where there isn't a clear career pathway.

So if you are studying to be an accountant,

you will still be able to go through a graduate program because that is a very clear pathway or a doctor or anything like that.