- with Inhouse Counsel
- with readers working within the Aerospace & Defence and Retail & Leisure industries
In this episode of the Future of Work Hub's ‘In Conversation’ podcast, Lucy Lewis is joined by Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive of the Institute of Student Employers (ISE).
With over two decades’ experience at the forefront of graduate recruitment and early-careers strategy, Stephen shares insights on the current state of the graduate and early careers market and what this means for employers' long-term succession pipelines. They discuss the growing impact of AI on early career roles, the shift towards skills-based hiring, and how significant demographic changes, including falling birth rates and longer working lives, are set to reshape how organisations plan for their future people needs.
Key takeaways
- Protect early-careers pipelines through downturns to avoid future leadership gaps. Cutting graduate and entrylevel hiring for short-term cost savings risks creating long-term capability gaps. Investing in early careers and developing people internally delivers far greater long-term returns than buying experience externally.
- Prioritise adaptability and learning agility over technical skills at the point of hire. As technology and demographic shifts reshape work, build early-career pipelines with the flexibility to adapt as roles evolve, then develop technical capability through structured development programmes.
- Broaden your concept of early careers to prepare for demographic shifts. Declining birth rates mean fewer graduates entering the workforce and early-career candidates are harder to find. Expand programmes beyond new graduates to include career changers, returners and internal reskilling to mitigate the risks of being wholly reliant on a shrinking external pool.
- Prioritise long-term workforce planning. Employer power in the labour market is cyclical and can shift quickly as a result of demographic decline, rising skills demand and geopolitical uncertainty. Carve out dedicated space for strategic people planning now so you have the people capabilities when conditions change.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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