More than half of agencies pulled back on entry-level hiring as AI took over many tasks once handled by junior staff, with 57% reporting that they had slowed or paused hiring for such roles, a report last August showed. Stats like that have caused anxiety among emerging talent trying to enter the ad industry, but numbers don’t paint a full picture.
Experiential commerce agency Salt XC, for example, hired 100 employees within the last two months, with the majority being entry-level. Ad Age spoke with 18 agency executives, hiring managers and other industry leaders who are reworking their team structures to find new jobs and opportunities for juniors.
Some of those opportunities have actually opened up as a result of AI. Other agencies are introducing apprenticeships and shadowing that offer training on higher-level skills that AI can’t replace.
“AI is in its infancy,” said Allen & Gerritsen (A&G) CEO Andrew Graff, adding, “We’re going to need a whole new set of skills.”
The 4As is also working on expanding The Face of Talent, its annual summer week of programming around talent initiatives, to provide more year-round training to help agencies restructure their workforces so they can continue to hire junior talent.
“We’re also going to be looking at things like organizational design within agencies. What does the new talent team need to look like?” said Justin Thomas-Copeland, CEO of the 4As.
The guide below shows some of the ways that agencies are placing junior talent, including how they’ve rewired their workforces to ensure their success.
