What Happened
A new study called Young Australians and the AI Workforce Transition has found that young people in this country are becoming meaningfully more confident with artificial intelligence - but that growing familiarity has not translated into reduced anxiety about what AI will do to their working lives.
The research, conducted by Microsoft, KPMG and career platform Anyway, surveyed 1029 Australians aged between 15 and 24 years about their AI use, understanding and attitudes. It found that 45 per cent of respondents now rate their understanding of AI as excellent or very good, compared to just 27 per cent in 2023. That is a substantial shift in a short period, and it reflects how rapidly AI tools have entered everyday student life.
But the headline finding cuts the other way. Almost two in three participants - 63 per cent - said they believe AI will be used to eliminate roles in the jobs market. Only 2 per cent thought it would create jobs. A further 35 per cent thought it would have no impact at all.
The study also found that while young Australians are using AI for study and assignments, actual use for work or career development tasks sits at just 15 per cent. Anyway co-founder Will Stubley pointed directly to that gap as the core problem.
"It's great to see so many young Aussies trying out AI but what we're seeing is they're not always being supported to actually apply that in a career context," Stubley said. "There's a bit of a gap between learning and doing."
Why It Matters
The findings arrive at a moment when Australia's federal government has recently launched a National AI Centre to guide adoption of the technology across the economy. They also follow Pope Leo XIV's recent call on governments and companies to carefully regulate AI - a signal that concern about AI's social consequences is not confined to tech circles.
For Australian businesses and policymakers, the study is a practical warning. A generation that is technically more capable with AI than any before it is simultaneously the most anxious about what AI will do to their job prospects. That combination - rising skill, falling confidence - is not a recipe for a smooth workforce transition.
The concern about early-career automation is particularly pointed. Almost half of those surveyed (47 per cent) said they were worried about AI automating the kinds of entry-level tasks that have traditionally been how young workers build experience and credibility. If those on-ramps disappear, the pathway from education into a stable career becomes harder to navigate, not easier.
More than half (57 per cent) also expressed concern about the ethics of AI - a finding that suggests young Australians are not simply passive consumers of the technology. They are thinking about it critically. That is a foundation worth building on, but only if industry and education systems meet them with something concrete.
Our work in AI strategy for Australian organisations consistently surfaces the same pattern: organisations that invest in structured AI capability-building see better outcomes than those that leave individuals to figure it out alone. The same logic applies to young workers entering the market.
Key Details
The Young Australians and the AI Workforce Transition study was published in June 2026 by Microsoft, KPMG and Anyway. It surveyed 1029 Australians aged 15 to 24 years.
Key data points from the study:
- 45 per cent of respondents rated their AI understanding as excellent or very good, up from 27 per cent in 2023.
- 63 per cent said AI would eliminate roles in the jobs market.
- Only 2 per cent believed AI would create jobs; 35 per cent thought it would have no impact.
- AI use for work or career development tasks stood at just 15 per cent.
- 47 per cent were worried about AI automating early-career tasks.
- 57 per cent expressed concern about the ethics of AI.
Anyway co-founder Will Stubley said the career application gap was the central issue: "Fear will continue to own the narrative around AI unless industry and government work together to create clear career pathways and guidance for students during the school to work transition."
He also stressed the equity dimension: "It's important that everyone, regardless of where they live or the path they choose, has the opportunity to build these skills."
Background and Context
This is the second time the Young Australians and the AI Workforce Transition study has been conducted, with the 2023 baseline providing a useful comparison point. The growth in AI confidence between the two waves is real and significant. Young Australians are not ignoring AI - they are using it, particularly for study and assignments.
The problem is structural. Schools and universities have, in many cases, been faster to integrate AI tools into learning environments than employers have been to create structured pathways for young workers to apply those skills. The result is a cohort that knows how to use AI to write an essay but has little experience - or support - in using it to do a job.
Australia's AI training and workforce readiness programs are one lever available to organisations that want to close this gap. The AI automations work we do with clients in the education sector also points to the importance of designing AI integration with human development - not just efficiency - as a goal.
The federal government's National AI Centre, launched in the weeks before this study was published, is a relevant policy development. Whether it will produce the kind of clear career pathway guidance that Stubley and the study's authors are calling for remains to be seen.
What Comes Next
The study's authors are calling for a coordinated response from industry and government. The specific ask is for clearer career pathways and guidance for students during the school-to-work transition - a period that the data suggests is currently leaving young Australians with skills but without direction.
For Australian employers, the implication is direct. If 63 per cent of the talent pipeline believes AI will eliminate their roles, and only 15 per cent are using AI in a career context, there is a significant readiness gap to address before those workers arrive. Organisations that build structured AI onboarding and early-career development programs now will be better placed to benefit from a generation that is, by the numbers, more AI-literate than any before it.
The AI strategy work required to close this gap is not complicated in principle - but it does require deliberate investment. Leaving young workers to absorb AI anxiety without institutional support is a choice, and the data suggests it is not a cost-free one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Young Australians and the AI Workforce Transition study find?
The study, conducted by Microsoft, KPMG and career platform Anyway, surveyed 1029 Australians aged 15 to 24 years. It found that AI understanding among young people has grown substantially since 2023, with 45 per cent now rating their understanding as excellent or very good compared to 27 per cent three years ago. At the same time, 63 per cent of respondents believe AI will eliminate jobs, and only 2 per cent think it will create them. AI use for career and work-related tasks sits at just 15 per cent, pointing to a significant gap between learning and practical application.
Why are young Australians worried about AI and jobs?
The study found that almost half of respondents (47 per cent) are specifically worried about AI automating early-career tasks - the entry-level work that has traditionally been how young people build professional experience. More than half (57 per cent) also expressed concern about the ethics of AI more broadly. These concerns are not irrational: they reflect a genuine uncertainty about how the labour market will absorb AI-driven change, and a lack of clear guidance from employers and institutions about what career pathways will look like.
What are industry and government being asked to do?
Anyway co-founder Will Stubley said that fear will continue to dominate the narrative around AI unless industry and government work together to create clear career pathways and guidance for students during the school-to-work transition. The call is for structured support - not just access to AI tools, but genuine guidance on how to apply those tools in a career context. The study also emphasised equity, noting that the opportunity to build AI skills should be available to all young Australians regardless of where they live or the path they choose.
How does this affect Australian businesses hiring young workers?
Australian businesses face a talent pipeline that is increasingly AI-literate in a technical sense but deeply uncertain about how to apply that literacy at work. Only 15 per cent of young Australians are currently using AI for work or career development tasks. Organisations that invest in structured AI onboarding, clear role design and early-career development programs will be better positioned to benefit from this generation's capabilities. Those that do not risk compounding the anxiety the study has identified, rather than resolving it.