Did AI take young people’s jobs? Young people built four AI agents to support job seeking
The biggest challenge in young people’s job search is not writing a CV but recognising and making their own skills visible. This is one of the key findings from a six-month experiment by business technology company Sofigate, in which a team of six early-career young professionals developed AI-based solutions to help overcome barriers to employment.
Is artificial intelligence the cause of rising youth unemployment, or part of the solution? This question was explored in an experiment launched by technology company Sofigate in March, in which the company hired six young professionals to tackle job-search challenges from their own perspective.
The experiment, which has now concluded, found that while AI has made creating job applications easier than before, standing out in the job market has become increasingly difficult. According to the team’s findings, the biggest barrier to entering working life is how young people can demonstrate their capabilities at a time when traditional junior career pathways are changing.
“Getting that first job is becoming increasingly difficult for young people. They need support in finding their own path and place, and society is not providing enough of it. Through this experiment, we wanted to explore whether AI could be part of the solution,” says Sami Karkkila, CEO of Sofigate.
The result: four AI agents to support job seeking
During the six-month experiment, the six participants developed more than 20 AI agent concepts, from which four AI agents were built to support different stages of the job-search process. The agents help job seekers identify their strengths, discover new career opportunities, prepare for interviews and articulate the value they can offer employers.
The agents are based on needs identified in workshops with more than 100 young people on the threshold of working life, as well as discussions with research institutes, employment services, businesses and Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, among others.
The experiment’s central conclusion is that AI’s role is not to tell young people who they are or what they should do. Its role is to help them find the answers themselves.
In the age of AI, thinkers will thrive – especially those who think differently
Future careers will be built less and less on predefined steps and established ladders. Young people are increasingly expected to find their own direction amid continuous change.
“If we remove the first rung of the career ladder, namely entry-level opportunities, how can we expect young people to reach the next steps? A first job is not simply a set of tasks. It is an opportunity to be seen, take responsibility and become part of society,” says Jawahir Ahmed, Junior Advisor and member of the experiment team.
The team found that AI can either strengthen or weaken a person’s ability to navigate a changing world of work, depending on whether it is used to support thinking or to replace it.
“Another interesting observation was that the future workplace may increasingly reward people who have not traditionally fitted the mould. So-called misfits are individuals who are willing to experiment, challenge assumptions and build new solutions rather than follow conventional career paths,” says Vera Väänänen, Junior Advisor and another member of the experiment team.
The results of the experiment and the AI agents developed by the team were presented at a closing event on Wednesday, 26 August. The findings were discussed in a panel moderated by Väänänen and featuring Janne Savolainen, Leading Specialist at Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment; Aada Kervinen, Chief People Officer at technology company Inven; Jasper Siitari, member of the experiment’s Youth Advisory Board; and Aleksi Halttunen, VP, Disruptive AI at Sofigate. One of the themes raised in the discussion was that if AI reduces the number of junior-level roles, businesses and recruiting organisations must find new ways to involve young people and create pathways to expertise.
About the experiment
Sofigate’s Impossible? Possible! experiment was launched in March 2026. Six young people at the beginning of their careers were recruited to explore the challenges of job seeking and transitioning into working life, and to develop AI-based solutions in response. None of the participants were AI experts when the experiment began.
The experiment was carried out on a “for young people, by young people” principle. To better understand the phenomenon, the participants interviewed 15 experts representing organisations including Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Etla, the City of Helsinki, VTT, LUT University, Kesko and Academic Work. They also organised three workshops attended by more than 100 students and upper secondary school pupils. In addition, they worked with a 12-member Youth Advisory Board, assembled by the participants themselves and consisting of young people from a wide range of life situations. The board evaluated the findings and agent concepts developed during the project.
The agents developed during the experiment can currently be tested free of charge on Howspace. They will also be published in the ChatGPT GPT Store during September.
Download the experiment’s final report
Read more about the experiment
Media contacts
Anna de Torres
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Sofigate
anna.de.torres@sofigate.com
Tel. +358 50 576 6015
About Sofigate
Sofigate is the leading business technology company in the Nordics. We are pioneers in enterprise-level AI services, combining our unique expertise in business transformation, AI agents and leading technology platforms such as ServiceNow and Salesforce. We are the founder of the Business Technology Forum and the developer of the globally used Business Technology Standard, BTS. Our team of over 800 experienced professionals supports customers across six countries and nine offices in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hungary and Poland.
Sofigate’s net sales amount to EUR 150 million, and the company is primarily owned by its management and employees. More information: sofigate.com
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