The Future of Early Careers Report brings together insights from the 2026 AAGE program of research including the 2026 Candidate Survey, 2026 Employer Survey, 2026 Graduate Survey, 2026 Intern Survey and the 2025 AI Impact Survey Report, reflecting the perspectives of employers, students, interns and graduates to provide a cohesive overview of Australia’s evolving early careers landscape.

It provides essential reading for leading employers of graduates and the industry.

There are five key findings:

1. Employers continue to recognise the importance of emerging talent to their future workforce. Almost half (47%) tell us the main reason they recruit graduates is as a part of their strategic workforce planning process.
2. AI is changing some things, but not the need for people. Only one in seven employers report AI as currently influencing the number or types of early careers roles available within their organisation.
3. New opportunities abound for the Early Careers Industry. Leading employers are evolving their early careers roles, recognising that digital fluency will become increasingly important, while continuing to develop distinctly human skills like judgement, curiosity, communication, adaptability and the ability to build relationships.
4. Understanding the characteristics of the emerging talent entering the workforce matters. Three personas are identified that best describe the leading characteristics of this generation: ‘Career Advancers’, the ‘Options Genereration’ and ‘Flexibility Focused’.
5. New employees must be able to adapt, change and learn. Building successful early careers is a two-way relationship.

This report brings all the research conducted by the AAGE together reflecting the perspectives of Australia’s evolving early careers landscape.

This report was commissioned by the AAGE and developed in partnership with McCrindle in 2026.