Podcast 228: The missing first rung: Are we sleepwalking into a talent crisis?

As organisations face mounting cost pressures and AI absorbs many entry-level responsibilities, there is a growing risk that entry-level pathways will disappear by default rather than by design. But what are the unintended consequences of hollowing out the roles where future capability, judgement and innovation are built? Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests — Orianne Wightman, Emerging Talent Director at Arm; Craig Pattison, Founder of Elevate Executive Coaching; and Lizzie Crowley, Senior Skills Policy Adviser at CIPD — as they examine how organisations must redesign work, opportunity and progression, before capability gaps begin to surface in talent pipelines, performance and long-term organisational resilience. In this episode, we explore: - Why shrinking entry-level opportunities – and the erosion of the first rungs of the career ladder – could become a critical organisational risk - The consequences when organisations stop creating and developing talent and instead become net consumers of talent - How organisations must redesign roles, routes into work and progression pathways to protect future capability and sustain healthy talent pipelines Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Podcast 228: The missing first rung: Are we sleepwalking into a talent crisis? is an episode from cipd by CIPD.

This episode is 26:28 long.

This episode was published on Mar 18, 2026.

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