The Missing Rungs Problem

AI compresses entry-level work. That creates a pipeline risk most organisations do not notice until it is too late.

What changes

• fewer apprenticeship tasks exist

• junior roles lose meaningful learning loops

• leadership readiness becomes harder to build

• organisations become dependent on external hiring

Why this is hard to see

The problem does not show up in quarterly metrics. Junior employees still complete tasks. AI makes them look productive. But the learning that used to happen invisibly through struggle, feedback, and correction is compressing or vanishing.

By the time organisations notice, they have a leadership bench that was never built. Succession plans depend on external hiring. Institutional knowledge thins. The cost compounds.

What to do

1. Redesign early career roles around judgement, communication, and problem framing

2. Create structured rotations that expose people to decision contexts

3. Measure capability growth, not output

4. Protect human learning friction in the right places

5. Build new rungs intentionally

If this is what you are grappling with in your organisation, the fastest starting point is the Sprint.

Workforce Readiness Sprint

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or Hire Rahim Hirji on Retainer