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

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

From CIPD by CIPD

March 18, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the risks of diminishing entry-level opportunities and the need for organizations to redesign work and progression pathways to avoid 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…

People in this episode

Host: Nigel Cassidy

Guests: Orianne Wightman, Craig Pattison, Lizzie Crowley

Topics covered

  • talent crisis
  • entry-level opportunities
  • organisational risk
  • work redesign
  • talent pipelines
  • capability gaps

Keywords

  • entry-level
  • talent development
  • organisational resilience
  • career ladder
  • AI impact
  • future capability

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Arm, CIPD, Elevate Executive Coaching

More episodes of CIPD

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the CIPD podcast page.