57.2%
cite financial concerns as a major source of stress
Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026 follow-up
From Gen Z Expectations to AI-Era Talent Readiness
AI is changing early-career work. We are building practical tools, cases and conversations to help organizations redesign youth talent pathways.
A follow-up page for the "Gen Z and Their Great Expectations" session at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026.
Capability architecture
AI-era talent pathways need new operating systems.
01
Signal
02
Readiness
03
Pathway
04
Capability
05
Scale
Evidence signal
The signal from young people is clear
49.1%
cite uncertainty about future goals and opportunities
Two-thirds
believe AI will reduce entry-level job opportunities
The issue is not only youth anxiety. It is the redesign of the early-career pathway.
Source: Youth Pulse 2026, Global Shapers Community / World Economic Forum.
Initiative 1
Future Talent Readiness Initiative
A practical effort to help organizations redesign early-career talent systems for the AI era.
Output
Executive conversations
100 conversations with CEOs, HR leaders, transformation leaders and business leaders.
Output
Readiness diagnostic
A lightweight self-assessment for companies to understand whether their early-career system is AI-ready.
Output
Templates and tools
AI fluency checklists, reverse mentorship templates and early-career pathway redesign tools.
Output
Case library and insight report
Shared lessons from organizations experimenting with youth talent, AI adoption and workforce transition.
Initiative 2
100,000 AI Projects
A Global Shapers community initiative to identify, connect and scale youth-led AI projects grounded in local challenges.
Project pathway 01
Collect youth-led AI projects under 30
Project pathway 02
Surface local AI solutions from different regions
Project pathway 03
Connect promising projects with partners, visibility and support
Expression of interest
How would you like to contribute?
Share your role, organization and areas of interest. This page is designed for follow-up from AMNC conversations and partner introductions.
This page is created by Qiqing He as a follow-up resource connected to the session discussion. Information submitted here will only be used for follow-up related to the initiatives described above.
Qiqing He -- Global Shaper, Chengdu Hub; Founder, Global AI Governance and Workforce Transformation Policy Observatory.