Parents are paying as much as £30,000 for specialist support to help their children secure entry-level positions against AI.
Britain's jobless rate has risen from 4.9 per cent to five per cent in the three months to March, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour market data revealed.
Around 1.25 million people aged between 16 and 24 could be outside employment, education or training by 2031 without significant intervention, according to a major new review led by former Labour minister Alan Milburn.
That figure would amount to roughly one in six young people in the age group.
Young graduates who previously assumed that excellent academic results, prestigious university degrees and work placements would guarantee professional success are now struggling to find work.
They find themselves mired in endless application cycles, repeatedly rejected by automated AI filtering systems before a human ever reviews their credentials.
This process has fueled the soaring demand for professional coaching services.
Lucy Moreau turned to professional coaching after witnessing her daughter's fruitless search for employment, despite holding a first-class degree from Trinity College Dublin and relevant publishing experience.
Parents are paying as much as £30,000 for specialist support to help their children secure entry-level positions against AI
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She told the Times: "She had a really hot CV, but she couldn't get an interview.
"So many of our children have really struggled having a degree from a Russell Group university is just not enough."
Her son faced similar obstacles, submitting approximately 100 applications over 12 months while stuck on a graduate scheme at a prominent advertising agency, unable to secure permanent employment due to insufficient experience.
Ms Moreau described the emotional toll of watching her children struggle, saying: "I was extremely worried. I wasn't able to help her. It was awful because you're only as happy as your least happy child."
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It comes as Britain's jobless rate has risen from 4.9 per cent to five per cent in the three months to March
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Chris Davies, whose company Graduate Coach offers packages priced at up to £30,000, argues that schools and ministers mislead young people by suggesting that academic achievement from age five onwards will prepare them for employment.
"Academic excellence is no longer a discriminator," he told the publication.
Recruitment algorithms now scan applications for keywords that match job descriptions, making precise CV writing essential.
Mr Davies explained: "Unless the CV directly echoes and answers the question that the job is all about, you get an automatic reject from the system."
Around 1.25 million people aged between 16 and 24 could be outside employment, education or training by 2031 without significant intervention
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Matthew Morrice, 23, who completed a master's in engineering at Durham University, found that strong academic performance failed to distinguish him from hundreds of other applicants.
He said: "I got straight As at A-Level, I got a first-degree from a really good university.
"You're told as long as you do well at school, you'll walk into a job but it's just not like that anymore."
Following coaching and CV optimisation for AI systems, Mr Morrice secured a graduate engineering role beginning in September.