When Artificial Intelligence Reshapes the Labor Market: The Mediating Role of Career Anxiety in Students' Career Readiness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35870/ijmsit.v6i2.8425Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, AI-labor market transformation, Career anxiety, Career readiness, Skill-based technological changeAbstract
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed labor market structures and skill requirements, raising concerns about its implications for university students' career development. However, limited research has distinguished between different dimensions of AI-driven change and their psychological effects on career readiness. This study aimed to examine the effects of AI-labor market transformation and skill-based technological change on career anxiety and career readiness among university students, as well as the mediating role of career anxiety. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed involving 300 undergraduate students in Pontianak, Indonesia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that AI-labor market transformation has a significant positive effect on career anxiety, whereas skill-based technological change does not significantly influence career anxiety. Career anxiety positively affects career readiness and significantly mediates the relationship between AI-labor market transformation and career readiness. However, it does not mediate the relationship between skill-based technological change and career readiness. These findings suggest that students are more psychologically affected by uncertainty regarding future employment opportunities than by changes in skill requirements. The study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing AI-driven change into two distinct dimensions and demonstrating that they influence career readiness through different psychological pathways. The findings also provide practical implications for higher education institutions in designing career development initiatives that integrate AI literacy with psychological support to better prepare students for an AI-driven labor market.
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