Despite the discussion that generative AI is supposedly «killing» entry-level positions in IT, EPAM Ukraine is not reducing the hiring of beginners. On the contrary, the company plans to train and hire more than 700 junior specialists throughout 2026.
Despite the discussion that generative AI is supposedly «killing» entry-level positions in IT, EPAM Ukraine is not reducing the hiring of beginners. On the contrary, the company plans to train and hire more than 700 junior specialists throughout 2026.
This was told to dev.ua by the head of EPAM Campus UA, Denis Hryniov.
According to him, hiring of Juns currently remains at about the same level as last year, and the company views AI itself not as a replacement for specialists, but as a tool to enhance their capabilities.
«AI does not replace a specialist, but adds new capabilities to him. That is why we are already training junior specialists using AI, and also offer special trainings for mastering AI development tools,» says Grynyov.
Since the beginning of the year, according to him, EPAM has already trained and hired about 150 junior specialists. The company adds that the model of «growing» personnel through internal training is today more effective than classic hiring from the market. «The price of hiring through training is usually more profitable than simply hiring from the market,» explains the head of EPAM Campus UA.
Most juniors join the company through EPAM Campus training programs, where they receive not only technical training but also adaptation to real project work.
According to Grynyov, the path from beginner to middle level today takes about a year on average. Training usually consists of several stages: about three to four months are spent on specialization, and about the same amount is spent on project training and adaptation within teams.
At the same time, the company admits that the hiring structure in the market has changed. If earlier the IT business growth model resembled a «pyramid», where there were the most juniors, now the share of middle and senior specialists has become higher. «Today, the business does not have a tendency to grow, so this balance has changed — there are more middle and senior specialists than juniors,» says Grynyov. At the same time, he adds, the AI-native approach is not yet a mandatory requirement for beginners.
EPAM says: if the candidate has a good base and motivation, he will be able to acquire AI skills within the company. «If a beginner has a sufficient level of knowledge and a high level of motivation, then he will receive the AI-native level already within the company,» the head of EPAM Campus UA concluded.
Read more about hiring juniors here .
