It is not AI that threatens young workers. It is the trust and mentorship missing around it. Cameroon's population is estimated at around 30 million as of 2026, ranking it roughly 51st most populous nation in the world.

It is also a young country: people aged 18 to 35 reportedly make up over 60% of the population. Every year, thousands of graduates enter a job market already short on entry-level roles. Now AI is entering that same market. The common fear is simple: AI will take the jobs young people were counting on.

But if you look closer, real danger is not AI itself. It is what happens when companies bring in AI without building trust, and without the right mentorship, around it.

AI at work is not one big robot or machine replacing an entire office. It is simply a chatbot answering a customer's question, a tool that drafts a report, a system that screens job applications before a human ever sees them. Tools like these are already common in workplaces worldwide, including start-ups and offices across Cameroon.

A report on companies rated among the best workplaces for young employees in Canada found out that these companies were not the ones avoiding AI. They were the ones pairing AI tools with strong human leadership. In those same companies, over 90% of young employees said management was approachable and treated them as full members of the team, no matter their job title. Separately, more than 40% of young job seekers already use generative AI to prepare for job interviews. Generation Z, it turns out, treats AI less like a threat and more like a coach, or even a friend.

The best-performing workplaces give young employees real, meaningful tasks early. They pair new hires with mentors. They stay transparent about how AI is used, instead of hiding behind it. The technology speeds things up. It does not replace the relationship between a new employee and the people guiding them.

What to note: AI is not the cause of youth job insecurity. It is a magnifier. Where mentorship and trust already exist, AI makes people faster. Where they don't, AI just exposes the gap faster, and more publicly. For Cameroon, with its young population and growing tech hubs like Silicon Mountain in Buea, this distinction matters. The question is not whether AI arrives. It already has. The real question is whether Cameroonian workplaces build the trust and AI mentorship structures to go with it.

Employers should give young workers real responsibilities not busywork. They should pair new employees with mentors who teach them to use AI well, in daily life and at work. Mentors should act as leaders not bosses and leadership should stay approachable, explaining decisions instead of hiding behind an algorithm.

Imagine this: Young graduates using AI to prepare for interviews with confidence, not fear managers who explain how and why AI is used,
instead of leaving people guessing, companies in Douala, Yaoundé, Buea, and other towns across Cameroon investing as much in mentorship as in software.

A generation known not just for adapting to AI, but for teaching the wider region how to use it well. This is the version of Cameroon's future that is actually possible. AI will keep changing what work looks like. That part isn't predictable. What is entirely in Cameroon's hands is whether the people around that technology choose to lead, to learn, to trust, and to practice.