The Plight of Graduates in Canada's Shifting Job Market
Graduates Entering a Shifting Job Market
Each year, approximately 254,000 young Canadians graduate from universities.
There's a concern that higher education is not adequately preparing graduates for the future job market.
By 2030, over half of the current jobs globally are expected to disappear or transition.
Graduates risk accumulating debt without viable job prospects, leading to underemployment.
A high rate of jobless and underemployed youth could negatively impact Canada's future economic stability.
Youth unemployment is about double the general population, sitting just under 15%.
Compared to four years prior, there are 250,000 fewer young people employed.
The Vulnerability of Young Workers
Economist Francis Fong highlights that young workers are often the most vulnerable during economic downturns due to their lack of experience and skills.
Sidelining a large portion of the young population poses a significant economic and fiscal challenge for Canada in the coming decades.
The Reality for Graduates
Many graduates are underemployed, working in jobs that don't require their level of education.
This leads to a situation where their investment in higher education results in debt without career fulfillment.
The service industry is considered a "trap" because it offers similar compensation to more skilled jobs but provides no opportunities for advancement.
Education Inflation and Debt
Canada has one of the highest graduate underemployment rates among OECD countries.
Approximately one in three college and university graduates aged 25 to 29 are employed in low-skilled jobs.
A degree, once a guarantee for secure employment, is losing its value, leading to "education inflation."
There's an assumption that everyone possesses a bachelor's degree, diminishing its significance.
Sixty percent of students graduate with debt, averaging around 27,000.
The Devaluation of Graduates in the Job Market
Graduates are likened to cars that depreciate significantly once they leave the lot, symbolizing their perceived decline in value post-graduation.
The transition from student to unemployed status makes it harder to secure employment.
Expectations vs. Reality
Graduates with specialized degrees, like civil engineering, still struggle to find jobs in their field.
The expectation of a comfortable middle-class life through higher education is not being met for many young people.
Globalization and automation are reshaping the workplace, with companies prioritizing the bottom line through outsourcing and automation.
A two-tiered environment is emerging where younger workers are hired at lower wages and benefits compared to older, "red-circled" employees.
The Impact of Automation
Automation is projected to eliminate jobs at an increasing rate.
Self-driving cars threaten jobs for taxi, bus, and truck drivers, as well as delivery personnel.
White-collar jobs, including lawyers and pharmacists, are also at risk due to automation.
While the internet and social media generate wealth, they do not create a substantial number of jobs.
Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Groupon, and LinkedIn have high valuations but relatively few employees.
The Rise of Temporary Work
The pool of secure, full-time jobs is shrinking, with temporary, contract, and casual work becoming more prevalent.
Young people are increasingly competing with older generations for project-based work as boomers delay retirement.
The average person turning 30 is expected to have worked on 200 to 300 different projects, highlighting a shift toward a project-based society.
The University of Regina's Guarantee Program
The University of Regina guarantees graduates a job related to their degree within six months of graduation.
If a graduate doesn't find employment, they can return for an additional year of training at no cost.
The program is based on a co-op model where students gain hands-on job experience while studying, earning a combined total of 8,300,000 annually.
Students receive career counseling and workshops on resume writing, interview skills, and networking.
The focus is on transitioning directly from education to a career, not just on abstract learning.
The program has led students to switch to fields with better job prospects, like environmental engineering.
The Need for Career Education and National Strategy
Many universities are not incentivized to help students with career planning, especially research-focused institutions.
Universities and colleges need to incorporate career education and preparation into their curricula.
Canada lacks a national strategy for post-secondary education, resulting in a lack of consistent data collection and sharing among universities.
Without a national strategy, universities may produce too many graduates in fields with limited job opportunities, as seen with the oversupply of teachers in Ontario.
The Oversupply of Teachers in Ontario
Ontario has the worst teacher oversupply in Canada, yet universities continue to produce new teachers.
67% of new teachers are either unemployed or underemployed one year after graduation.
One in three new teachers cannot find any teaching work, including daily supply teaching positions.
The Ontario College of Teachers tracks newly certified graduates and finds that many struggle to find full-time employment.
Retired teachers who continue to substitute teach contribute to the job shortage, but even without them, the oversupply issue would persist.
Ontario colleges and universities produce approximately 8,000 teachers annually, with an additional 3,000 training out of province, while only about 4,600 retire each year.
The Skills Mismatch
Employers report difficulty finding skilled workers, indicating a mismatch between available skills and employer needs.
Communitech, a technology hub in Waterloo, Ontario, could employ over a thousand people if they had the right skills.
Companies are seeking technology skills, application developers, computer engineers, and individuals with interdisciplinary skills in science, technology, business, and arts.
Young people need access to labor market information to understand which jobs are in demand.
The Role of Sector Councils and Labor Market Information
The federal government relies on industry-led sector councils to provide labor market information.
These councils receive project-based funding, which limits their ability to develop a long-term strategy.
Without adequate labor market information, individuals make uninformed guesses that can lead to unemployment or underemployment.
The Cycle of Further Education and Debt
Unemployed or underemployed graduates often return to school for specialized training or higher degrees, accumulating more debt without gaining work experience.
Employers may be less likely to hire graduates with advanced degrees due to their higher salary expectations and lack of practical experience.
The Exploitation of Unpaid Internships
Many graduates work for free through internships, hoping for future employment.
Internships are sometimes presented as a win-win situation, but they can be exploitative, with companies using interns as cheap labor.
There are an estimated one to two million interns in the United States, with half being unpaid.
Unpaid internships contribute to the growing gap between those who can afford to work for free and those who cannot.
In Ontario, unpaid internships must provide training similar to that of vocational schools to be legal and must benefit the intern, not just the employer.
The Swiss Apprenticeship Model
Switzerland has a youth unemployment rate of 2.8%, the lowest in the developed world, due to its apprenticeship system.
At age 15, students choose between general high school for university or an apprenticeship, with two-thirds opting for apprenticeships.
Switzerland offers 230 different apprenticeship streams, covering a wide range of occupations, including white-collar jobs in healthcare, IT, and banking.
Apprentices spend most of their week working for an employer and earning a salary while attending school part-time.
Employer federations design and assess apprenticeship programs to ensure training matches market demand.
The Swiss system allows students to move between apprenticeship and academic streams.
Only 20% of high school students are allowed into university, ensuring that those who attend are highly motivated and sought after by employers.
The Lack of a National Education Strategy in Canada
Switzerland prioritizes young people and has a close collaboration between government, schools, and employers.
Canada lacks a national ministry of education and has a fragmented system with responsibility split between federal and provincial governments.
The federal government's approach to employment and skills training is characterized as ineptitude, indifference, and inertia.
A national strategy is needed to address the challenges facing young people in a globally competitive environment.
The Lost Generation?
Many young, well-educated Canadians are underemployed and feel they were sold a fraud.
They face challenges such as high debt, a changing job market, and economic recession.
Some feel that older generations have benefited at their expense and are now implementing policies that harm them.
The economy has shifted, and major changes are needed to create opportunities for young people.
Countries like Switzerland offer a model for how to address youth unemployment and create a skilled workforce.
Without a radical shift, Canada risks managing decline as other countries surpass it in skills and productivity.