Submitting hundreds of resumés, going out to several interviews and facing rejection is an increasingly prevalent reality for many young Canadians, even in the traditionally “safe” job sectors such as engineering and law.
For engineering graduate Jeff Light, 23, there was no guaranteed job at the end of the road. Fresh out of the University of Western Ontario, he set out to apply for one job a day, but it took nearly five months before he landed one as a junior civil engineer. (He studied chemical engineering.)
“I think some people get burned out,” Mr. Light said, adding that overly drawn-out interviews can be “exhausting” and “frustrating” for newer job seekers. While Canadians aged 15 to 24 recovered 34,000 positions in July after a drop of 50,000 a month earlier, unemployment for the group still remains high at 13.1%.
But running a startup or working for one could turn this around.
A recent study by Accenture found more than half (56%) of Canadian entrepreneurs plan to create jobs in 2014, yet 61% see the lack of specialized skills as the top barrier for bringing more young workers into their companies.
“We know that there are some companies, some sectors that are actually looking for skilled workers and, on the other hand, we have that amount of unemployment,” Finance Minister Joe Oliver told the Financial Post in July.
He highlighted the importance of skills training and apprenticeship programs, such as Red Seal, especially in trades and high-demand fields. “We’re focusing on bridging the gap between unemployed youth and companies that are looking for skilled workers,” Mr. Oliver said.
A new EY report ranked Canada as a top country for “good quality jobs for youth.” Colleen McMorrow, leader of EY’s entrepreneurial services and strategic growth market practices in Canada, said that while we are doing better than most other countries at matching young workers’ skills to jobs that require these skills, this matchmaking leaves a lot to be desired.
“You’ve got people who are highly educated that are taking more menial-type positions that are not a good match for the skills they have,” she said. “On the other hand, we have an incredible need for trades where we don’t have the right skills.”
But developing entrepreneurial skills is top of mind for Canadian business owners with 43% expecting policy action by governments to support youth job creation, the Accenture study shows.
“A lot of the traditional industries or service sectors are not hiring the university students,” said Julia Deans, chief executive of Futurpreneur Canada, a not-for-profit that helps businesses kickoff and grow through mentorship.
“My own son just graduated from university and I realized that it had never crossed his mind — that he might have to create his own job,” she said, calling the lack of financial and entrepreneurial literacy in Canada a “shame.”
Through its network of about 3,000 volunteer mentors, Futurpreneur helped shape up 801 businesses this year. In turn, for every entrepreneur that launches a startup, Ms. Deans said, five jobs are created on average.
Brennan Turner’s Saskatoon-based grain marketplace startup, FarmLead, which has a team of three employees whose ages average 26, is looking to more than double its workforce. “I don’t discriminate,” the 27-year-old entrepreneur said about his hiring practice. “What it comes down to is ‘can you do the job and do it well?’ ”
Vancouver Film School graduate Brooke Henderson, 22, looked for a job since September 2013, working on and off as a nanny, until she joined Tatyana Boutique, a retro clothing shop that opened in Toronto on Aug. 5, as a sales associate.
“I don’t have any retail experience. I was happy they just took a chance with me,” she said, adding that many larger employers shove young people’s resumés to the bottom of the pile because they have little or no work experience.
“I think I really lucked out because of word of mouth. Prior to that, I was ready to just settle.” Now, excited by her new proximity to the fashion and burlesque world, the aspiring actress launched a YouTube channel at the end of August.
But starting a business isn’t for everyone, said Herb Schuetze, labour economist and associate professor at the University of Victoria. “People that give up a good wage job to take a risk in self-employment and return to the labour market typically end up with a drop in wages relative to those who stay,” he said, which would lower the economy’s overall productivity.
Mr. Schuetze sees value in more Canadian business schools offering entrepreneurship courses but he said, ultimately, the market will take care of itself. Since the opportunity cost of training is low due to low wages and job openings, he expects more young people will consider acquiring niche skills.
“If we find in the future that we don’t have plumbers, we don’t have electricians, then the cost of a plumber and an electrician is going to go up and suddenly those jobs are going to become very attractive.”
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