Are Canadian Youth Overqualified?
Apr 18, 2008
A new Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) study has found that nearly a quarter of young Canadians are working at low-paying jobs that are beneath their skill level.
In Connecting Supply and Demand in Canada’s Youth Labour Market, the study’s authors find that these Canadians report feeling overqualified at their jobs – often ones in the service sector – and that this percentage ranks Canada higher than any of the 15 other Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) nations.
It seems that there is a mismatch between what Canada’s youth are being trained for and the type of jobs that are offered upon graduation, according to the report, which relied on employment data from Statistics Canada. It also found that about half of all workers (and three-quarters of those under 25) reported that the skill requirements of their jobs have not increased since they started in that job.
Despite Canada’s economic growth and prosperity over the last number of years, in addition to its more educated workforce, it appears that the number of low-wage workers has actually increased in recent years. And the unemployment rate has been coming down over this time period as well, which makes the numbers even more interesting.
The report recommends developing more programs between schools and employers and encouraging more students to consider trade schools. Many secondary schools – in addition to parents – emphasize the importance of a university education over that of a trade school. The latter result in a lot of high paying jobs and should be promoted as a viable option much more frequently.
As the report states “there could be many reasons for the reported gap: frustrations with their job; lack of awareness of job requirements; requirements that are higher than needed. Research in these areas could involve an examination of the distribution of earnings by age group and level of educational attainment.”
It’s especially important that this gap be addressed given the expected skill shortage that will result from older workers retiring in larger numbers.
Canada has one of the most highly educated workforces in the world. And that workforce should be ready to contribute to the knowledge-based economy that takes advantage of our workers’ education and ability. But in light of this information, can we be certain that young people are able to fully take advantage of their skills and contribute to the Canadian economy?
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As a young professional, I also find those generalized remarks offending. I'm a recent University grad and also had difficulties finding a job in the professional field after graduation. I found that many students are left clueless as to what is required when they graduate and look to start their career. I've spent countless hours applying for internships, student appreticeship positions and student positions, just trying to find a program that not only would help pay for my education but also provide me with real work experience. Luckily I found positions with the Federal Government with the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP). The province and city have similar programs. Every year, these programs were full with eager students waiting to gain some very valuable experience. However, positions are limited leaving a majority of students left out. Thus they must find jobs in restraunts, fast-food and seasonal businesses often providing those students with little professional experience. Personally I feel that the Post-Secondary institutions are partially to blame. Many of these education institutes do not provide their students with enough real work expereience in their field. Univeristies are allowing anyone in the doors in order to maximize profits. Thus the more students there are, the harder it is for a faculty to create job placements for their students. There simply aren't enough jobs for the amount of post-secondary students in today's University and College institutions. Perhaps schools should allow less students in, set-up viable programs that would help their students get the proper education as well as the experience required for a position when they graduate. I was able to take advantage of those student programs and find a position when I graduated but for many, finding a job in their field is a very difficult and daunting task. Companies and organizations make it very difficult for young professionals to get their foot in the door. If companies, governments, etc. offered more developmental positions and took a proactive appraoch, to develope their young working force, there would be more satisfied, qualified youth ready to move up the ranks, filling those positions that are rapidly becoming available as the boomers retire. For you to say that young professional Canadians are just a bunch of "lazy-youth(s)" is not only offending but also not at all the truth. I would be lying if I said there weren't "lazy" young people but a majority of those that have spent thousands of hard earned money to furhter their education are waiting and actively looking to get that chance to showcase and use those skills. Some day those "lazy-youth" will be running our governments, corporations and businesses and we need to provide them with the opportunity to develop those skills when the time comes.
CP - -0001-11-30 00:00
Based on the claim that "the study’s authors find that these Canadians report feeling overqualified at their jobs", I would say that young Canadians need to adjust their perceptions. In conversations with supervisors/managers of service industry employees, nearly all of them talk about how their employees overestimate their abilities. In most cases, these young Canadians are not capable of doing even simple tasks despite their educational background and on-the-job training doesn't help because they usually refuse to learn, thinking they are "too good" for these low-paying jobs. From what I've seen, the work ethic of today's youth is sorely lacking and with the impending worker shortage, I suspect this will only get worse.
Dave - -0001-11-30 00:00
If your so overqualified, than why don't you get the job your qualified for ? People settle for less nowadays.
James Cotton - -0001-11-30 00:00
I can always think of three points that stay with me on this subject. One, young people are the product of their upbringing, we as parents had a lot to do with how they think and their work ethic/values today. Two I had to call 14 businesses this weekend to get a plumber out for an emergency, and the fellow who finally came out wasn't young, and the job wasn't nice, but he charged me $55./hr. (one organization wanted $150./hr!)... don't know who will do those jobs in the future? And three, last but not least, "your", in this case is short for "you are" and the correct form and spelling is "you're". (bad weekend when YOU'RE up to YOUR alligators in plumbing SH*$&@@T)!
Daisy Duck - -0001-11-30 00:00
I’m sick and tired of boomers writing off young Canadians as “lazy” or as Dave claims “not capable of doing even simple tasks”. This is insulting, discriminating and a gross generalization of today’s youth. The fact is, today’s youth have a much higher level of education than our parents did and we can be very competent in the workforce if, and when, we’re given the opportunity. My parents are boomers and were both easily able to land teaching jobs after completing a 2-year teaching diploma in the 70s. At that time, schools were scrambling for teachers. Today, teachers are still in high demand, but no school division will even get past looking at your resume without an education degree. I spent 6 years in our post-secondary education system and earned a 2-year college diploma and 4-year BA. Through volunteering and contract work I was able to gain some experience in my field, but after I graduated, no one was interested in hiring me. I took on a few menial jobs, one paying minimum wage, to get by. I wasn’t lazy; I spent most of my off time looking for work. It took me a full year after graduating to land a full-time job at a not-for-profit. My starting wage was $28,000 and after working there for two years my partner (who is also a university grad) and I were still living paycheque to paycheque with the mortgage on our “starter home”. I needed to find another job. After applying for at least 50 companies, and going through dozens of job interviews and beating down doors, I was able to land a well-paying job in my field. I’m happy in my current job and I’m an asset to the workplace. I often go around the office to help my older co-workers with what I would consider to be very easy tasks, such as adding a hyperlink or editing a pdf file. Of course, that doesn’t mean I write off the entire boomer generation as “not capable of doing even simple tasks”. Instead I choose to see the other strengths that their experience brings to our office. I don’t think I had it easy getting where I am, I had to scratch and claw my way to get here and when given the chance, I made the most of it. So the next time you’re generalizing about Canada’s “lazy youth”, think about all of us out there who are ready to take over when you retire.
APE - -0001-11-30 00:00
Obviously I should have clarified the context of "youth" in my comment above. The youth I am referring to are those straight out of high school who declined to pursue post-secondary education and think the world owes them a living just because they exist. I realize that is a sweeping generalization but, in my experience, its mostly true. I can't count the times I've run across these people who have difficulty making change (even when the cash register tells them the total). On the other hand, saying that most, or even some, young professionals (ie: post-secondary educated) are lazy is not justified. For that I apologize. In these cases I agree that most young people are passed over based on their lack of experience and may end up in jobs they are over-qualified for. Unfortunately, the people in charge these days still seem to value "experience" over ability which, from what I've seen, is rather stupid.
Dave - 2008-04-21 15:47
Dave, I now understand your view point and you do make a valid point, I too have noticed a lack of initiative with younger Canadians, ( high school, early university) and it is too bad that this is the view many Canadians share because there still are a lot of hard working Canadian youth out there. When working with the various Student Work Programs I also found alot of high school and first year university students had some great opportunities but never took advantage of those opportunities, simply because it was too much work. It certainly was frustrating but we have to remember that this does not reflect the entire youth population but certainly does not represent this group very well. You're last paragraph sums it up nicely for those recent university, college grads and I couldn't agree more. Well put!
CP - 2008-04-21 16:04