Youth Employment Voices From Across Canada
Have Youth’s Attitudes and Needs Changed since the Recession?
The recession has certainly brought about economic challenges for many youth across Canada. So what have the changes been, if any, in terms of young peoples’ attitudes and needs while hunting for a job?
In a discussion with employment centre directors across Ontario, a variety of trends resulting from the current economic situation were noted. Participants came from across the province representing the big cities as well as rural and remote regions.
One manager of a youth employment organization in a small town of Ontario explained how the issues facing youth in more rural areas, which in the past were mainly associated with big city living, are beginning to mirror the latter. He noted “We haven’t really been hit to the same extent as places like Toronto with issues of homelessness in the past, but homelessness has become a big issue here for youth as a result of the recession. We also have students and youth looking for food - they come into our teen centre or into our office here, looking for food looking for a place to live, to do their laundry. Yes, they do need a job but they also need some of the basic necessities too. And that’s pretty dramatic for our quiet little southwestern Ontario town.”
Despite the fact that many youth are currently unemployed as a result of the recession, youth employment centre directors are finding that a lot of their clients are not willing to work just anywhere. One centre manager from Sudbury expressed “We’ve noticed that some people are depending on their friends and family for everything. They don’t want to work at a Tim Horton’s or McDonalds, they say it’s beneath them. So that’s creating a bit of a problem because that’s where they can gain a lot of experience.” Another director concurred “I don’t think the youth attitudes are changing enough. Counselling is becoming more about talks concerning all the adults out there who have lost their jobs and who will take the positions at Tim Horton’s. I think a lot of youth we see need to step it up. That’s a challenge we’re facing.”
How else have youth attitudes changed as a result of the recession? According to one employment centre manager, many youth have simply stopped looking for work, based on the idea that it simply would not be possible to find anything. He explained that “A lot of youth psychologically thought there weren’t any jobs, so they decided to just take the summer off. They believed the news that the economy is bad, so what’s the point of looking for jobs?”
Has the recession brought about any positive changes in young peoples’ attitudes and behaviours? According to one employment centre manager, it has. “The good news is that we’ve had major spikes in the enrolment in our local college and university - we’re talking 40-50% more students. A lot of kids who would have left are staying home and we’ve struggled in the past to keep those hundreds of thousands of dollars in the community and get our enrolment up in those schools. Long term this will be a real benefit coming from this economy and will have very good long term implications for us.” Not only would an increase in local post-secondary enrolment have a positive impact on the community’s economy, it would also mean a higher level of education for residents, which would likely lead to better job opportunities in the future.
Have you noticed any general trends in youth attitudes and needs, since the recession? How have these trends positively or negatively affected the community?
[This blog is based on interviews conducted through the Cross Canada Dialogues project, funded by the Counselling Foundation of Canada and implemented by First Work]
In a discussion with employment centre directors across Ontario, a variety of trends resulting from the current economic situation were noted. Participants came from across the province representing the big cities as well as rural and remote regions.
One manager of a youth employment organization in a small town of Ontario explained how the issues facing youth in more rural areas, which in the past were mainly associated with big city living, are beginning to mirror the latter. He noted “We haven’t really been hit to the same extent as places like Toronto with issues of homelessness in the past, but homelessness has become a big issue here for youth as a result of the recession. We also have students and youth looking for food - they come into our teen centre or into our office here, looking for food looking for a place to live, to do their laundry. Yes, they do need a job but they also need some of the basic necessities too. And that’s pretty dramatic for our quiet little southwestern Ontario town.”
Despite the fact that many youth are currently unemployed as a result of the recession, youth employment centre directors are finding that a lot of their clients are not willing to work just anywhere. One centre manager from Sudbury expressed “We’ve noticed that some people are depending on their friends and family for everything. They don’t want to work at a Tim Horton’s or McDonalds, they say it’s beneath them. So that’s creating a bit of a problem because that’s where they can gain a lot of experience.” Another director concurred “I don’t think the youth attitudes are changing enough. Counselling is becoming more about talks concerning all the adults out there who have lost their jobs and who will take the positions at Tim Horton’s. I think a lot of youth we see need to step it up. That’s a challenge we’re facing.”
How else have youth attitudes changed as a result of the recession? According to one employment centre manager, many youth have simply stopped looking for work, based on the idea that it simply would not be possible to find anything. He explained that “A lot of youth psychologically thought there weren’t any jobs, so they decided to just take the summer off. They believed the news that the economy is bad, so what’s the point of looking for jobs?”
Has the recession brought about any positive changes in young peoples’ attitudes and behaviours? According to one employment centre manager, it has. “The good news is that we’ve had major spikes in the enrolment in our local college and university - we’re talking 40-50% more students. A lot of kids who would have left are staying home and we’ve struggled in the past to keep those hundreds of thousands of dollars in the community and get our enrolment up in those schools. Long term this will be a real benefit coming from this economy and will have very good long term implications for us.” Not only would an increase in local post-secondary enrolment have a positive impact on the community’s economy, it would also mean a higher level of education for residents, which would likely lead to better job opportunities in the future.
Have you noticed any general trends in youth attitudes and needs, since the recession? How have these trends positively or negatively affected the community?
[This blog is based on interviews conducted through the Cross Canada Dialogues project, funded by the Counselling Foundation of Canada and implemented by First Work]
Views: 14
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Comment by Julie Lanoix on November 11, 2009 at 9:48am -
I work in Hearst, a small community in Northern Ontario. What we are finding is that we are seeing less clients come through our doors. Our youths are moving out of town to find work. If they are still in town, they are moving back home or with friends. Some of them are getting unemployment but a lot of them are going back to school since they can't find work. The adults are more willing to do any job at this point and I find that a lot of youth seem to have given up completely. We are seeing a rise in substance abuse and the coming winter looks pretty dismal right now. Many businessese have closed down and many houses have been put of for sale. It is quite difficult to keep young people motivated in such an atmosphere of desperation. We are, however, working to set up a youth co-op for the coming summer in the hopes that this will help young people get involved in creating their own jobs. We are looking at better sustainability, which is what this community also has to do. Young people are resilient and many have surprised me by not giving up on their plans for the future. They are finding other ways to reach their goals and understand that they will need to adjust to the various changes that will inevitably come.
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Comment by Matt Wood on November 18, 2009 at 11:18am -
Thanks for your comment. It is so important to keep a sense of hope for youth. I appreciate hearing about your own communities unique struggles. Good luck in Hearst!
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Comment by David Lamarche on January 31, 2012 at 9:56am
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Here in Ottawa I have been on a crusade in gathering information on just that topic, "Youth attitudes towards work". I have been asking numerous employers about what they see as a trend amoung our youth in the workplace and this is what I have gathered so far.
They have unanimously stated the following:
- They seem to have a sense of sense of entitlement – when I asked, “What do you mean “Entitlement”? they began describing it as follows. Youth now a days…ouch starting to sound like my father… feel the employer owes them. They should be able to choose the hours they want to work, which to youth means 11:00-!9:00 or something similar where they do not have to get up too early, the pay they feel they deserve and not minimum wage, plus all of the other bells and whistles on their first day without having to earn them.
- Avoiding the trades as it requires a lot of physical labour. They seem to comment on how tradesmen work long hours and are physically torn down by the time they reach 40…Now I really feel old.
- They want to dictate the working conditions, for example being able to text, surf the next, facebook as long as they get the job done.
Other employers have stated that the youth today do not see themselves in the same job for long periods of time so why should they give their heart and soul to an employer when they “the employer” have no loyalty to them. So get in, make money and get out. This is why a lot of youth are not interested in minimum paying jobs as they do not see the big picture in regard to gathering necessary skills which will benefit them in future better paying jobs. Educating youth on the merits of these types of jobs are very important. Some employers have mentioned “work ethic” as a major problem. Youth do not respect their boss, think they know more than them, do not work well in teams and struggle with the customer service aspect of the job. Probably due to a lack of experience in the lower paying jobs like retail, Tim Horton’s etc.
Will keep you posted on future findings.
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