Recent survey conducted by Statistics Canada reports that around 51,000 new jobs were created in February 2013. This is a positive surprise for a country that has been recuperating from the global economic downturn in 2008. Now the important question is: would such development trickle down to the millennial graduates looking for entry-level work?

It has been really hard for the Y-generation to get student jobs. Like in Europe and the United States, youth unemployment has also risen in Canada; the primary reason being lack of relevant work experience. Competition for entry-level positions and even just for part-time jobs has become stiffer by   the minute and because a lot of companies have found the need to cut labor cost, the first to go were also the last to get in.

Educated labor

Another recent survey conducted by CareerBulder North America shows how employers have become really picky in hiring entry-level employees. The study, released in March 2013, shows that 36 percent of employers are hiring college and university graduates for job vacancies that used to only require high school education. About 25 percent of hiring managers would claim to have raised standards when it comes to education requirements, 59 percent of whom would say you should at least have a two-year degree to get hired while 45 percent believes that a four-year degree is necessary for an entry-level position. And this isn’t just true for educated labor. Employers are also looking for an educated workforce to fill up skilled job positions, according to Brent Rasmussen of CareerBuilder.

This news, however, can work two ways that a new graduate or a student who are looking for an entry-level job can take advantage of. One, the job market has become really competitive that college graduates have to settle with a lower skill job. The other reason could be that companies are now more aware of hiring employees who can produce high quality results. The survey again speaks for itself. Among the respondents, 76 percent says they are hiring more entry-level workers with a college degree because they produce higher quality of work. In addition, 41 percent is unlikely to promote a worker who does not have a college degree.

Job mismatch

Now how can the millennial generation take advantage of such job market situation? –Simply by going after entry-level job opportunities that are related to their field of study. Today there is a huge degree of job mismatch in Canada that could be the reason why the new graduates find it difficult to find the right job.

A recent study by CIBC says that 30 percent of Canadian companies suffer from labor shortages and yet the number of unemployed young people rises every year. There are at least 25 industries that show signs of labor shortages which include the field of science, engineering, health, accounting and mining.

Student-jobs.ca

So it is not that there are no jobs. New graduates just don’t know how to start looking with a degree that the market is not ready for. For now, an online employment agency such as Student Jobs International, Inc. (student-jobs.ca) can bridge the gap between a new graduate and an entry-level job opening but there has to be an equal trust on the part of the employer.

Students today are not only intelligent and skilled in information technology and communication; they are also very eager to learn. Just fresh out of school, their versatility and intuitiveness can make up for the lack of work experience. The movement that is being started through student-jobs.ca is an important one as it connects hiring managers and employers to a very misunderstood workforce.

Julienne, A real Millennial, is a blogger and savvy researcher interested in labor market issues for the Generation Y and Millennial generation.