Compass youth panel: The current job market and new federal budget

Well, it is the end of the school year for many post secondary students. Now what graduates are looking for work. But a sizable share of the increase in Canada S overall unemployment rate is due to new young job seekers, youth and recent graduates who are spending more time looking for work. So let’s dig into it with our youth panel. Camille Madi, student Union president at UPI, and Eddie Childs from Holland College are back. Lovely to see you both. Yes, nice see you as well. So, Eddie, what are the job prospects looking like? You know, are are you hearing that it is tougher out there? Yeah, pretty consistently. It’s a little bit more difficult than our graduates were expecting. I think Louise, you know the the market has changed a lot from a couple of years ago sort of after the pandemic everyone’s looking to staff up to today. So the balance is is now returned to being in favor of the employers. So it’s a little bit harder going out there at the moment. And then I’m assuming salaries are a challenge as well. Camila, you finding that? Yes. We’ve been hearing from a lot of students that the search itself, they’re trying to find jobs that fit their price range, so ones that are available to them where they’re living. Students don’t have necessarily options to go travel for work and they also are trying to find probably more than one job to help supply them with the assistance that they need to continue. Yeah, we keep talking about the cost of living going up. Salaries haven’t kept pace and when I look at some of the even these entry level jobs, Eddie, the salaries are just they’re they’re low for, for the for the qualifications required. Absolutely. This this has been a problem for a number of years now. But I I think there was hope that we would see improvement on the other side of the pandemic. But where we’re at now this year, I think wage stagnation is still a really big issue for graduates. Is it, is it discouraging right now for students? Are they feeling, yeah, you’ve seen that of course, yes. I actually had a student today that I was discussing with and he has said that he’s been looking for a job since September. So it’s definitely a long process for our students to find jobs that they think are not only worth their time, but also think that they’d also enjoy. Yeah, that that. That’s the hard part, right? Is, is trying to find what you want to do something you’re going to want to do and get paid well enough to live, to live your life. Let’s talk about the federal budget. I know there were a number of things that student groups were advocating for. Did you like what you saw, what you heard there? Yeah. Personally, I’m very satisfied with this budget from a student perspective. I’m grateful that government listened to us, listened to myself and Camille, our student unions, they listened to our colleagues at the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations and implemented a lot of budget measures that are going to make a big difference on students. You know, so we’ve got $500 million for mental health funds for students. The Canada Student Grant is going to be maintained at current levels. And also there are new funds for Indigenous learners and all sorts of provisions for housing. So we’re very happy with it, Camille. But stood out for you. Yep. For us as well. When we were in ADVO week, we were advocating for quite a few things that we did see in the federal budget. So it’s great to see things like the research grants also expanding for post secondary and graduate students. It’s also great to see again the mental health resources for students. And obviously housing has been a large issue provincially and federally that we’ve seen across with our other students union. So it’s great to see awareness with that as well. Must be, must feel good to have been heard or at least feel like you were heard when you actually see the budget come out. It does, yeah. I mean, we had meetings with our local representatives, with Sean Casey, with some of our senators like Brian Francis. And they were not just receptive to the concerns that we brought to them, but they issue by issue helped us advocate those things as well. So they signed letters and distributed them to their colleagues and I think it made a really big difference in getting these budget, budget lines in there for students. You mentioned housing. And on that note, both of your student unions were recently in the legislature and talking about the $75,000 that government’s giving to do these student housing surveys, the needs of really both domestic and international students. So, so Eddie, what’s the status of that right now? Yeah, so the status is, is, is the work is ongoing. We have multiple workshops planned which students can participate in and as well the survey itself. So I can certainly find that through our Instagram pages. That’s that’s a good spot for students to go to find things. So check out the Holland College Student Union, UPI Student Union, and if you’re a student listening to this, please take a moment to complete that survey. I think it will make a big difference in the years ahead as we implement policies to meet the housing need. How important is it that government is giving you the power to do this? So, so giving you the grant for you to actually reach out to students and get that information, yes, the survey is a fantastic resource for us is something that we see with student unions is that we have crazy turnover with our executives. So to continuously advocate to our provincial and federal government, you see a lot of turnover. There’s not a consistency there. So having this resource and having definitive proof and evidence of what is needed in our housing strategies is very important. My final question is about you too, as your terms of student union presidents are coming to a close. So, Eddie, I’ll start with you. By asking what is this role meant to you? I mean it’s it’s really meant the world to me to represent students in the way that I have and to do my best to advance the Holland College Student Union to make it more present in the community, make people more aware and media that we’re here and that we’re we’re trying to advocate for our students and that we want to be heard. So I’m. I’m very proud of the work that we’ve done on this on that front this year and and the things that we’ve successfully advocated for with our federal counterparts. Yeah. Do you feel like you’ve made a difference with what’s this job meant to you? Yes. This job has been honestly immeasurable for its experienced. Everything I’ve gotten to do, every meeting, every committee, every interaction has honestly been an incredible experience. I have to say that working with our counterparts with the Holland College Student Union and we’re kind of rebuilding the trust and growth within the UPS student Union has really been important. So it’s been fantastic. And the experience that it’s given you for the future, I mean just even that alone is, is worth its weight in gold, probably. Well, thank you both so much. You’re not going anywhere, though. I think you’re going to be back as panelists. So just because your term is up as presidents, you’re still going to be with us on, on our youth panel. So I appreciate your insight as always. Thank you. Thank you.