As we exit summer-intern season, many students will return to their retail, customer service and hourly positions. Some may have finished full-time internships with massive growth opportunities in their desired field.
However, due to employees’ lack of flexibility in work schedules and hours to accommodate an academic schedule, students cannot continue to grow in their desired profession during the school year.
Employers need to increase workplace accessibility for students because many professions require some form of professional experience. The current model of job allocation limits professional development instead of fostering it.
Carleton University offers a slew of different degree options in areas ranging from mechanical engineering to social work.
In some cases, a job requires a heightened level of attention and time that would not be possible with a three-to six-course schedule. In some cases, a co-op option can assist with this issue, though co-op accessibility is another issue worthy of its own article. Fundamentally, options are severely reduced for students continuing their studies.
Many employers will assume that a student cannot take on a full-time job and a part-time or full-time time course load. This often leads to students being screened out of job opportunities, regardless of their true ability to undertake the role.
The 2019 Statistics Canada report on The Portrait of Youth in Canada correlates workplace inaccessibility with students enrolled in full-time post-secondary studies.
The report details that “because young applicants have accumulated relatively little job experience, employers may not consider young people when they apply for new positions.”
Jobs are even more difficult to obtain for racialized, disabled, female or transgender students.
A simple LinkedIn search finds many “junior” roles require their applicants to have completed their bachelor’s degree with a combination of several years of relevant experience. This is a grave problem, both for students and the labour force as a whole.
This prerequisite makes it more difficult for students to find jobs. When they do, they are often unpaid or underpaid internships.
It is important to consider the negative impacts of underpaid employment and workplace accessibility amidst the current affordability crisis Canadians are facing. At Carleton University, the cost of in-province tuition for the 2022-23 academic year for a bachelor of arts is $7,292.07. That is approximately $605 monthly solely to afford tuition for one year.
Tuition is not the only cost undertaken by post-secondary students. Housing, food, utilities, and other expenditures also take up space in a student budget. It is not enough.
Consequently, many students face an affordability crisis of their own. These impacts will have ripple effects throughout students’ personal, professional and academic lives because they are unable to attain jobs with adequate pay, and therefore not able to afford the cost of everyday living.
Canada celebrated Labour Day a month ago. Labour Day is dedicated to celebrating advancements in labour standards, collective bargaining and the eight-hour workday. However, many students and youth remain in positions with unaffordable wages and zero relevance to their desired field.
To resolve these issues, employers need to begin to undo the stigma of working while studying. Unfortunately, many employers hold the belief that “if you’re studying, you cannot work.” The foundation of this ideology is based on principles of elitist beliefs, inapplicable to the vast majority of students. It serves nobody to undermine a young professional’s determination and ambition.
Employers should increase workforce accessibility for students in order to grant them professional experience since most professions require a form of practice currently unavailable for those pursuing higher education.
Graphic by Angel Xing
