|
How to deal with fewer vacancies in entry-level employment
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
.
Last week, Statistics Canada released their report on Job vacancies, Fourth Quarter 2023. In the report, we learn job vacancies have been falling for nearly two years and the greatest decline is in entry-level employment and employment for those with high-school graduation or less.
.
Job vacancies fell by 25,400 (-3.6%) to 678,500 in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking the sixth straight quarterly decline from the record high reached in the second quarter of 2022 (983,600).
.
While the erosion of available jobs has slowed in recent months, it is still reflective of a job market which is supporting workers with lots of experience and skills and disproportionately hurting workers who are new to the job market or the country; workers with gaps in their work history or workplace-based challenges; and those with minimal education and training.
.
The year-over-year drop in sales and service occupations in the fourth quarter was driven by declines in vacancies for food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations (-23,200 to 35,000), retail salespersons and visual merchandisers (-19,400 to 29,100), and cooks (-6,100 to 14,100).
.
There are a couple of factors to consider as we look into this drop. The wide-expansion of immigrants in recent years; whether permanent residents, temporary foreign workers or international students has over-supplied workers in these categories.
.
This was further increased when the federal government removed the 20-hour per week cap international students could work in the fall of 2022, although this exemption is set to expire April 30, 2024. More than 900,000 foreign students had visas to study in Canada last year, which is more than three times the number 10 years ago.
.
Another major factor in the drop in entry-level employment is the increased role of A.I. in workplaces. Restaurants, food service outlets, hotels and retail stores may not rely on robots to do the work of people, but they are increasingly relying on Apps to allow consumers to make purchases and systems for backend technology that significantly limits the workers needed on the floor of bricks and mortar establishments.
.
In the Spring of 2022, Canada experienced a nearly perfect labour market where there was approximately 1 job for every person looking for employment. Last quarter, there were 1.8 unemployed persons for every job vacancy, up from 1.7 in the previous quarter, and 1.2 in the fourth quarter of 2022.
.
From a job development perspective, employers are incredibly busy these days. They may have a generous supply of people applying for entry-level employment, but they are still grappling with shortages of people in higher skilled jobs such as those for nurses, engineers, teachers, trades people, computer programmers and a whole host of occupations that typically take four years of education and training to be fully skilled in the role.
.
Recognizing they are understaffed in these higher-skill roles, employers are needing to limit their hours, deal with unhappy customers and address the frustration and burnout of the skilled workers who remain. They have less time to hire, train, supervise and coach entry-level employees. This is why so many employers are looking for entry-level workers with experience, who are ready-to-go on day-one and who will require very little support.
.
Therefore, a great deal of our work with clients seeking employment needs to centre around prepping our clients and students to be ready on day-one.
.
From my perspective, there are three areas which can assist job seekers in standing-out against the competition when employers are stressed and burdened:
.
-
Employers are looking for self-starters: Job seekers should be prepared to note specific examples of when they’ve taken initiative in previous jobs; sought out the information or support they needed on their own; and developed solutions which supported the organization.
-
Developing an organization-focused outlook: It’s critical for job seekers to write their cover letter and resume with an understanding of the organization to which they are applying. Applications should reflect organizational goals, values and expectations demonstrating a strong understanding of what the employer is looking for. This can be accomplished by including phrases and terminology from both the job posting and the ‘about us’ section of the employer’s website.
-
Adopting the employer’s outlook: When meeting an employer at an event, job fair or when dropping off a resume in-person, a job seeker’s dialogue should reflect an understanding of the challenges the employer is facing. For instance, an applicant might use phrases such as “I know you are extremely busy,” “it must be difficult to find the time to onboard new employees,” or “serving customers well has never been so important.” They can then build on these phases by stressing what they can contribute. For instance, “I know you’re extremely busy and so I’ve included references which provide specific examples of what I can do for you,” or “serving customers has never been so important so I’ve included a few examples of Yelp reviews I received in my last job.”
.
While the number of available jobs for entry-level workers has been falling in the past couple of years, there are two factors which will likely reverse this trend in 2024. These include the 35% cut to the number of international students who are able to enter into the country and the other is a recently announced cap on temporary foreign workers; the first in Canada’s history.
.
These will go for far to address the over-supply of workers and we should see employers become more accommodating when hiring entry-level workers.
.
This said, the challenges of finding employment for entry-level work will never entirely disappear. Automation and the high number of Canadians who do not pursue post-secondary education and training will continue to leave many workers competing of a limited number of jobs.
.
Labour shortages will come and go in the decades to come, but Canada’s skills shortage is here to stay and in the career development sector we need to help inform job seekers about the security which can be achieved in skilled employment.
.
We’ll be discussing the challenges job seekers face in achieving entry-level employment at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday March 25th at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland. Visit: www.MotivatingMondays.ca on Monday to join the session LIVE.
| 
