News Job Cuts Young Workers
COVID cost 77 per cent of students a job opportunity: survey

Three of four Canadian students (77 per cent) lost out on an employment opportunity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a TalentEgg survey of 1,260 students and new grads.

Three in five (59 per cent) of students surveyed lost a summer job, internship or co-op placement, states the Student and New Grad COVID-19 Survey, which assessed the views of high school students, post-secondary and early career professionals on their experience with employers and schools during COVID-19.

The survey, which closed May 21, also indicated that 28 per cent of grads surveyed are concerned that the industry they work in will not recover from the economic downturn.

“Our advice for students is to use your summer to work on enhancing your employability skills in advance of the fall recruitment season,” said Mary Barroll, president of TalentEgg. “Whether you take up a new hobby, volunteer virtually, or take online e-learning courses — showing that you’ve been active during this time will speak volumes to recruiters.”

“Although we can’t change the impact that the pandemic had on summer jobs, internships and co-op opportunities in 2020, we can control how we move forward and put our best efforts into the next round of recruitment,” she said.

“If you were one of the students who lost an opportunity — take heart, and take this time to reach back out to employers and reopen the conversation about a fall or winter internship opportunity. It never hurts to ask.”