- Summer 2020 saw Indeed job postings down 20% compared to Summer 2019.
- Job postings continue to increase; November’s number of Indeed job postings were only down 8% compared to last year.
- In April 2020, we were down 64% in new job postings compared to April 2020.
- New job postings in Nov 2020 are up 9% compared to 2019 (and November is typically not a peak hiring time of year) signaling that many employers are looking ahead to next year.
Industry Specific Job Postings #
- Jobs in most sectors continue to improve with the most significant increases in loading and stocking, production and manufacturing, software development, and customer service.
- Manufacturing and production are up 6% in Nov 2020 compared to Oct 2020 and up 4% compared to the same time last year.
- HR, Admin Assistance, and Installation are up since last month but considerably down compared to the previous year.
- Roles like AA, clerical, and Installation & Maintenance are at risk of disruption by automation over the long term. Typically in downturns, organizations review their business processes to see where they can automate, streamline and cut operating costs.
- Disruption to business practices caused by COVID-19 restrictions will likely increase automation.
- Organizations are also looking to see how to do more with less, as is the case with management roles.
- Sport has been consistently down throughout the pandemic.
- Food prep and service continues to struggle – down 35% compared to last year.
Covid-19 Impacts On WIL #
The pandemic most certainly impacted WIL opportunities, with 35% of Canadian students reporting that their work terms had been canceled or postponed (Statistics Canada, 2020). Work terms in fields like services, health care, education, and trades, where work placements often take place at the end of a program, cancellations or postponements were more likely among prospective graduates (those who planned to graduate in 2020). In fields where work placements occur midway through the program, such as co-ops (e.g. engineering and engineering technology, science), cancellations were more frequent among continuing students (those who planned to graduate in a later year). Cancellations of work placements impacted a student’s integration into the workforce, their future career prospects, and their finances.
While it is clear that the pandemic negatively affected many students there is reason to believe that we are on the road to economic recovery. However, some say new labour market landscape may have been permanently disrupted.
Sources #
- Statistics Canada. (2020a, May). An exploration of work, learning, and work-integrated learning in Canada using the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults.
Research Findings on WIL and Industry Partner Engagement #
There has been an increased focus over the last five years to better prepare students entering the workforce during a time of profound economic, social, and technological change. Research has demonstrated that WIL is associated with better labour market outcomes post-graduation (Statistics Canada, 2020b; Statistics Canada, 2020a). Significant investment has been made Canada-wide in multi-stakeholder WIL initiatives, programs, and funding to increase student opportunities to gain real-life, relevant work experience, giving them a career leg-up, benefiting employers. Increased national WIL research and investment has been a global trend in the UK, Australia, US, and Germany. In June 2019, BC invested $9 million in co-op and work-integrated learning (Government of BC, 2019).
- Co-op is the most recognized form of work-integrated learning.
- In BC through 2018-19, there were about 17,000 co-op work placements involving nearly 7,800 different employers who paid more than $196.4 million in student wages.
- Co-op placements are concentrated in engineering (31% of placements in 2018-19), administration/business (18%), science (14%) and computer science (16%).
- The majority of students completing co-op work placements are at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Victoria (together, 85% of co-op students in 2018-19).
- About 11,300 (67%) of co-op work placements were with private-sector employers, about 4,800 (28%) with public sector employers (municipal, provincial and federal ministries and agencies), and about 900 (5%) with non-profit organizations.
WIL’s role in student’s career development is well known but how best to engage industry partners and build partnerships is an under-researched domain, especially in Canada. A few reports point out some key challenges that are having an impact on partner engagement in WIL.
Research (Patrick, Peach, & Pocknee, 2009; Patrick et al., 2014; PhillipsKPA, 2014; Smith et al., 2014; Ferns et al., 2016) has identified challenges and barriers that employers face in their involvement in WIL including associated cost, insufficient resources and support, staff capacity to mentor and supervise students, complexity of partnering with universities and limited, unclear information about how to engage the WIL process. The PhillipsKPA (2014) study of employer engagement with WIL concluded that enabling factors such as “clear and accessible information about WIL” (p. 50) were potentially more effective than the barriers to WIL.
…associated cost, insufficient resources and support, staff capacity to mentor and supervise students, complexity of partnering with universities and limited, unclear information about how to engage the WIL process are barriers to industry involvement
Employer Resource Gaps #
Despite significant investment in Canada and world-wide in multi-stakeholder WIL initiatives, programs and funding to increase student opportunities to gain real-life, relevant work experience giving them a career leg up and benefiting employers, many barriers to industry participation still exist. Based on our Employer Journey map we can see the areas for improvement are directly related to resources that can help new employers understand WIL and current ones to be better supported.
Industry requires concise, clear and accessible information to fully engage with WIL and optimize the benefits for all stakeholders.
Phillipskpa, 2014
The role WIL plays in students’ career development is quite clear but how best to engage industry partners and build partnerships is an under-researched domain, especially in Canada. A few reports point out some key challenges that are having an impact on partner engagement in WIL. Research (Patrick, Peach, & Pocknee, 2009; Patrick et al., 2014; PhillipsKPA, 2014; Smith et al., 2014; Ferns et al., 2016) has identified challenges and barriers that employers face in their involvement in WIL, including associated cost, insufficient resources and support, staff capacity to mentor and supervise students, complexity of partnering with universities and limited, unclear information about how to engage the WIL process. The PhillipsKPA (2014) study of employer engagement with WIL concluded that enabling factors such as “clear and accessible information about WIL” (p. 50), were potentially more effective than the barriers to WIL. Creating a clear employer communication strategy that addresses confusion and highlights funding opportunities (not just during economic down turns) could have a significant impact on creating WIL partnerships. Â
Other Key Findings #
Sixty five percent of employer resources were generic with no particular discipline focus.
FERN ET AL., 2016
- Employers typically first participated in WIL after being approached by a university or student. Only 30 organizations took the initiative in approaching a university.
- A clear majority (88 percent) of organizations participating in WIL plan to continue engaging university students over the next two years.
- Just one in five organizations not participating in WIL have thought about or attempted to engage a student.
- While the umbrella term ‘Work Integrated Learning’ is established among key stakeholders, almost half of the organizations surveyed are not familiar with the term.
- Organizations most likely to be active in providing students with WIL experiences have been in operation for around 20 years and/or have more than 15 employees.
- For smaller organizations, ensuring the quality of the WIL experience is particularly challenging given their limited resources.
- The two main barriers for organizations currently providing WIL opportunities are lack of resources and time for supervision of the student.
- The strongest factors encouraging ongoing employer engagement in WIL are support from the academic institution, strong personal connections with co-op services, and effective coordination of students.
Sources #
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