Stephen Poloz's suggestion that young workers should work for free has been in the news over the past couple days. My take is that he was recommending that young, unemployed workers gain experience via unpaid internships, which is arguably an end run around employment standards laws that prohibit contracting out of the minimum wage. Politically, Poloz's comments were indefensible given the high youth unemployment rate, and we've seen both Joe Oliver and Jason Kenney having to distance themselves from them. Instead of providing a more extensive rebuttal of Poloz's comments (listen to that here) I thought that I would share a wonderful letter from Elizabeth Lane, who is a young worker who is struggling to land a good job. She brings up a lot of good points about the structural problems in the youth labour market. Elizabeth's letter appears directly below.
Well, Stephen Poloz, I can confidently say you are correct on a singular statement: "I'm pretty sure these kids have not taken early retirement."
I would like to refute your remaining comments.
You’re very idyllic, Mr. Poloz. If you volunteer or participate in an unpaid internship, it will enhance your resume, and you will be successful in gaining employment.
You are not alone in your thinking, as even I shared this exact mentality. However, I am a testament to the unreality of your advice.
I am a 24 year old female and a BAH Queen’s University 2012 alum. I worked full-time for a year after graduation (two contract positions), being paid a straddling-the-poverty-line salary. After the completion of the second contract, I faced the job hunt once more. In lieu of an elusive full-time permanent position (a seemingly unachievable dream), I accepted an unpaid internship with a PR firm, carrying with me the naïve hopes it would lead to a paid position.
What I endured during the placement brutally attacked my mental well-being, confidence, and skill set. After continuously being exploited, and thus conducting my own research surrounding the legalities of unpaid work, I decided to leave the three-month internship at the two-month mark. I could not continue justifying to myself that being taken advantage of (i.e. taking out the garbage, washing dishes by hand at events for hours, and being verbally attacked by the female CEO) was worth the “what-if” of an employment opportunity.
Mr. Poloz, are you suggesting I return to such an environment; that I recommend it to my fellow not-in-early-retirement but not-yet-young-professional peers?
Your next bit of advice: volunteering. Funnily enough, I have also checked this box. Advice given to me when I was rejected from my “dream” organization was to gain volunteer experience with that exact organization. That was my only shortcoming, or so I was told. What did I do for the next two months? I volunteered. What did I do when I was referred by employees at said organization to apply for a permanent position? I applied, even using a manager at that very organization as a reference. Did I get an interview? No.
Today, my full-time job is hunting for a full-time job. I work at least 9am-5pm, 7 days a week. I do not have benefits, lieu, overtime compensations. I am an Employment Insurance recipient, however, that ends in December. Yes, I am fortunate that I live with my parents. The truth of the matter is, I would not be able to afford to live without them.
For entry-level positions, which are rare to begin with, do you know the minimum number of years of work experience employers request? 2-3 years. Let me ask you this, how can I gain work experience if employers won’t hire me because I don’t have enough work experience?
Do not mistake my words for purely complaints. I am merely sounding off truths that young people are experiencing day to day, as you stated, “that 200,000 young Canadians are out of work, underemployed or back in school trying to improve their job prospects.”
I have failed to mention that I recently used my own savings to return to school in order to become bilingual, attempting to differentiate myself from the other 199,999 young Canadians.
Something has failed here: the economy, the educating systems, a combination of both. Recent undergraduates are competing with Masters and PhD holders for assistant and coordinator positions. The Class of 2015 is going to be up against the latter two, in addition to undergraduates who now possess years of unpaid internships and volunteer experience.
I cannot offer a current solution to the problem at hand, but Mr. Poloz, I assure you, unpaid work is not the answer.
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