As the COVID-19 crisis endures, students at George Brown College (GBC) graduating in the Spring and Fall semesters are beginning to face the burden of a pandemic-induced recession. COVID-19 has turned Canada’s job market upside-down, with over 63,000 Canadian jobs lost in December 2020 alone. 

“The stores are locked down, the restaurants are locked down, and everything just sort of stopped functioning,” said Selina Hsu, an international student from Taiwan who is planning to graduate in the Spring 2021 semester. “If I want to stay here, I need to look for a job.” 

Some graduates say that landing the perfect job, or even any job, is becoming increasingly challenging. According to a Statistics Canada report published last summer, “young people have been hit particularly hard, as the unemployment rate for youth (15 to 24-year-olds) rose from 10.3% in February to a monthly historical high of 29.4% in May.” 

With COVID-19 cases increasing within the country and all over the world, students are worried about the volatility of their chosen career paths as companies and businesses continue to restrict new hires. Hsu wanted to become a merchandise planner or buyer during her studies at GBC, but with plenty of companies closing their doors, she feels unsure of her initial plan. 

“It’s such a struggle,” said Hsu. “I’m not even sure if I’m going to find a job as a merchandise planner or not. In fact, I don’t even know if I’m going to stay here or return to Taiwan.” 

On top of finding a job, students face the challenge of paying their tuition fees. Last year, Statistics Canada reported that the previous graduating class could lose $25,000 in income or more over the next five years, with some individuals losing up to  $23,000 to $44,000. 

To combat this problem, students are working part-time jobs while balancing more than a full course load to graduate. Although the current percentage of employed students, remains unknown, Statistics Canada reported that the employment rate of students aged 20 to 24 decreased by 22.7 per cent from February to April 2020. 

Asha Shaji, an international student from India, is going through a similar experience. Even though she takes nine courses – a full course load is seven courses – she also works as a crew member at a fast food restaurant to ease the financial stress. Shaji feels that she has neglected her well being and is uncertain about her path after graduation.

“When there are a lot of assignments going on in one week, it’s so difficult to handle everything,” said Shaji. “I’m so worried about getting a job and I feel like I’ll be stuck in my part-time job serving coffee after graduation.” 

The constant worry surrounding a volatile job market has induced a great level of anxiety upon students. Even with remote employment options available, students are unsure of the unexpected circumstances that may occur. Shaji had to recently deal with a family member being unemployed, which threw her further into financial stress. 

“One of my parents got sick and had to take a leave from work,” said Shaji. “They ended up hiring another person instead.” 

As for Hsu, she is continuously searching for an internship and hoping to secure a full-time job after. With COVID-19 cases escalating, she hopes to finish off the semester strong . 

“I am going to look for an internship and get the role that I want,” said Hsu. “Right now, we can only be analytical and optimistic about our decisions as the future is unpredictable.” 

With 67 per cent of students saying that they were very or extremely concerned about having no job prospects in the near future, many are unsure of the opportunities that will arise.  Hsu, however, remains hopeful.

“I hope that we can all graduate together, and work towards achieving our goal. It’s unpredictable but we can do it.”