An employment company out of Sarnia is reporting that too many young Canadians are graduating with degrees and skills that don’t match the needs of employers.
Sarnia Express Employment Professionals said students are not getting enough work experience opportunities, and closing the skills gap requires students to get real-life work experience early on. Company officials added that better partnerships with schools and businesses are needed.
“Providing students with on-the-job experience is a great idea for businesses that have the opportunity. Experience is usually the main reason why companies reject applicants, so why not pay it forward and give students a head start by making them more employable for when they graduate?” said Bruce Hein, owner of the Sarnia Express franchise office.
They said employers are facing a growing skills gap in a tight labour market with an increasing number of job vacancies and more work experience opportunities are needed at the secondary level on top of programs such as co-op placements.
“It’s also important for employers and educators to work together to ensure our future workforce has the skills and education required in today’s economy. We are very fortunate in our community that industry has strong ties with education, because we all have a responsibility to develop tomorrow’s talent," said Hein.
