Mixed Feelings Among University Grads About Future in New Brunswick
Right now, thousands of university students across New Brunswick are getting ready for convocation, a ceremony that marks the end of a long and challenging chapter in their lives.
But for many grads, it also means the time is running short for them to figure out, what’s next?
Unless they plan on pursuing further education, getting a meaningful job is what most students are gunning for after graduation. But many of them don’t think it can happen in New Brunswick. According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate of people between ages 15 to 24 in the province for March 2017 is 14.1 per cent, the fifth highest in the country alongside Alberta.
Shelby Macintyre, a St. Thomas University student double majoring in psychology and criminology, says she has been looking for work in the Fredericton area. Even though Macintyre was granted the Youth Employment Fund, a provincial subsidy aims to help unemployed young individuals who need work experience, she doesn’t think finding a job in her field in New Brunswick will be easy.
“The past week, I’ve applied to probably about 16 jobs,” says Macintyre. “I love Fredericton. I really do want to stay here, but I know in reality if nothing hooks in, then I’m just going have to move.”
“I know that the economy is in the toilet right now…There are not enough jobs. So everyone is going out west to do these oil things and stuff like that,” she says.
Adam Travis, a marketing student at the University of New Brunswick (UNB), says it’s heartbreaking to see only a few of his peers plan their future in this province, which they call home.
“The young, successful people I see are generally self-made. While inspiring, not everyone is an entrepreneur,” says Travis.
Adam Horan as an international relations student at St. Thomas thinks that it is harder to find opportunities in his field in New Brunswick than places like Ontario. So he’s been looking for customer service and sales related positions in the province instead.
“A lot of my friends that I have talked to, who aren’t going to graduate school, have been saying the same thing, like they’ve been applying for jobs, then get emails saying they have accepted the application, but never really hear back about any interview,” says Horan.
He says he would love to stay in Canada, but if he can’t find a job, he will have to move back home to Belmont, New Hampshire.
But it’s not a bleak picture for everyone. With tech skills being in high-demand in New Brunswick, many of the students who have degrees in computer science and software engineering seem to be having better luck at finding employment in the province.
Brent Simmons, a software engineering student at UNB says is confident that he will find a good paying, technology and ICT related job in New Brunswick.
“I am interviewing around a bunch of places, and it has been good. I’m going through the processes of job offers right now. I haven’t got to the end of it, but it feels pretty good,” he says. “Other software engineering students also seem to be able to find jobs. There seems to be employment.”