Public policy expert Matthew Mendelsohn offers a heartfelt challenge to employers in the policy community: make a concerted effort to hire more young students and recent grads.
In a hiring world ravaged by the pandemic, giving this cohort an initial foothold into the job market is crucial to kick starting their careers. He recognizes, in this post for First Policy Response, that it is difficult to get ahead even in the best of times. How much more so now?
“Life is filled with lucky and unlucky breaks, mediated by privilege, circumstance, government programs and community supports. Many young people have sacrificed a lot this year. I don’t want this COVID-19 cohort to have to sacrifice even more as they try to enter the labour market.”
Reflecting on the fortuitous path of his own career, Mendelsohn believes it is imperative to likewise provide platforms to those who are coming up now. He certainly would not be where he is today without others doing the same for him, he writes. For his own part, he is committed to offering such opportunities through the new Ryerson-based initiative Fast Start.
“How Canada recovers from the pandemic is not simply about collective choices we make through government policy. It is also about how each of us behaves in our communities. If Canada is going to come out the other side of this pandemic stronger, all of us must see ourselves as agents of the recovery,” writes Mendelsohn.
