GradsLikeMe seeks to aid Canadian youth employment

Provides tools to increase access to potential jobs

Finding employment after graduation is a significant issue for university students. Classes within specialized programs teach them the skills they’ll need to work in their respective fields, yet most post-secondary programs lack practical employment skill training.

Ashton Louie is the creative marketing director for a new Vancouver-based career network program called GradsLikeMe, a project that works to address this problem.

Founders Paul Brar and Preet Dhaliwal “wanted to create a space where young people could better showcase their personal work, while also not wasting their time just searching for jobs,” says Louie.

When they launch in early March, GradsLikeMe will provide portfolio-building tools, job-search tools, and job postings for recent graduates and current students to access. The network will also allow companies to “target the young demographic.”

“The plan is to help tackle Canadian youth unemployment, because there is really no resource for it right now.”

University career or co-op service departments act as a resource, but depending on the size of the institution, the opportunities may not be the same.

“It is expensive to post (jobs) at the universities,” said Louie. “If companies are going to reach out to them, they’re going to reach out to just the main ones where they know the most students are going to see them.”

Scott McLeod is the co-op office coordinator for Kwantlen Polytechnic University and he feels the program has improved and gained more student attention in recent years.

“We’re still kind of in the shadows of SFU and UBC, but the number of students going through co-op that have been placed in the last couple of years has gone up.”

There are 450 students currently going through Kwantlen’s co-op program, with 70 more students expected to enter the program over the next month. Most of KPU’s co-op programs are positioned within business and accounting. There are also co-op programs in criminology and community criminal justice and a required co-op for the Environmental Protection Technology Diploma.

A recent UBC graduate herself, Louie realizes it can be frustrating when applicants see “job listings that say it’s for an entry-level position, except then it asks for five-plus years of experience.” GradsLikeMe is hoping to help students move past this aspect of applying for jobs and teach them how to market their unique skills.

While job searching can get discouraging, Louie believes “students are still capable of so much” and they should keep looking for work while in school and after graduation.

“Work experience of any kind is beneficial, as opposed to taking classes, doing school, and then trying to find work afterwards,” says McLeod. “Trying to incorporate some kind of work experience, whether it relates to your field or not, is always beneficial.”