Latest news with #youthemployment
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
‘Low status' of farming puts off the young, says don
A census report shows that only 22.2% of those in agriculture were aged between 15 and 45. PETALING JAYA : An academic has blamed the low number of younger Malaysians in agriculture on their perception that the industry is of 'low status' and does not offer high monetary gains. Christopher Teh, head of Universiti Putra Malaysia's agriculture faculty, said the low number of young people in agriculture posed a threat to Malaysia's food security. A government report has revealed that only 22.2% of individual agricultural operators were aged between 15 and 45. Teh said Indonesia struggled with the same issue with youngsters only making up 3.55% of farmers, while about two-thirds of farmers in the Philippines did not want their children to go into farming. He said there was a negative perception that a career in agriculture would not yield adequate financial returns compared with a white-collared job which often came with 'status'. 'Farmers are still tied to the image of rural poverty and challenging physical work, which doesn't line up with the aspirations of the younger generation, who are more attracted to high-technology careers with social prestige. 'Although modern agriculture now involves state of the art technology and presents the potential of reaping good profits, this negative perception remains. And other sectors offer more attractive fixed salaries,' he told FMT. On Thursday, the government released the interim report on the 2024 agriculture census, which showed that 45.4% of individual agricultural operators were aged 60 and above; only 22.2% were aged between 15 and 45, while 32.3% comprised those aged 46 to 59. Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said Sabah recorded the highest number of young farmers, totalling 6,180, aged 15 to 30, followed by Perak (5,149) and Sarawak (3,583). For farmers aged 60 and above, Sarawak topped the list with 63,452, followed by Kedah (61,886) and Sabah (57,007). In launching the report, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said this posed a serious challenge to Malaysia's agriculture sector as it affected productivity and the ability to sustain domestic food production. To woo young Malaysians into entering the sector, Teh said, the government could introduce support initiatives like start-up grants, import duty exemptions for modern equipment and workshops to allow budding farmers to master modern agriculture technology. He also suggested holding agriculture 'hackathons' to bring young engineers, programmers and farmers together to come up with prototype technology solutions for various operational challenges the sector may face. This would contribute to the development of modern agriculture while fostering interest among young Malaysians in the sector. 'We could make use of idle land through a revenue sharing model, giving young farmers the right to use these land without high rental fees, while landowners receive a share of the returns. 'This approach not only circumvents the lack of agriculture sites, but will also help establish a sustainable network of farmers in both urban and rural areas,' he said.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Students and young people in Ottawa struggling to land summer jobs
This summer could be one of the most challenging summers in recent years for young Canadians looking for a job. 'I'm still in school, so I'm just looking for any part-time job,' says Carleton University student MacKenzie Capretta. Like many students, she's struggling to find summertime work and has applied to dozens of jobs online. 'Sometimes you don't even get a response. Or they want people with experience and stuff like that, but when you don't have experience, because you're still in school, that's what's hard.' A recent study by job site 'Indeed' shows summer job postings are down 22 per cent from this time last year, and typical summer jobs like camp councillors, lifeguards, and temporary manual labourers, like painters, are also down. At the YMCA, Employment and Newcomer Services help connect anyone looking for a job in the National Capital Region free of charge. There are three YMCA Employment Access Centres in Ottawa, at 150 Isabella St. downtown, 1624 Merivale Rd. in Nepean, and a new centre that opened a few months ago in Orléans at 240 Centrum Blvd. The job market for students is shifting, says senior director Employment and Newcomer Services, Sebastien Martin. 'The problem right now that we're experiencing is that a lot of the Baby Boomers that are or should be retired, are not retiring right now because the cost of living is skyrocketing,' Martin says. Plus, with the uncertainty of U.S. tariffs, the end of the COVID-era, and recent layoffs at major retailers like Hudson's Bay and in the public sector, students aren't only competing with other students for work. 'Those summer positions that maybe were available, now have been filled in by a different age group that are in need of that paycheck,' says Martin. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says there are more 400,000 vacant positions in small and medium-sized business across Canada. 'There still are a ton of smaller companies that hire through personal contacts and through cold call drop-ins,' says CFIB President Dan Kelly. He strongly encourages students to look beyond only applying for work online. 'If you present yourself, you look the hiring manager or the owner in the eye, your chance of landing a job is so much greater than if you simply just dump a resume through a search engine, or you're just available through one of the online job boards.' Students who apply for jobs in person and make a physical connection with employers have a great chance of securing summer work, he says. 'The challenge is that young people are so used to doing something from behind a screen,' says Kelly. 'If you're trying to land a job, you might have to get out and put the phone aside for a few minutes and hit the street.'
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Tough summer job market
Ottawa Watch Many young people say they're having a tough time finding a summer job in Ottawa. CTV's Kimberley Fowler reports.
CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
U.S. tariffs and a growing population to blame for lack of summer jobs for youth, expert says
Summer is here, and for many high school students that means it's time to lock down a summer job. DiMarco Brown is a Grade 11 student from Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate. He's eager to work but that attitude hasn't yet landed him a job. "It's really hard to be honest. I applied to like 20 jobs over the last year and ... I only got one reply... and it was a rejection," he said, adding that he wishes he had more family connections. "It's hard unless you know someone that works in the business. I think it would be easy if you know someone that works at the place, but other than that, you just have to keep on calling back and having to beg for the attention." Timothy Lang is the president and CEO of the job placement agency, Youth Employment Services. He says high school students are facing a tough job market this summer. "Where they might have typically had to approach 20 or 30 opportunities to get an interview, now they're having to talk to hundreds," Lang said. "It's more difficult this year than last year... we're hopeful that with the seasonal jobs coming on like landscaping and tourism, parks and rec and hospitality with patios and so on, that more jobs will open up." Lang says one of the reasons there's more competition for summer jobs this year is the record number of new Canadians that moved to Canada. "Long term it's good for the economy, creates even more jobs, but short term it puts more pressure [on the job market]," he said. The impact of U.S. tariffs, or even the threat of them have also caused employers to hold back on the number of people they're hiring. "Tariffs have put some uncertainty into businesses. They're uncertain of what's going to happen down the road," Lang said. "Small business who might hire two people in the summer if they decide, 'OK, I'm going to hire just one.' And you expand that by thousands of small businesses, suddenly that's a 50 per cent drop in the number of hirings." Achilles Goldaev, a Grade 12 student from Cameron Heights Collegiate, already has a head start. She's nabbed a co-op opportunity to help build her resume. "Hopefully I'll be able to get a job," Goldaev said. "[I'm open to] pretty much anything outside of food service ... I know that a lot of the time it's not always like the most hygienic. And I'd like to keep being able to buy fast food without knowing about all that." Grade 12 Cameron Heights student Shreya Sooraj says she found part-time work as a cashier at a retail store in Conestoga Mall. "I applied to five jobs a week and then I finally heard back in November from them," she said, adding that one of the big barriers is a lack of experience. "I have some friends who have two or three jobs and other people just don't have any jobs." Kareem El-Khatib, a Grade 9 student from Cameron Heights, finds inspiration at home. This year marks the first time he's ever applied for a job. "My dad always goes to work and it's good that he makes money and I feel like I wanna make my own money," El-Khatib said, adding that he's open to any kind of job but is most interested in working as a cashier. His classmate and friend Mustafa Abdaroa says he wants to become a family physician one day. He's already trying to build a resume with that goal in mind. "I would like something like a part-time job, something a bit more interactive. I would like to work around people because it's very important to be able to work with different people [for a physician]." Abdaroa says he's already typed up a resume and asked his older sisters to take a look at it to help him improve. Fellow Grade 9 student Samuel Wu is one of the few students in his class to already have a job. It took him multiple years to get here. "I'm an assistant lifeguard in the city of Cambridge right now," Wu said, adding that he had to first take a couple of courses before working his way up the ladder.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
A career counsellor's tips for summer-job seeking youth
According to Stats Canada, the unemployment rate for Albertans 15 to 24 years old is the highest in the country. Career counsellor and leadership coach Jeanet Lamoca shared with CTV Edmonton's Kent Morrison her top tips for youth trying to enter the workforce. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Networking First and foremost, rely less on your resume and more about making connections with people and introducing yourself personally. That's what's going to be a differentiator. There are a lot of people applying online, so you're going up against a huge number of people. It does rely on keyword search and whether or not you have the experience and can get through the system. Taking some initiative, showing up a little differently than your competitors, by going and knocking on doors. Start local. Go with the shops in the neighbourhood. Rely on your network, family and friends, have them talk you up to other people, and listen for opportunities. Good Attitude Have a good attitude. How you show up matters, and it's memorable. If you're showing up with a good attitude, with initiative, putting forth an effort and putting yourself forward, that's going to be more memorable than the lack of experience. A lot of young people are worried that if they don't have the experience, they can't compete. This is a really important time to build experience. Employers know you're young, you're new, you may not have the experience yet, but showing up shows commitment, and a sense of responsibility. Skills Building It also is an opportunity for you to build team-working skills, communication skills, and these are foundational to the rest of your career. The way you start your job search and your approach to it matters now; it might be the first or second time doing it, but it's not going to be the last time. Play on your Interests Focus on yourself. What do you like to do? Play on those interests or skills. If you like animals, perhaps it's a pet store, perhaps it's dog walking. If you like to be outdoors, maybe it's cutting lawns and doing some landscaping. If you like kids, perhaps it's going to a camp, or it's babysitting. If you like organization, maybe it's cleaning garages for your neighbours, or maybe it's doing delivery. If you like cycling, I know there's a provider who does delivery, and they have their people ride bikes to deliver their packages. Resume Tools In terms of the tools, there are tools online. You can create a simple and easy resume. You can use different sites like Youth Canada, TalentEgg, Variety Village or Charity Village. Look for volunteer opportunities as well, because that's an opportunity to build skills, and this is where you're building a track record. Skills and reputation are going to help you to advance next year when you're looking again, if you're a 15 to 16 year old. But if you're a young professional out of university, it's also an opportunity to start building that reputation. Get Started Get known, get your references built up. Focus on yourself, then focus on the market and how to approach it. Be creative. Look for short term gigs, look to your neighbours, look to what's close around you, and do it over and over and over again. It's daunting, but it's a process that takes time and perseverance really matters.
