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They may be young, but they鈥檝e got drive and enthusiasm to spare. They grew up juggling after-school activities with busy social lives. They鈥檝e got iPods and cell phones locked to their hip. They鈥檝e been raised to achieve and are motivated to make an impact on the world around them. And whether you鈥檙e a 鈥淏oomer鈥� nearing retirement or a 鈥淕en Xer鈥� making your way up the corporate ladder, you鈥檇 best make room. The millennials are coming to a workplace near you. Born in the 1980s and early 1990s, the millennial generation 鈥� or 鈥済eneration Y鈥� as it鈥檚 often called 鈥� is making its way through universities and out into the labour market in numbers unseen since the baby boom came of age. Instead of fighting for jobs, as was the experience of graduates in years past, there鈥檚 a good chance that the jobs will be fighting for them.
鈥淵ou have to take business cycles into account, of course,鈥� qualifies Jim McNiven, a retired professor with the School of Public Administration. 鈥淏ut over the long term 鈥� seven, eight, 10 years 鈥� there will be real competition for these people, which is totally different than in the past.鈥�
The reason: a labour shortage that has significant implications for Canada鈥檚 economy. Like most developed countries, Canada鈥檚 birth rate is below replacement. 鈥淭his may be the first year where more people end up leaving the workforce than entering it,鈥� Dr. McNiven points out.
He鈥檚 crunched the numbers and concludes Nova Scotia will likely run out of available labour needed to continue its current rate of economic growth in 2015, a mere seven years away. This 鈥渮ero point鈥� varies across the country 鈥� Quebec and Ontario will likely hit it sooner, the Prairie provinces later 鈥� but it鈥檚 a national problem.
The possible solutions to this looming crisis鈥攚hich include encouraging immigration, raising participation rates and increasing productivity 鈥� don鈥檛 preclude the role millennials will play in the changing economy. Employers desperate for talent will be working hard to recruit millennials into key roles alongside up to three other generations of workers.
This poses challenges for employers and employees alike. Kirby Nickerson graduated two years ago from Engineering and had the opportunity to stay in Nova Scotia to work with Michelin. While his various co-op experiences prepared him well for his technician鈥檚 job, there was a learning curve when it came to integrating with coworkers significantly older and more experienced than him.
鈥淎s a young engineer coming in, it took a fair amount of time to prove myself,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 here to help and improve the company, sure, but I also know that there鈥檚 a lot to be gained in learning from my coworkers鈥� experience.鈥�
Companies are working hard to figure out strategies to best integrate millennials like Mr. Nickerson into their workforces, explains Adwoa K. Buahene. She鈥檚 a managing partner with n-gen, a performance consulting company, and the co-author of the book Loyalty Unplugged: How to Get, Keep & Grow All Four Generations (Xlibris Corporation). Ms. Buahene expects that millennials will 鈥渞evolutionize鈥� the way we work as organizations shift their culture to meet new employees halfway.
鈥淲e鈥檙e learning that they can afford to be choosy about who they come on board with and who offers them the best fit from a work-life balance perspective,鈥� says Gail Seipp, a AV俱乐部 graduate who now manages on-campus recruiting for Frito Lay Canada. Her company now offers a flexible work-life balance policy that tries to find solutions benefiting both employee and employer. 鈥淚f an employee suggests an idea on how Frito-Lay can improve his or her work-life balance, we work to support the employee to make it happen.鈥�
鈥淐ompanies are looking at their people practices and saying, 鈥楧o we really tap into the motivations, behaviours and expectations of all four generations?鈥欌�� says Ms. Buahene. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e also changing their recruitment and hiring practices accordingly.鈥�
This competition for tomorrow鈥檚 talent means the days of relying on a job ad alone to attract students are numbered. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough,鈥� says Laura Addicott, director of AV俱乐部鈥檚 Career Services Centre. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still very integral, but it鈥檚 just the mechanism by which the final connection is made. The rest of the process has to be relationship building.鈥�
Facilitating relationships between students and employers is increasingly central to the Career Services Centre鈥檚 mandate. In her decade with the office formerly known as the Student Employment Centre, Ms. Addicott has seen dramatic changes in how companies and organizations are working to recruit university students.
鈥淲e had to do a lot more work in those days to encourage people to recruit students from AV俱乐部, and I鈥檓 sure my colleagues across the country would say the same thing,鈥� she says. 鈥淭oday, their tactics are changing. The quality of the production material and its messaging is dramatically improving. They鈥檙e trying to understand their audience, give them what they want, and are working through units like ours to reach them better.鈥�
In the 21st century, universities like AV俱乐部 are a magnet for corporate, government and nonprofit recruitment. During this past academic year, 215 organizations presented at campus-wide career fairs, 180 employers participated in other career activities on campus and over 15,000 jobs were posted to the Career Services Centre鈥檚 website.
One of the most successful employer information sessions this past year was organized by Health Canada, attracting nearly 100 students to learn about job opportunities for BSc graduates. Its hook: joining senior management representatives were comedians from the Second City comedy troupe, adding a lighter touch to the government department鈥檚 pitch.
鈥淪ending a bunch of 45- or 50-year-olds in suits by themselves to talk to students is probably not a winning approach in hiring new recruits,鈥� acknowledges Health Canada鈥檚 Cathy Peters, who managed the national recruitment drive. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new way of promoting ourselves that is a little more natural, fun and upbeat, while still getting our message across about what we do and why it matters.鈥�
Priya Verma was one of the students hired in that recruitment drive and she is moving to Ottawa to work as a scientific regulator. Health Canada is a good fit for her ambitions: she wants no less than to play a major role in shaping national and international health policy in the future. When talking to prospective employers, she鈥檚 looking for a sense of what she can contribute and how the organization can help her achieve her goals.
鈥淚 want to know that, as a new graduate, I鈥檓 not going just to be getting someone鈥檚 coffee or being somebody鈥檚 assistant, but actually be valued for my information and my capacity to contribute,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 need to know what my opportunities are going to be.鈥�
Interactions with employers aren鈥檛 limited to job fairs and information sessions. For Toks Bakinson, who graduated this spring with her MBA, the term 鈥渆levator pitch鈥� took on a whole new meaning when a casual conversation with a recruiter traveling on the Rowe building elevator made an impression. It led to her current job in Calgary as a financial analyst with Imperial Oil.
鈥淚 was just casually chatting and he turned out to be an employer!鈥� she laughs as she recalls her conversation.
Ms. Bakinson, like many of her peers, has big plans: she wants to travel and hopefully work for an international non-profit organization. But she sees her new position as an ideal launching point for her career. 鈥淭he thing about having a plan is flexibility,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually written in sand, and can even be washed away at times. But it helps me focus, knowing that I have an outline.鈥�
In many ways, Ms. Bakinson has mapped out the ideal roadmap for the millennial generation, one that balances between planning ahead and embracing opportunity.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much choice available today,鈥� concludes Ms. Addicott. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the struggle it may have been in the past for some generations, and it isn鈥檛 the narrow path that people may have taken or have seen to take in the past. When there鈥檚 so much choice, why not try to explore? Graduates can turn their goals into reality 鈥� the opportunity is out there in today鈥檚 market.鈥�
Don Christie with AV俱乐部's Career Services Centre assisted with research on this article.