Nearly a third of recently graduated university students lost their job as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada, while nearly a quarter had a scheduled interview cancelled, a new report has found. The data, released by Statistics Canada Friday, painted a picture of labour force disruption that continues three years on. While those in the 2020 graduating class were just as likely to be employed today, they were less likely to be working full time.
Jodi Dekker, a 20-year-old student at the Indigenous pathways program at Coquitlam's Douglas College at the time, had her practicum at the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre at the Riverview Hospital cancelled after the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020. “I lost my chance there. It’s heartbreaking. Maybe it could have put me on a different path,” she said at the time. Dekker, who hails from Opaskwayak Cree Nation but grew up in Metro Vancouver, says that moment derailed her career path. She put school on hold, and worked at local grocery store deli. Four years later, Dekker says her dream practicum has been eliminated and she is still struggling to get back on track. “That would have been such a big help for me,” Dekker said. “I would have had a foot in the door for an actual career rather than just a job like Save-On-Foods.” Dekker is not alon