Seven in 10 Canadians Say Young Adults Aren’t Getting Enough Help to Find Careers: Survey

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Choosing a career has never been a single decision, yet many young Canadians are expected to make high-stakes choices while the ground shifts beneath them. Entry-level hiring remains difficult, artificial intelligence is changing job descriptions, and familiar routes from school to stable employment are becoming less predictable.

At the same time, career support can still amount to a brief conversation, a résumé workshop or a list of online postings. Those tools have value, but they rarely provide the workplace exposure, trusted relationships and personalized direction needed to turn an interest into a realistic career path. Growing concern about the transition into work is therefore not simply a criticism of young people, schools or employers. It reflects a broader recognition that navigating today’s labour market has become a complicated task—and that too many young adults are being asked to manage it largely on their own.

The Seven-in-10 Result Points to a Systemic Concern

Seven in 10 respondents said Canada may not be doing enough to help young adults between 18 and 29 find careers, according to national research commissioned by Meridian Credit Union and conducted by Leger. Concern was even higher among respondents aged 25 to 34, with 75 per cent questioning whether sufficient support is available. The results came from an online poll of 1,521 Canadian adults conducted from April 17 to April 20, 2026. The size of the response suggests the issue extends well beyond parents worrying about their own children. Canadians who recently navigated the transition themselves appear especially conscious of how difficult it can be.

The results also reveal concern about the programs intended to close the gap. Sixty-five per cent of respondents aged 18 to 24 expressed doubts about the effectiveness of existing skills-training programs, as did 52 per cent of those aged 25 to 34. That does not necessarily mean available programs are ineffective. It may mean they are difficult to discover, too general, disconnected from employers or unable to address the practical obstacles that prevent young adults from completing them. A course can teach a technical skill, but it cannot automatically provide transportation, professional contacts, confidence or a clear path to a first job.

A Difficult Youth Job Market Raises the Stakes

Young Canadians received some encouraging employment news in May 2026, when the unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 declined by 0.9 percentage points to 13.4 per cent. Youth employment increased by 22,000 during the month, including a notable rise in full-time positions. Even after that improvement, however, youth unemployment remained well above the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent. Statistics Canada noted that the rate has consistently exceeded that earlier benchmark since January 2024.

Students searching for summer work have faced particularly difficult conditions. The unemployment rate among returning students aged 15 to 24 was 18 per cent in May 2026. That was an improvement from 20.1 per cent a year earlier, when students experienced the slowest start to a summer job season since 2009, excluding the pandemic years. These figures help explain why career guidance matters before a young person reaches a crisis point. When vacancies are limited, unsuccessful applications can easily be interpreted as evidence that an entire career choice was wrong. Strong guidance can help distinguish between a temporary hiring slowdown, a weak application strategy, a missing credential and a genuine mismatch between an individual’s goals and the opportunities available.

The Bigger Problem May Be Navigation, Not Motivation

Only one in six respondents in the Meridian research believed young adults lack the skills needed to succeed in the job market. That is a striking contrast with the much larger number who believed Canada may not be providing enough career support. The difference suggests many Canadians do not see young people as unwilling or incapable. Instead, they see a generation struggling to identify which skills are valuable, where those skills can be learned and how they translate into real employment.

International evidence supports that interpretation. The OECD has found that young people’s career expectations are increasingly concentrated in a relatively narrow group of traditional, high-status occupations, even as employers report shortages in other sectors. The organization also warns that many modern job titles are difficult to interpret, leaving students surrounded by more information but not necessarily more clarity. A young person may recognize familiar careers such as teacher, lawyer or nurse while knowing little about less visible occupations in logistics, advanced manufacturing, energy, cybersecurity or specialized construction. Better support would not pressure students toward a particular field. It would help them compare wages, working conditions, training requirements, local demand and advancement prospects before committing substantial time or money.

Young Applicants and Small Employers Are Missing Each Other

Part of the employment problem may be a basic mismatch in how employers recruit and how young adults search. Research from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 62 per cent of small businesses primarily recruit through personal connections and referrals from people they trust. Meanwhile, 73 per cent of young job seekers rely mainly on online job boards, while only about half draw on their personal networks. Openings can therefore exist without reaching the candidates who need them.

This imbalance is especially consequential for young adults whose families have limited professional networks in Canada or little connection to growing industries. A student whose parent works in construction, finance or health care may hear about entry-level openings through everyday conversation. Another equally capable student may never learn that the position exists. Mentorship can help close that divide, yet an earlier RBC-Ipsos poll found that only 39 per cent of Canadians aged 14 to 29 had a career mentor they could rely on. Networking should not mean asking young adults to collect contacts without direction. Effective programs can introduce them to employers, alumni, tradespeople and working professionals while also teaching them how to ask informed questions, follow up respectfully and build relationships over time.

Practical Experience Can Turn Uncertainty Into Direction

Work experience does more than strengthen a résumé. It allows a young person to learn what an occupation actually feels like before making a long-term commitment. A placement can reveal whether the work is collaborative or independent, physically demanding or desk-based, highly structured or constantly changing. Even an experience that rules out a career can be valuable if it prevents years of training toward a role that does not fit.

Governments and employers have increasingly recognized this bridge between education and employment. Ottawa announced plans to create approximately 175,000 youth jobs and skills-building opportunities in 2026, including up to 100,000 Canada Summer Jobs positions, 55,000 work-integrated learning placements and more than 20,000 opportunities through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy. Small-business research also found that co-op students and interns moved into permanent roles at a rate of 73 per cent among participating firms. The challenge is scale and access. A short placement with repetitive duties may add little, while a paid position that includes mentoring, meaningful tasks and regular feedback can build both competence and confidence. Quality experience should therefore be treated as part of career development—not simply inexpensive temporary labour.

Support Remains Uneven Across Communities

Career services exist throughout Canada, but awareness and access are inconsistent. An OECD review found that only 19 per cent of Canadian adults had used a career service during the previous five years, compared with an average of 39 per cent across the countries included in its analysis. People with less education, older workers and residents of rural areas were less likely to use those services, even though they can face greater risks from automation, changing skill requirements and limited local employment options.

Federal evaluations show why a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to work for young adults. Participants in the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy described transportation costs, childcare needs, financial pressure, mental-health challenges and limited program visibility as barriers to participation. Black and racialized youth, rural residents and those with less formal education emphasized the value of on-the-job training. New immigrants and young people with disabilities identified a need for personalized guidance, Canadian work experience and appropriate workplace accommodations. These are not problems that can be solved by directing everyone to the same website. A rural apprentice may need transportation to a job site, while a newcomer may need help translating overseas experience for Canadian employers. Equal access sometimes requires different forms of support.

Effective Career Help Must Keep Pace With a Changing Economy

Career guidance cannot be built around the assumption that occupations will remain unchanged for decades. Canadian research released in 2026 found that 57 per cent of employed people aged 18 to 24 believed artificial intelligence was affecting their long-term career opportunities. Among young adults who reported an impact, 49 per cent said they felt less secure, were reconsidering their career path or were thinking about moving to another industry. Guidance must therefore go beyond choosing a single occupation. It should help young people develop transferable abilities, understand how technology is changing specific tasks and identify where human judgment, communication and practical expertise remain important.

Canada is also making a major attempt to open clearer routes into skilled trades. The federal government has announced a $6-billion plan intended to recruit, train and hire between 80,000 and 100,000 new Red Seal workers over five years. Proposed measures include paid placements leading to apprenticeships, support for first-year apprentice wages and financial help during classroom training. Large investments can expand opportunity, but young people still need someone to explain how programs connect, which trade suits their strengths and what completing an apprenticeship requires. The strongest system would begin before graduation, include direct contact with employers and continue through training and the first years of work. Career support should not be a rescue service used after plans collapse. It should be a normal part of preparing for adult life.

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