I was out working in the yard the other day and an old friend stopped by. Bobby and I played a lot of sports together when we were younger. He was a tenacious competitor and although small of stature played hockey, ball and rugby like a man twice his size. He was somebody you hated playing against but enjoyed having on your team. He also had a mouth that never stopped. 

He told me he was working at one of the vacation properties down the road putting in a fence. Being in his 70’s, I asked him if he wasn’t getting a little long in the tooth for digging fencepost holes. He admitted he was. He said the contractor he was working for couldn’t find anyone younger. He said they even had a guy on the crew that had dementia. Bobby said, they had to get him to and from work, but at the job he was fine. A good worker a matter of fact.

***

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard how older people keep working while businesses can’t find young people to employ. I have experienced the same in my position as a manager at a resort.

The unemployment rate for young workers in Canada is high. It is even higher in tourist areas. There are many reasons for this. Covid, for one, which these kids suffered the worst wounds due to the lockdowns. During and after Covid school became optional. I know many parents, to this day, who do not send their children to school regularly. It makes no difference as kids get passed through.  

This gets carried through to their work life. Where I work, writing up tickets and sending emails is something we all must do. I am often amazed at the lack of ability to write the simplest of messages by some young people who have graduated high school and in some cases gone on to college.

The exception is young immigrants who seem able to communicate, written or verbally in their second language.

I asked a young man from India about this. Although he says nothing, I know he finds it sometimes difficult working with young Canadians as he is shouldered with most of the work while they do as little as possible to get by. He said he had to learn how to write in English as it was expected and everyone he knew was able to. To not have this skill was to be at a disadvantage. I jokingly asked him if we should import teachers from India or send young Canadians to his home country for schooling. He said, neither was necessary. He said what was needed was a little pressure.

Pressure, my goodness, to even suggest it be put on our younger generation is blasphemous!

Canada’s economy would collapse without the workforce immigration provides.

From everything I’ve read about managing, it is said, young adults in Canada have different priorities. Many will never own a house of their own, nor do they want children, as such they have different values. Above all they value their leisure time.  

That means managers must be creative with scheduling and tasking these workers. They are not going to change so that means the jobs and managers must.

Meanwhile fence post holes still need to be dug. Luckily we have a country full of old folks with dementia that need the money.