As Canada’s unemployment rate rises, grads learn who you know is just as valuable as what you know

In high school, many students form a linear path to follow for the next few years of their life: attend post-secondary school, graduate and get a job. They are told they will find success in their future by following this three-step plan.

Vittoria Pantano, a graduate of the architectural technology program at Algonquin College, has completed steps one and two, but now finds herself struggling to land a job in her field three months after crossing the stage.

“The job market has been a little rough,” said Pantano. “Applying online, you never hear back from anybody.“

Statistics Canada reported an unemployment rate of 7.1 per cent in August, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. The rate represents the number of people unemployed out of the total labour force, labour force defined as “civilian, non-institutionalized persons 15 years of age and over” on the Statistics Canada website.

While Pantano currently works part time at a garden centre, she has sent between 30 and 40 applications to job openings online since the school year ended, and checks websites like Indeed and LinkedIn Jobs almost every day.

“The big thing is most jobs are asking for five years of experience, which I do not have,” said Pantano.

Thanks to a co-op placement in her second year of school, Pantano has eight months of experience working with the Canada Revenue Agency. For some of her classmates, the co-op placements turned into jobs they could return to after finishing their last term of school.

“Probably about half of them have found jobs already,” said Pantano. “There were a few people who worked in the same department in the government, and they knew each other from that.”

These connections helped students get their resumés and portfolios in the right hands of employers.

Michael Anderson, a 2023 graduate of the cabinetmaking and furniture technician program, landed his job at KJP Select Hardwoods through a classmate as well. He works in the shipping department and sometimes does custom builds in the shop.

“A guy that I went to Algonquin with was working here at the time,” said Anderson. “He mentioned that they were looking for people, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’d be interested.’ So, he put in a good word for me, and that was a year and a few months ago.”

But it’s not always easy to nail career in Ottawa’s woodworking industry.

“There’s only a handful of custom woodworkers around the city, but it’s a strange industry to get into because you kind of need to have a shop or work for someone who does have a shop,” said Anderson.

The cabinetmaking and furniture technician program does not include a field placement, which Anderson wishes he had.

In the bachelor of interior design program, students benefited from their co-op placements — if they were lucky enough to find something in their field.

“I found the school didn’t post many co-op opportunities,” said Amanda Pike, a 2025 graduate of the program. “It was really about the connections you made and who you knew could help you find a co-op. There were some people who actually didn’t find a co-op in my program and weren’t able to graduate this year with us because of that.”

Pike completed her co-op placement between her third and fourth year with two interior design businesses run by designer, Alicia Hewitt. She knew Hewitt from her previous job outside of school.

Not long after graduating, Pike landed a full-time position at Astro Design Inc. It started with a student connection, which eventually led to meeting the design centre’s manager and lead designer during Pike’s final project showcase in her program.

After this, she wasn’t offered a job right away.

“I sent them an email with my resumé,” said Pike. “I went in a week later when I hadn’t heard back and she sat me down for an interview right there. About a week and a bit later, I got an email saying that she wanted to chat about potential job opportunities.”

Her advice to current students is to form connections with people and make time to attend any networking events while in school.

“Whenever you go out to a networking event, I would really focus on your appearance and practice a couple things to say to sell yourself and have that good reputation,” said Pike.