These international students are trying to find jobs. But a tight job market leaves them with few options
'About 60 per cent of folks say it's difficult to find work,' says Workforce WindsorEssex of upcoming survey
Shivani Trivedi had hopes of staying in Canada after graduating with a master's in medical biotechnology from the University of Windsor in the spring — but if she doesn't find a full-time job in her field within a year, she says she'll go back to India.
"Shattered" by the lack of jobs, Trivedi said she was "not expecting this."
"I made hundreds of applications per day, but still I didn't find any [jobs]," she said.
Luckily, through some networking, she found a survival job at a fast food restaurant but her search for a full-time job in her field is ongoing — and she is not alone.
"In my cohort of 130 [students], only five or 10 are in the medical field or working in laboratories or working in the pharmaceutical industry," she said.
"The rest of them are doing odd jobs like me ... I will truly say it's depressing because I'm trying my best. I search regularly but it's tough."
Windsor-Essex, Ont., has long had Canada's highest jobless rate. The University of Windsor says it takes steps to help their students find jobs — but it doesn't guarantee employment outcomes.
Having spent tens of thousands of dollars on tuition, Trivedi called for the government to take steps to ensure students like her aren't left "overwhelmed" by the job market.
"I have invested $40,000 and if I won't get anything in return, then there is no point in living here," she said.
Depressed for future
Trivedi said she was an assistant professor in India and already had a master's degree but came to Canada for what she thought were better opportunities.
"Some days I just sit in my bed and I'll just cry ... Other days I'm hopeful that I will get a job one day but that hope sometimes doesn't work," said the 25-year-old, holding back tears.
"People hate us ... They feel like we are snatching their jobs, but there are no jobs to snatch."
Trivedi said she will gamble with the job market for a year and will move back if she can't land a job.
Billboards from the University of Windsor and St. Clair College suggest the future for their students will be bright, Trivedi said, but in her experience, it's the opposite.
"From now onwards, they should tell students, 'you can come here, you can study if you want to get an international degree, but there is no surety that you will survive [here] in this job scenario.'"
In a statement, the University of Windsor said it encourages all students to exercise caution when navigating the job market and avoid fraudulent job offers.
"While UWindsor provides students with tools and resources to enhance their employability, such as networking opportunities and cultural training, we do not act as an employment agency nor guarantee employment outcomes for any graduate," the statement said.
"Employment outcomes are influenced by various factors, including individual choices, the job market, and broader economic conditions."
'Huge lack of jobs'
Abishek Joshua Tennyson and Rohan Sethi are currently pursuing master's degrees in applied computing, but say IT jobs are hard to find in Windsor-Essex.
The fourth-semester international students worked as computer science professionals before coming here but say that experience hasn't helped.
While the University of Windsor mentions in the program description that the skills students develop will allow them to "develop a successful career in the growing software industry…in a number of high-demand fields," both students say they've had a hard time.
While Sethi "luckily" has secured a co-op placement with RBC in Toronto, Tennyson's search for data analyst, AI engineer or related jobs has been difficult: He says he's applied for 275 jobs, all in vain.
Tennyson said in his experience employers hire internally or mandatorily ask for a reference — a requirement he says is more difficult for international students.
"There's a lot of discrimination in terms of where you're from," he said.
The 23-year-old said that seeing the job shortage, fraudulent employers try to take advantage and lure students with cash jobs paying lower than minimum wage — something he vows he won't do.
Difficult to find a job but gets better with time: Survey of international students
A new survey by Workforce WindsorEssex heard from 196 international students, mostly 25 to 34 years of age, from the University of Windsor and St. Clair College.
Kelsey Santarossa, the director of community and workforce development, said the population continues to increase at a rate similar to jobs becoming available.
"We have quite a competitive labour market at the moment. When you have folks that are new to the community, may not have the same social connections or employment connections to the labour market, finding that work can be more challenging for sure," she said.
"About 60 per cent of [surveyed] folks said that it was difficult to find work."
But Santarossa said the success rate of landing a job in the field of study increased to 77 per cent among respondents who stayed in the community for three years or more after graduation.
Until then, Santarossa said the top sectors for international students are retail, accommodation and food service — similar to a "traditional Canadian experience" for students. She said it's important for students to network, build connections and work with campus support services.
Their 2023 local labour market plan found many students struggle with not having Canadian work experience on their resumes, impacting their opportunities to find long-term employment in Canada to sustain their work visas following graduation.
But Santarossa said respondents also reported barriers that include hiring bias and discrimination, though many said they understood those possibilities before coming to Canada. .
"About 50 per cent of respondents said that they faced some form of discrimination from employers while they were looking for work," she said.
Canada-wide problem, transparency needed: Research chair
Rupa Banerjee is an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and the Canada Research Chair studying the economic inclusion of immigrants.
She says the situation in Windsor-Essex "mirrors very closely" what's happening across Canada.
"The types of programs that international students often end up studying in are not necessarily the ones that are in high demand," she said. "Although there are huge demands in the healthcare sector or in skilled trades, we see very few international students in those areas."
A recent CBC investigation found Canada's recruitment of international students has tilted strongly toward filling spots in business programs.
"Studying commerce, marketing, all of those kinds of fields really are very common among international students… Post -secondary institutions are really investing in programs where there isn't a lot of labour market demand."
Banerjee said the post-secondary sector and the federal and provincial governments have roles to play.
"A lot of students come with an expectation that this degree or diploma they're coming for, not only will get them a job, but also will allow them to transition to permanent resident status. Increasingly, that's going to be very difficult."
She said colleges and universities need to be clearer about the outcomes of their degree programs for students.
"We need to make sure that the programs that are being designed and offered for international students actually have labour market credibility and have a future."
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