COVID-19 turned the workforce on its head

Why some Canadians are looking to switch careers as economy starts to reopen

More than three million Canadians either lost their jobs or had their hours significantly reduced due to COVID-19, according to Statistics Canada.

And now that economies across the country are reopening, some people are looking to change course, having realized their careers aren’t as viable as they may have been pre-pandemic.

Many are going back to school to pursue an entirely new profession — for example, Ryerson University’s Chang School of Continuing Education saw a15 per cent jump in its fall enrolment, according to dean Gary Hepburn, even after the school’s in-person courses had to be cancelled.

Disaster and emergency management, advanced safety management and health studies have seen the most growth, Hepburn said.

“It shows people not only thinking of career changes, but they’re actually looking for meaningful career changes … where they can contribute to problems like we’ve been encountering,” he said.

Carolyn Levy, president of technology at human resources consulting firm Randstad Canada, said finance and technology are two industries that will continue to grow during and after the pandemic.

Industries such as banking are “redefining themselves,” she said, moving more online and virtual, and technology has a big role to play in that.

As well, more and more businesses will be turning to e-commerce to survive, she said.

“People have to really adapt an agile mindset now.”

Levy said now is a good time to reflect on career aspirations, and on skills that might be transferable to other industries without needing to go back to school. For example, people in retail or hospitality have the skills for sales and customer relations, she said.

“It does take some courage. It does take some self-reflection.”

The almost-retiree who chose home over work abroad

Ellen Campbell, like many Canadians, had been teaching English abroad through the TESOL program for two and a half years, in Vietnam. Her plan was to teach for another year and then come back to Canada to retire. But when

the prime minister announced that international borders were closing, Campbell decided to come back early to be with friends and family in Edmonton.

“I could have kept my job,” she said. “But I was just becoming more and more anxious about the pandemic and what potential effects that would have on all my family.”

She said many of the people who teach through the TESOL program are in a similar predicament, or are stranded because they didn’t fly home before borders closed.

Campbell isn’t sure when she can return to work in Vietnam, and is weighing retiring early or switching careers. Her former career in social work offers a few different options, she said. She’s been looking at jobs in areas such as transitional housing, group homes or non-profit work, and is thinking of applying so she can get back on her feet.

“I’m living on pensions that I was hoping to save, but it’s not really that much.”

The former chef looking to break into tech Ruben Guayasamin has worked in the Toronto food service industry for more than two decades: first as a cook and chef for some15 years, and most recently as a server for about seven years. For a while now he’s been thinking about leaving the industry, he said, but it’s hard to pivot careers when you’re working in a job with such long hours.

However, it was the culture that finally got to him. Working long days, often partially unpaid, are accepted as normal, he said, and it’s difficult to move up the ladder. “It’s just this very toxic cycle.” Guayasamin had already been taking online courses in finance and technology. He left his job just before all the restaurants had to close, and has been taking advantage of the time off to continue his education.

He believes what he’s studying will be more important than ever during and after COVID-19.

“The need for the technology to make payments online, or to send money or to do anything digitally, is so much more important,” he said.

Many of his former colleagues and friends in the food industry are doing the same, Guayasamin said, and he sees a lot of opportunities for them in sales and customer service.

“I think some of these companies are starting to catch on to that,” he said.

The “optimistic realist” looking for a safer industry Ian Boyd has made his career in sports marketing and events, first in event planning and then in selling sponsorship opportunities to organizations and companies. But when COVID-19 hit, it affected the entire tourism and events industry, leaving him and many others without work.

“It obliterated the sports industry,” said Boyd, who is currently living in Kingston, Ont.

Boyd decided in May it was time to switch gears, realizing his industry was a volatile one.

“It’s such a tough industry to begin with,” he said.

He recently took a course in data analytics, hoping that might help him get a role in a different industry doing marketing and analysis.

Boyd, a self-described “optimistic realist,” is looking to continue his education, and is reaching out to his large network to see what’s out there opportunity-wise. He knows a lot of companies aren’t hiring right now, but hopes to eventually make the transition.

“It’s emotionally tough to look for work in normal times,” he said, adding that he’s just trying to stay positive.

“Something will eventually come about.”