, Professor, Faculty of Management,聽;听, Master of Public Administration Candidate,聽, and聽, Master of Public Administration Candidate,聽
Public servants are the backbone of Canadian government. Canadians expect them to act in the best interest of society, to uphold Canadian democratic institutions, to steward public monies and to deliver programs and services.
But as retirements surge, how can governments attract young people to work for them? It鈥檚 difficult when governments suffer from , and offer working conditions that may not appeal to young people.
What do young Canadians want from their careers, and what will it take for public service to win them over?
This issue, among others concerning Canadian public servants, are currently being studied at the Professional Motivations Research Lab at . The lab is led by the lead author of this piece, , whose work focuses on measuring and explaining the motivations of professionals in the public service.
The lab鈥檚 insights shed light on the factors that influence how young people make decisions about whether to work for the public sector.
Looming labour shortage
In 1966, there were 7.7 working-age individuals for every senior in Canada. But in 2022, the .
A labour shortage will create increased competition for top talent between the public and private sector, an issue for governments as research has shown among youth in pursuing civil service careers.
Recruitment to the public service is further complicated by of competence and trust in Canadian public institutions. With studies demonstrating that of an organization鈥檚 competence affect their attraction to working there, Canadian governments also run the risk of losing potential applicants who don鈥檛 view Canada鈥檚 public institutions as being competent or trustworthy.
These challenges come as young Canadians enter the workforce with more career options than ever before, and different expectations from previous generations.
Salary not the sole motivator
Young Canadians are not solely interested in high incomes, but also in workplaces that provide a healthy work/life balance and align with their values.
, for example, shows that 87 per cent of British Columbians between the ages of 18 and 34 prefer employers that are socially and environmentally responsible, with 61 per cent stating they would only work for such companies.
This means Canadian governments are currently finding themselves in a perilous situation, where rising suspicion about their trustworthiness and competence, paired with growing disinterest in the public sector as a whole, means they鈥檙e not positioned well to navigate an impending labour shortage.
Strengthening their capacity to attract and recruit the next generation of workers is therefore imperative, not only for upholding public institutions, but also for rebuilding trust in government.
In the effort to resolve this issue and enhance recruitment to the public service, Canadian government officials must pore over existing research into the factors that determine why youth and those just entering the labour market 鈥� people between the ages of 13 to 27, known as Gen Z 鈥� pursue or refrain from pursing public service jobs.
Some research suggests the three variables that potentially predict wh