From AI fears to well-being: What today’s grads really want from work

“Halifax is one of those cities that young people tend to move away from… so, it's really important for us that we develop programs that would help in keeping our new grads here.”

So says Ola Ekechukwu, manager of talent acquisition at the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) — highlighting a broader purpose too.

“It's key for us to show that not just the municipality but …  Halifax as a city is a good place to start your career and a good choice if you want to obviously learn a bit more about public service. We have sort of taken that responsibility to groom the next generation of professionals, not just for the municipality but for the entire workforce within the HRM.”

Internships, apprenticeships and broad grad programs

The city employs roughly 4,000 to 4,500 people, about 80 per cent of whom are unionized, and has built multiple programs to bring graduates into public service, says Ekechukwu.

One example is the 18‑month Engineering in Training Program, created after the municipality struggled to compete with private-sector organizations for qualified engineers in areas such as Planning and Development and Public Works. The program hires new engineering graduates and places them on a rotational schedule, working six months at a time with different business units that require engineering talent.

“At the end of that program, they're usually absorbed into the workforce on a permanent basis,” she says.

Halifax also runs apprenticeship programs for skilled trades, including auto body repair, truck and transport, and welding.

However, its biggest graduate offering is the Bridging the Gap Internship Program, which provides experiential learning for grads in a wide range of fields based on business-unit demand, says Ekechukwu.

“Depending on the current needs that we have within business units, we will offer internship opportunities ranging from business analysis to IT to HR sometimes,” she says.

Beyond graduate-specific initiatives, the municipality offers co-op terms in spring, summer and winter and has summer roles mapped out specifically for students in Recreation and Parks, with recall opportunities for those who want to return each season, says Ekechukwu.

“Basically, we're working through that pipeline to make sure that, at the end, when they leave school, we're still top of mind for them.”

Fewer entry-level roles available

Today’s grads face steeper competition than in past years, with entry-level postings making up a smaller share of available jobs while drawing more applicants, according to a recent ZipRecruiter survey of U.S. workers.

“That's really creating a challenge for new grads who are trying to get in the market, get their foot in the door at these companies so they can get the expertise,” says Nicole Bachaud, labour economist at ZipRecruiter.

Employers have shifted away from hiring large numbers of junior workers toward retaining and recruiting more experienced staff over the last year, she says.

“We're seeing this focus on retention, maintaining existing employees, those with institutional knowledge, people who have the expertise to understand and how to shepherd an AI model along and know what the inputs and the outputs should look like, and figure out how to synthesize all of that information.”

AI considerations in hiring

Grads increasingly blame AI for limiting entry‑level opportunities, with 47 per cent saying they think AI has impacted hiring in their field, says Bachaud.

“I'd say there's a lot of fear and anxiety among grads that AI is eliminating or reducing the availability of these roles,” she says.

“AI becomes a scapegoat for employers who are laying off people, for job seekers who can't find a job: ‘AI is ruining the experience’ when, really, there's a multitude of factors that are influencing that.”

At Halifax, AI’s role in recruitment is less about job displacement and more about how candidates use the technology.

“We prohibit the use of AI in any part of the process,” says Ekechukwu. “It's made clear in the job posting and also during the interview process that this could lead to disqualification if that's detected — and obviously investigated.”

However, the municipality is working on guidelines to identify where AI use could be permitted, as part of a more nuanced approach, she says.

“For instance, we've had situations where the use of AI is permitted in an assessment prior to an interview, but we would usually ask that candidates indicate where they've used or leveraged AI for that purpose.”

Hiring for potential and transferable skills

Because many candidates are at the start of their careers, Halifax designs its selection process to emphasize potential and transferable skills rather than lengthy work histories, says Ekechukwu.

“The selection process isn't really based on skills, because the program in itself is designed to… bridge that gap, as we say — from the knowledge that they've received in education through higher learning and into the workforce,” she says.

“So, what we really look at is those more transferable skills… like projects that've been done in school, some of the interests that they have, if they have personal portfolios that they also want to share.”

The ZipRecruiter survey underlines the value of any kind of work experience during school.

“You're two times more likely to get a job after graduation if you had something beforehand,” says Bachaud, highlighting the value of apprenticeships.

“Even having gig work on a resume is really helpful to just show an employer, ‘Hey, I'm professional, I can show up, I can do things on time, I can follow a task,’” says Bachaud. “[It’s about getting] that proof of concept across to employers who are seeing this flood of applicants right now.”

Amid budget limits, grads prioritize well-being

Despite the strength of its programs, Halifax cannot retain every graduate who comes through its pipelines.

“A lot of it is pay,” says Ekechukwu. “I think that for our market… losing skilled people to other markets, it's that pay disparity with what you would find in the Atlantic region compared to the rest of the country.”

Budget constraints on converting interns to permanent full‑time roles are another barrier, she says, particularly in programs like Bridging the Gap, which has taken about 16 new grads over an 18‑month period.

But better pay is not the only option, according to the ZipRecruiter survey: Even in a tighter labour market, more than three-quarters (76.2 per cent) of recent grads say they prioritize employee well-being as a marker of a good employer, along with 63.3 per cent of rising grads.

Both groups rank well-being ahead of ethics, social equity and environmental impact, and the relative importance of well-being increases once grads have spent time in the workforce.

At the same time, 46.8 per cent of recent grads say they would trade the prestige of a large company for a smaller employer with higher social impact.

“Whether or not they're actually going to follow through with that intention, it really depends on that priority and how much they want to get to that dream [career] path,” says Bachaud.

In-person work still attractive to young workers

Preferences around work location also shift once grads spend time in the labour market, finds ZipRecruiter.

Among recent grads, 34 per cent prefer in‑person work and only 18.8 per cent prefer fully remote arrangements. Rising grads adopt harder lines before experiencing the market: 11.2 per cent say they would quit over a full‑time office mandate, compared to 6.4 per cent of recent grads.

For many young people whose schooling was largely online, the appeal of in‑person work is tied to lost opportunities during COVID‑19, says Bachaud.

“I think there's a lot of nostalgia for like something they never experienced and being able to build those connections and build that community. That's something that they're really missing out on… as they start their careers, that's a space that maybe seems really exciting.”