Considering Leaving a Job, Sector or Profession at the Start of a Career Path: The Case of Young Public Service Workers in Quebec

Public services in Quebec (Canada) are facing significant workforce challenges. This is due to many retirements, a lack of students in related educational fields, and career bifurcations that sometimes occur early among young workers on the job market. This complex situation creates a labour shortage, undermining essential public services for an increasingly aging population that requires more services. The paper we are proposing relates to our doctoral project, which looked at the working quality and the intentions of young workers under 35 to stay or quit public health and education services. To this end, we conducted 48 semi-structured interviews with workers in three professions: primary school teachers, early childhood educators and nurses. All the people we met mentioned that they were considering either 1) leaving their job for another job in the same sector, 2) leaving their professional sector for another sector (e.g., the public sector for the private sector), or 3) leaving their profession for another profession. The results we present will focus on the main reasons they are considering leaving (is it more to do with employment and working conditions, the various crises that have arisen over the last fifteen years (COVID-19, recession, negotiation of collective agreements), or other factors?) Is there a turning point in their story? How do these young workers see their professional future soon? The comparison of these three professions will be based on the axes of working conditions, qualifications, and relationship to working life.