The governor of the Bank of Canada said recently that young, unemployed people should consider working for free as a way to beef up their resumes.

That's something Lynde Guillaune has been thinking about recently.

Lynde Guillaune graduated a year ago with a degree in geology. She says she would consider working an unpaid internship. (Steve Pasqualotto/CBC) The Saskatoon resident graduated a year ago with a degree in geology. However, she's now serving coffee instead of exploring minerals up north.

She would much rather be working in her area of study than stuck behind a coffee shop counter.

"It's stressful," she said. "[Jobs are] few and far between and it's really competitive right now."

Latest jobs data shows the unemployment rate for those under 24 remains hight, about 13 per cent. So the governor of the Bank of Canada Stephen Poloz suggests young, unemployed people should consider unpaid internships or other jobs for free as a way to gain experience.

"Volunteer to do something, which is at least somewhere related to your expertise set, so it is clear that you are gaining some learning experience during that period," he said.

Guillaune said she would consider working for free in order to get her foot in the door.

"In the real world, sometimes you have to sacrifice to get to get to where you want to get," she said.

Charles Smith, a University of Saskatchewan professor, who studies public policy and labour, said unpaid internships are exploitation. (Steve Pasqualotto/CBC) Telling students they should work without pay in order to gain experience sends a bad message, said Charles Smith, a University of Saskatchewan professor, who studies public policy and labour. He said unpaid internships are exploitation.

"This is a collective problem that needs to be addressed by more government intervention and training and employees taking more responsibility for training their workers, not assuming the state takes full responsibility for that, and lowering debt for young workers, more opportunities for young people," he said.

In the meantime, Guillaune said she is focused on paying off her $20,000 student loan and she hopes a job in geology opens up soon.

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