SKN | CIBC Poll Highlights How Students Are Building Skills and Financial Resilience Amid Job Market Uncertainty

Key Takeaways

• CIBC found that 66% of Canadian students are pursuing learning or skills development outside formal education to strengthen their career prospects.
• The bank’s research highlights a broader focus on financial preparedness, with 66% of students reporting a financial plan for the upcoming school year.
• CIBC is positioning financial planning and career preparation as interconnected elements of students’ longer-term financial wellbeing.

CIBC is highlighting a shift in how Canadian students are preparing for an uncertain employment environment, with its latest poll showing that many are combining formal education with additional skills development and more deliberate financial planning. For the bank, the findings underscore the growing connection between career readiness and long-term financial wellbeing.

CIBC Finds Students Are Taking Career Preparation Beyond the Classroom

CIBC’s poll found that 66% of students are pursuing learning or skills development outside their formal education. Among those taking additional steps, 30% are completing online courses, another 30% are working on side projects, 20% are pursuing professional certifications and 16% are undertaking AI-related training.

The results also indicate that employment uncertainty is influencing decisions well before graduation. According to the CIBC research, 76% of students say concerns about the job market are affecting their current education and career choices. Improving earning potential was the leading motivation for additional skills development at 46%, followed by improving job prospects at 43%.

Why CIBC Is Linking Career Readiness With Financial Planning

The findings provide CIBC with a broader view of how younger clients are approaching financial preparation. Rather than treating education, employment and personal finances as separate decisions, students increasingly appear to be considering them as part of one longer-term planning process.

That is particularly relevant for a bank with a significant financial-planning and advisory business. CIBC Vice-President of Financial Planning and Advice Carissa Lucreziano emphasized the importance of students combining education and career preparation with financial wellbeing, reflecting the bank’s focus on developing financial habits alongside professional ambitions.

CIBC’s Poll Points to Earlier Financial Planning

The financial figures in the survey reinforce that theme. 66% of students said they have a financial plan for the upcoming school year, while the same percentage intends to invest at least some of its summer earnings. Meanwhile, 80% expect to work during the academic year, although 57% remain concerned about covering tuition and other expenses.

Despite those pressures, 78% of respondents said they are optimistic about their personal financial future after graduation, and the same proportion expressed confidence that they are making the right financial decisions for their future today.

For CIBC, the significance extends beyond the survey itself. The findings reinforce an environment in which financial planning begins earlier, as younger clients increasingly connect skills, income potential, savings and investment decisions. For wealth-management professionals, that evolution is relevant to how the next generation may approach banking relationships and financial planning as their assets develop.

For a confidential discussion regarding long-term financial planning and cross-border banking structures, contact our senior advisory team.