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Survey of Canadian Career College Students - March 2008
9. Career Post Program
9.1 Anticipated Program Outcomes
Following graduation from their program of study, almost all (86%) private career college students plan to work. For this work they will seek new employment (76%), work or return to work at a current/ previous job (3%) or start their own business (7%). Among those who will seek new employment, 76% will do so in an area related to their field of study (72%) or in any area (4%). Only a small minority (12%) plan to pursue further studies, either at another college (7%) or university (5%). This is in stark contrast with students graduating from public colleges, of whom 40% intend to obtain another university or college degree.
Across the country, those living in the Atlantic (76%), Ontario (76%) and Quebec (73%) more frequently intend to pursue employment related to their current studies compared to those residing in British Columbia (70%) or the Prairies (63%). An additional college (11%) or university (8%) degree will more likely be pursued by students living in the Prairies. By program, students enrolled in Trade/Technical programs (80%) most frequently will seek employment in their field of study, while those in Other programs (61%) are the least likely to do so, opting to pursue post-secondary studies instead (college 11%; university 11%). Students in Health programs (11%) most frequently intend to start their own business.
Private n=13,515 (weighted data excludes don't know/ no response); Public n=7,308
Students express high levels (86%) of confidence that they will obtain employment related to their field of study after they graduate. Half (53%) are very confident while 33% are somewhat confident. Private career college students are in fact more confident that they will obtain employment in their field of study than those students enrolled in a public college. Half (53%) of private career college students are very confident that they will find employment in their field of study compared to only 35% of public college students.
Across programs, students in Health (62% very confident) and Trades/Technical Training (57% very confident) were the most confident of their employability, while students in Design (40% very confident) and Other programs (44% very confident) were the least confident.
Private n=13,721 (weighted data includes don't know/ no response); Public n=7,438
9.2 Student Profiles by Program
The characteristics of students different significantly by the type of program attended. By program area, the student characteristics that statistically differ across the program types are discussed below.
Trades and Technical Training Programs:
Students in Trades and Technical Training are significantly more likely to have waited to begin post-secondary education, not choosing to enter PSE immediately after leaving high school or CEGEP (66% compared to 60% nationally). Furthermore, these students more often cite lack of interest (24% compared to 18% nationally) and less often cite family issues (9% as compared to 20% nationally) as their reason for not entering PSE.
Not surprisingly, students in Trades are overwhelmingly male (82%). They are primarily born in Canada (81%), with a mean age of 28. Students entering the Trades program area (20%) are more frequently unemployed and looking for work three months prior to program entry compared to those in Design (8%), Health (10%), Other Services (11%) and Other (7%).
Students in this program area more frequently have no high school diploma (11% compared to 7% nationally) or post-secondary education (27% com pared to 34% nationally). Furthermore, these students are more likely than any other program area to have less than a grade 9 education (13%). Overall, Trade students' average percentage grade for high school is lower than those of students in other program areas (45% citing a grade average of 70% or lower).
Almost half (44%) of these students indicate that this training was part of their apprenticeship program, compared to only 12% nationally. Students in Trades and Technical Training are most often unemployed while in their program of studies, compared to other program areas (75% compared to 55% to 68% in other program areas).
Health Programs:
Health programs have the highest proportion of female students (88% compared to 18% to 74% in other programs). With a mean age of 26, one-quarter (26%) of Health program students are married. Health students frequently agreed that the institution they were attending was their first choice (73%) and are frequently very confident (62%) that they will obtain a job in their field after graduation.
Design Programs:
Design students more commonly enter postsecondary education immediately after completing high school (47% compared to 40% nationally). Those who did not enter immediately after high school more commonly cite career indecision (52% compared to 44% nationally) and lack of desirable programming in their area (9% compared to 4%) as reasons for waiting to enter PSE than those in other programs. Design students are often employed while in their program (44%) and more often have no debt at the time of the survey (40%).
Design students express the least confidence in obtaining a job in their field after graduation.
Media and Information Technology Programs:
Compared to all other programs, students in Media and Information Technology are most likely to not enter post-secondary education immediately after completing high school or CEGEP (69% vs. 60% nationally). Interestingly, this group of students is most likely to have a post-secondary education (38% compared to 34% nationally) prior to entering their private career college program. Given their age (mean age 30), it is not surprising that Media and Information Technology students have little reliance on parents' financial support (16% compared to 26% nationally). Despite their age and previous education, this student group was no more likely to have personal savings.
Other Service Programs:
Other Service programs include childcare, child and youth worker/special education/education assistant, counselling, law and security, and real estate. Although not unique on many characteristics, Other Service program students, along with those in Other programs, were more often satisfied with the program's course content (87%), quality of instruction (85%), skills development (84%) and institution overall (81%). Other Service program students most commonly have applied for a student loan at some time in their academic career (63% compared to 53% nationally) and had a student loan for their current program (49%). To finance their private career college program, Other Service students, compared to students in other programs, had the greatest reliance on government student loans (60%) and government scholarships or bursaries (11%).
Other Programs:
Half (52%) of all students in the Other program area, including those in performing arts, Biblical or theological, hospitality/tourism/travel and culinary/cook or chef, enter PSE immediately after high school, the highest proportion in all program areas. Not surprisingly, this group has the youngest mean age at 23 and is least likely to hold a certificate, degree or diploma prior to entering their program (27% compared to 43% nationally).
Students from this program stream tend to have the highest overall average grade percent in their last year of high school compared to other programming streams. Half (54%) have an average of 80% or above, compared to only 31% to 51% in other programs.
Program tuition in the Other area (31%) is most often above $20,000 compared to other programs (19% nationally). Despite high tuition, students in this area are least likely to intend to seek employment after graduation (61%), are most likely to be planning to take another college or university degree (22% compared to 12% nationally), and commonly had no education-related debt at the time of the survey (43%). This group has the greatest access to resources, including parents (41%), personal savings (14%) and earnings from previous employment (20%), to finance their education.
Other program students frequently agreed that the institution they were attending was their first choice (76%). Accordingly, Other program students, along with Other Service students, were more often satisfied with the program's course content (90%), quality of instruction (88%), skills development (87%) and institution overall (87%).
9.3 Student Profiles by Minority Status
The characteristics of students differed by their minority status. The unique characteristics of Aboriginal students and those with a disability are discussed below.
Aboriginal Students:
Aboriginal students more commonly reside in Alberta (22%), Manitoba (10%) and Saskatchewan (8%), attend non-NACC designated schools (71%) and less often attend Health programs (31% compared to 38% of all other students). Aboriginal students more commonly choose programs of short duration, with 76% of all Aboriginal students enrolling in a program running between three to 12 months, compared to only 68% of non-Aboriginal students.
While students in private career colleges generally do not enter PSE immediately after high school, this trend is even more pronounced among Aboriginal students. Only 31% of Aboriginal students attended PSE immediately after high school, compared to 40% of non-Aboriginal students. As with non-Aboriginal students, Aboriginal students commonly do not enter PSE immediately out of high school due to career indecision. Aboriginal students, however, compared to non-Aboriginal students, are more likely to experience lack of academic qualifications (14% compared to 7%) and personal or family issues (29% compared to 20%) as barriers to PSE entry. Reflecting these barriers, Aboriginal students, compared to non-Aboriginals, more commonly have not completed high school (20% compared to 7%) prior to entering the private PSE system.
Tuition paid by Aboriginal students (mean= $12,234) appears to be lower than non-Aboriginal students (mean=$14,420), perhaps reflecting the fact that they are attending programs of shorter duration.
Aboriginal students are less often employed while attending a private career college. One-quarter (25%) of Aboriginal students are employed while in school in contrast to 39% of non-Aboriginal students. Aboriginal students less frequently access all sources of funding, including government student loans, with the exclusion of Indian Band or INAC funding, which 24% have received. As expected, Aboriginal students less frequently anticipate education-related debt at the end of their studies (78% compared to 86%).
Aboriginal students are more strongly influenced by their family (25%) than non-Aboriginal students (16%) when selecting a private career college. Unlike most private career college students, Aboriginal students more commonly use their private career college degree as a launch pad into further education. One-quarter (25%) plan to take further education upon completing their degree, compared to only 11% of non-Aboriginal students.
Students with a Disability:
Students with a disability were significantly less likely to attend programs in the area of health (26% compared to 38% of all other students) and had a greater probability of selecting programs longer than 18 months (31%), compared to those without a disability (25%).
Students with a disability were also less likely to enter PSE immediately after completing high school (26%), compared to their counterparts without a disability (40%).
Students with a disability express less career indecision than non-disabled students (30% vs. 44%) but more personal or family barriers to PSE entry (26% compared to 20%). As with Aboriginals, disabled students tend to have completed less education than those without disabilities. Specifically, 11% of disabled students do not hold a high school diploma.
The rate of working while in school is significantly lower among those with a disability (21%) compared to those without (38%), although these students are also less likely to have accessed a government student loan (31% compared to 42%). Overall, disabled students were less likely to have accessed funding from all sources, excluding EI or other government assistance, which they are significantly more likely to have accessed (23% compared to 13%). In keeping with less frequent use of any loans, disabled students less frequently anticipate debt at the end of their studies (71% compared to 85%). On the down side, disabled students more frequently discontinue studies due to lack of money (23% compared to 14%).
Overall, disabled students are less satisfied with their program than non-disabled students:
- Course content (79% satisfaction compared to 87%);
- Quality of instruction (75% satisfaction compared to 83%);
- Degree to which equipment is up to date (65% satisfaction compared to 70%);
- Preparation for the job market (66% satisfaction compared to 77%);
- Skills development (74% compared to 84%);
- Institution overall (73% compared to 80%).
Perhaps because they are less satisfied with their studies, disabled students express less confidence that they will gain employment related to their field of study after graduation (44% compared to 54%).
