An Ontario college education continues to prepare people for success – even in a difficult economy, new data released today show.
New Key Performance Indicators (KPI) results indicate that 87.1 percent of Loyalist College 2008-09 graduates in the labour force found work within six months of graduating. Provincially, 84.8 percent of graduates found work in that period of time. As well, 92.7 percent of employers were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of the Loyalist graduates they hired.
College President Maureen Piercy noted that the employment rate confirms that post-secondary education is important for people entering the workforce. The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows the employment rate for people without post-secondary education is only 74.9 percent.
“The strong education and training provided at Ontario’s 24 public colleges continues to prepare people for success,” said President Piercy. “Colleges continue to provide students with the higher education they need to fulfill their career ambitions.”
“We are pleased that Loyalist results are similar to or above the provincial average in each area,” she commented. “This is a positive reflection on the education provided by our faculty and staff, and the strength of our programs and graduates.”
Since 1998, the provincial KPI data have been gathered annually by two independent research firms for the colleges and for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The most recent data were collected from March 2009 to February 2010.
At Loyalist, the key findings included:
- 87.1 percent of Loyalist graduates were employed within six months of graduating. This compares to 84.8 percent provincially.
- 82.4 percent of graduates were satisfied with the usefulness of their college education in achieving their goals after graduation. The provincial average was 79.8 percent.
- 80.5 percent of students were satisfied with the overall quality of services, programming and resources available to them, compared to the provincial average of 76.3 percent.
“It is particularly important in this new economy for students pursuing higher education to explore the range of programs available at Ontario’s colleges,” President Piercy said. “College graduates enter the workforce with an excellent combination of academic education and skills training. They have the problem-solving abilities and the up-to-date skills to succeed in their careers.”
The KPI results are available at www.collegesontario.org.
Media Contact: Dianne Spencer, Executive Director College Advancement & External Relations, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2235 or e-mail: dspencer@loyalistc.on.ca