Results show 84 per cent of college graduates find employment within six months

TORONTO, April 15, 2015 /CNW/ - College education continues to provide an effective route into the workforce as results show 84 per cent of Ontario's most recent graduates found employment within six months of graduation.

"College education continues to lead to employment," said Linda Franklin, the president and CEO of Colleges Ontario. "At a time when it is difficult for young people to find good jobs, it is important for students and parents to explore the wide range of career-focused programs available at colleges."

The graduate employment rate is one of the annual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Ontario's colleges that were released today.

Other results released today show that more than 88 per cent of employers were either satisfied or very satisfied with the graduates they hired. As well, 80 per cent of college graduates were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of their education.

The provincial government and the colleges have been gathering the annual data on college results since 1998. The most recent KPIs were gathered by two independent research firms in the period from March 2014 to February 2015.

Ontario's colleges offer more than 600 programs that prepare people for a wide range of careers in everything from business, IT, paramedicine, biotechnology, aviation, advertising, game development and much more.

The college graduates' success in the workforce is particularly noteworthy as students, parents and employers look for a stronger alignment between post-secondary education and the labour market. Growing numbers of students are pursuing combinations of college and university education and the number of university graduates enrolled in college programs has increased more than 40 per cent over the past five years.

"There's a growing awareness that one of the priorities in higher education must be helping students attain the professional and technical skills to pursue rewarding careers," Franklin said. "It is important to ensure college programs continue to reach a wide range of students, including people seeking retraining and professionals looking to build on their credentials."

The full KPI report is available at http://www.collegesontario.org/outcomes/key-performance-indicators/2015_KPI_English.pdf

SOURCE Colleges Ontario

Rob Savage, Director of Communications, Colleges Ontario, 647-258-7687, [email protected]