College graduates continue to get jobs

(Toronto, April 7, 2009) – An Ontario college education continues to provide an excellent pathway to success in the workforce, the most recent independently collected provincial data shows.

New Key Performance Indicators (KPI) data released today indicated that 88.9 per cent of 2007-2008 graduates in the labour force found work within six months of graduating.

As well, 93.3 per cent of employers were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of the graduates they hired.

"The strong education and training provided at Ontario’s 24 public colleges continues to get high marks,” said Anne Sado, president of George Brown College and chair of the colleges' committee of presidents, which is meeting today. “Colleges continue to provide students with the higher education they need to fulfil their career ambitions.”

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 2008 to February 2009.

The key findings included:

93.3 per cent of employers were satisfied with the quality of the educational preparation of college graduates

82.7 per cent of graduates were satisfied with the usefulness of their college education in achieving their goals after graduation

78.4 per cent of students were satisfied with the overall quality of services, programming and resources available to them.

“It is particularly important in this new economy for students pursuing higher education to explore the range of programs available at Ontario’s colleges,” Sado said. “Many people will best achieve their career ambitions through a college education.”

The KPI results are available at www.collegesontario.org.

For more information:
Sally Ritchie
Senior Communications Officer
Colleges Ontario
(416) 596-0744, ext. 242

Source: Colleges Ontario

Photo: Avatar Courtesy of Wiki Media Commons