On Campus

Earnings of private career college graduates

Nearly 60 per cent of grads say post-college job pays better than their previous one

The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation has released a report of a recently completed survey of graduates of private career colleges in Canada.

Among employed graduates, 59% noted that their current job paid better than the previous job they held. A further 20% said their job paid as well as their previous one and 17% reported that their income was lower than it was in their previous job.

The report notes that the average income of graduates of career college was $26,727. This finding would appear to lend further credence to the existing evidence that private career college graduates earn roughly the same as high school graduates.

The available data from the 2006 Census indicates that individuals holding a certificate or diploma below the bachelors level earned an average of $30,512 in 2005, so the average earnings of private career college graduates would appear to be quite a bit below that of individuals with sub-baccalaureate credentials.

While comparable data are not available from the 2006 Census, according to data from the 2001 Census individuals with a high school diploma and/or some post-secondary education earned $25,477 in 2000.

An important question with this group is whether or not graduates of private career colleges would be as likely to be employed had they not completed a private career college credential.

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