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This study used Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) administrative data within the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform to compare enrolment and persistence in postsecondary education (PSE) among high school graduates in British Columbia with and without special needs across five cohorts from 2010/2011 to 2014/2015 before and after controlling for several sociodemographic characteristics and academic achievement. The use of integrated longitudinal administrative data from the British Columbia Ministry of Education, the PSIS and the T1 Family File and the disaggregation of the special needs categorization were two major strengths of this study. Results show that high school graduates with mental health-related or cognitive needs and those with physical or sensory needs were less likely to enrol in PSE compared with high school graduates without special needs, even after controlling for covariates. Moreover, graduates with mental health-related or cognitive needs were less likely to transition to PSE immediately and less likely to persist in PSE two years after enrolment. These findings suggest that high school graduates with special needs, particularly those with mental health-related or cognitive needs, may encounter different types of barriers in transitioning to PSE.

In 2020, the federal government implemented the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) to provide financial support to employees, self-employed individuals and students directly affected by COVID-19. The CERB was available for individuals who stopped working or were working reduced hours because of COVID-19, and who met various other eligibility criteria. CERB applicants received $2,000 for an initial four-week period and could reapply for additional periods, eventually extending to 28 weeks, for a maximum benefit of $14,000. The benefit covered the period from March 15 to September 26, 2020. The CESB was available to students enrolled in a postsecondary educational program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate, who were ineligible for the CERB or EI benefits, but met various other eligibility criteria. The benefit was active between May 10 and August 29, 2020. The CESB addressed a gap left by the CERB, which excluded students who were not employed at the start of the pandemic but would typically be looking for work during the summer of 2020. This paper provides insights into the differences in the rate of receipt of CERB and CESB of postsecondary students who received emergency benefit payments in 2020. Emergency benefit receipt is examined along various educational and socio-demographic characteristics to highlight some of the key differences. The analysis is limited to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who were enrolled full-time or part-time in a public postsecondary institution in the fall of 2019 in a program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate.

This fact sheet explores the association between parental income and the pathways of young adults in postsecondary education for students who began their studies in the 2012/2013 academic year. Students from low-income families have previously been shown to have lower rates of educational access and attainment. This fact sheet focuses on persistence and graduation indicators, which are now released annually, and furthers the analysis of these indicators by adding a parental income quartile dimension. Overall, the findings provide the following insights: (1) Students in the highest parental income quartile remained enrolled (persisted) and graduated at higher rates than students from the lowest parental income quartile for all selected educational qualifications and groupings. The differences in indicators by the level of parental income were more notable for the graduation rates than for the persistence rates; and (2) For students who graduated, those in the highest parental income quartile graduated as fast or faster than students in the lowest parental income quartile for all selected educational qualifications and groupings, though these differences were generally small. These findings are consistent with similar studies regarding postsecondary experiences of students by socioeconomic status.

This study combines information from British Columbia administrative school data, the Postsecondary Student Information System, and the Registered Apprenticeship Information System to analyze the postsecondary and apprenticeship enrolment rates of high school graduates with and without special education needs, in the six years following graduation. The report answers four questions: (1) Are high school graduates with certain types of special education needs less likely to attend postsecondary education than graduates without special education needs? (2) Are graduates with certain types of special education needs more likely to delay entering postsecondary education? (3) If so, does the gap in enrolment close over time? and (4) Are graduates with certain types of special education needs more or less likely to follow certain programs of study (e.g., apprenticeships versus undergraduate degree programs) than graduates without special education needs? Although gifted status is considered to be a special education need in British Columbia, graduates with gifted status are excluded from this analysis. Preliminary analysis suggested that graduates with gifted status generally have different patterns of postsecondary enrolment than graduates with other special education needs.

In Canada, immigrants represented more than half of the population in the prime working ages with at least a bachelor's degree in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study in 2016. They accounted for three-quarters of engineering and computer science graduates with a master's or doctorate degree. This paper examines the skill utilization and earnings of employed STEM-educated immigrants by field of study and degree level. Compared with the Canadian-born with similar levels of education and in similar fields of study, immigrants with a bachelor's degree had considerably lower skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes than those of doctoral degree holders. This is mostly because immigrant doctoral graduates are more likely to be educated in a Western country. By field of study, immigrant engineering graduates, particularly at the bachelor's level, had relatively weaker skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes; immigrant computer science graduates did somewhat better. The slightly more than half of STEM-educated immigrants who did not find a STEM job had the weakest skill utilization rates and earnings outcomes. Much of the gap between the earnings of immigrant and Canadian-born graduates was associated with differences in country of education. STEM immigrants educated in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom or France had outcomes similar to the Canadian-born.

This article looks at the labour market outcomes of 2015 postsecondary graduates three years after graduation. Specifically, it examines their employment status, job permanency, relatedness of their job or business to their 2015 educational program, the degree to which graduates feel qualified for their job, their employment income and their job satisfaction. This article answers the question: How are graduates of 2015 faring in terms of their integration into the labour market?

This study uses longitudinal data combining information from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) with data from personal income tax (T1 Family File) to analyze the impact of short-duration credentials (certificates and diplomas from colleges and universities), completed after an undergraduate degree, on the outcomes on the labour market of graduates from Canadian public universities.

The rapidly growing supply of university-educated workers from both immigration and domestic educational institutions, coupled with relatively slack demand for educated labour, has raised concerns about skill use in the Canadian economy. This study uses census data from 2001 to 2016 to compare trends in over-education among recent immigrants and Canadian-born youth. The study showed that only about one-half of the growth in university-educated workers over this 15-year period was matched with growth in jobs requiring a university education. University-educated recent immigrants became more concentrated in jobs requiring less than a university education. In comparison, Canadian-born youth with a university degree became less likely to work in jobs requiring high school or less education.

This study compares the differences in the mismatch between the education and occupations of immigrants in Canada and the United States, operationalized by over-education. It further explores how the cross-country differences may be related to the supply of and demand for university-educated immigrants and the way they are selected. Using comparable data and three measures of over-education, this study found that university-educated recent immigrants in Canada were much more likely to be overeducated than their U.S. peers. The over-education rate gap between recent immigrants and the native-born was much more pronounced in Canada than in the United States. In addition, while labour market demand was associated with a lower level of over-education in both countries, a greater supply of university-educated recent immigrants was positively associated with a likelihood of over-education among recent immigrants in Canada, but not in the United States. Furthermore, in Canada, the over-education rate was significantly lower among immigrants who were admitted through some form of employer selection (e.g., immigrants who worked in skilled jobs in Canada before immigration) than those who were admitted directly from abroad. Overall, this study provides insight into how the immigration system interacts with broader aspects of the labour market to shape the labour market outcomes of immigrants.

The number of temporary residents that hold a postsecondary study permit in Canada has increased rapidly in recent years, going from 201,186 in 2009 to 294,020 in 2015--a 46.1% increase. The purpose of this study is to describe the postsecondary experience and early labour market outcomes of study permit holders (international students). The study found that about two-thirds of postsecondary study permit holders actually enrolled in postsecondary programs in 2015 (up from about half in 2009). International students were somewhat more likely to graduate from their postsecondary program than Canadian students within five years of initial registration. However, international postsecondary students were less likely than Canadian students to combine school and work. Furthermore, only about one-third of international students who graduated from a postsecondary program remained and worked in Canada six years after graduation. Among those who remained and worked in the country after graduation, former international students earned slightly more than Canadian students (and slightly less than permanent residents). However, international students generally possess more characteristics associated with higher earnings than Canadian students. When international and Canadian students with similar demographics, educational qualifications and pre-graduation work experience were compared, it was shown that international students earned less than Canadian students six years after graduation.

Occupations related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are generally associated with high pay and contribute to the development of new technology. Continued growth is expected for STEM occupations, which would provide STEM-educated workers with additional labour market opportunities. However, less is known about the extent to which STEM graduates enter into and remain in STEM occupations in Canada. This study uses data from the 2006 and 2016 longitudinal census files to examine the occupational pathways of women and men with postsecondary credentials in STEM fields. Generally, male STEM graduates were more likely than female STEM graduates to be employed in a STEM occupation. The occupational pathways of male and female STEM graduates also differed. Among STEM graduates who were employed in a STEM occupation in 2006, women were more likely than men to have moved to a non-STEM occupation by 2016. Younger STEM graduates were more likely to exit a STEM occupation than older graduates, and men and women with college-level STEM credentials were more likely to leave a STEM occupation than their counterparts with a bachelor's degree. Some differences in the occupational mobility of men and women with STEM credentials were associated with their field of study. For example, men who studied mathematics or computer and information sciences were less likely than their counterparts who studied engineering or engineering technology to exit a STEM occupation between 2006 and 2016. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the likelihood of leaving a STEM occupation among women who had studied in these two fields. Lastly, the wage growth of male and female STEM graduates who persisted in a STEM occupation between 2006 and 2016 was not significantly different from the wage growth of their counterparts who had moved from a STEM occupation to a non-STEM occupation. [This study was funded by the Department for Women and Gender Equality.]

Traditionally, four-year bachelor's degree programs have been available only at universities. More recently, they have been offered at some community colleges--particularly in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Using linked administrative postsecondary graduate and personal income tax data, this study finds that college bachelor's degree (CBD) holders earn about 12% more per year, on average, than university bachelor's degree (UBD) holders two years after graduation. Almost all of this gap can be explained by the different field of study choices made by the two groups of students. Compared with their university counterparts, CBD holders were more likely to take programs in business, management and public administration or health and related fields (fields generally associated with higher-than-average earnings), and less likely to take education, humanities or social and behavioural sciences and non-professional law programs (fields generally associated with lower-than-average earnings). The remainder of the earnings gap could be explained by the fact that CBD holders were more than two years older than UBD holders, on average. The study also showed that UBD holders registered faster earnings growth between two and five years after graduation and were more likely to enroll in graduate studies than their counterparts from colleges. Moreover, CBD programs were generally concentrated in colleges that were situated near a university and associated with above-average earnings (compared with other colleges) among their diploma holders.

It has been well-documented that postsecondary graduates, on average, earn considerably more than others. Consequently, increasing postsecondary enrollment among youth from lower-income families--through targeted student aid or community outreach programs--may constitute an effective mechanism for promoting upward income mobility. However, there currently exists no evidence of the benefits of a postsecondary education (PSE) for youth from lower-income families per se. Using postsecondary administrative records and income tax records, this study bridges this information gap by estimating the association between earnings and PSE by level of parental income among a cohort of Ontario postsecondary graduates and a comparison group of Ontario youth who did not enroll in a postsecondary institution. The results suggest that the estimated earnings premiums associated with PSE are large and positive for youth from families across the income distribution. In relative terms, the premium is considerably larger for youth from the bottom income quintile than for their counterparts from the top income quintile. Supplementary analyses suggest that these results are not likely due to biases arising from omitted cognitive and noncognitive skills, or to differences in the choice of field of study between youth from different levels of parental income. [This project was funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO).]

The Canadian literature on postsecondary access has identified many of its key determinants including parental education and income, academic performance, and sex. However, relatively little work has investigated the independent role of disability in postsecondary enrollment. This study fills that gap by estimating the relationship between mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions diagnosed in childhood (available from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth [NLSCY]) and postsecondary enrollment during early adulthood (available from the tax credits on the T1 Family File [T1FF]). The study is possible as a result of the recent linkage between the NLSCY and T1FF. The findings suggest that 77% of youth who were not diagnosed with any long-term health condition in their school years (the comparison group) enrolled in postsecondary education (PSE) by their early 20s. In contrast, 60% of youth diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental condition (NDC) enrolled in PSE in the same time frame (a gap of 17 percentage points), while only 48% of youth diagnosed with a mental health condition (MHC) enrolled in PSE (a gap of 29 percentage points compared with youth in the comparison group). Youth diagnosed with both an NDC and an MHC were even less likely to enroll, with only 36% going on to PSE (41 percentage points behind youth in the comparison group). Differences in sex, academic performance and family background (e.g., parental income and education) explain only about one-third of these gaps. Among the MHCs, the most common diagnosis was Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Youth with an ADHD diagnosis were less likely to pursue PSE than youth diagnosed with other types of MHCs such as emotional, psychological or nervous difficulties. These findings suggest that youth diagnosed with NDCs and MHCs in their school years face barriers to enrolling in PSE that are distinct from those confronting other youth.

Given the time and money invested in higher education by students, parents and governments, there is considerable interest in the economic outcomes of postsecondary graduates. Most assessments of recent graduates have focused on their short-term, early labour market results. As new entrants to the labour force, recent postsecondary graduates may be particularly vulnerable to the economic cycle. Consequently, comparisons of short-term outcomes across graduating cohorts may be highly dependent on prevailing economic conditions and may not reflect the longer-term returns on investments. This is the first study to compare the long-term labour market outcomes of two cohorts of young postsecondary graduates using linked census and tax data. Specifically, graduates who were 26 to 35 years old in 1991 were followed from 1991 to 2005 (when they were 40 to 49 years old) and compared with a similarly aged 2001 cohort, which was followed from 2001 to 2015. The results suggest that median cumulative earnings were higher among members of the more recent cohort of male and female postsecondary graduates. Increases were observed across all postsecondary levels and across most major disciplines where sample sizes were large enough to permit analysis. Also, no discipline registered a decline in cumulative earnings. Although the economic conditions faced by the 2001 cohort over the 15-year study period were generally more favourable, this cohort also registered higher earnings than the 1991 cohort during the latter portion of the period (i.e., when the 2001 cohort was faced with an economic recession). Furthermore, the initial labour market conditions upon graduation (an important determinant of career earnings) were similar for both cohorts. The improvements in long-term earnings for postsecondary graduates are important in light of the significant increase in the number of graduates over the period. However, the results also indicate that the number of years of union membership declined or remained steady across cohorts of male and female postsecondary graduates. Furthermore, while women with postsecondary qualifications registered increases in the number of years of employer-sponsored pension plan coverage, their male counterparts experienced mixed results depending on their level of postsecondary studies.

Faced with job loss, displaced workers may choose to return to school to help them reintegrate into the labour force. Job losses in a given local labour market may also induce workers who have not yet been laid off to pre-emptively enrol in postsecondary (PS) institutions, as a precautionary measure. Combining microdata and grouped data, this study examines these two dimensions of the relationship between layoffs and PS enrolment over the 2001-to-2011 period. Using individual-level longitudinal microdata and controlling for the unobserved heterogeneity of workers in a flexible way, the study finds that laid-off male and female workers are 2 to 4 percentage points more likely than other men and women to transition to PS education in the year of the layoff or the following year (from a baseline rate of about 3%). For both sexes, fulltime PS enrolment accounts for most of the increase in enrolment. Statistically significant correlations between layoffs and full-time PS attendance are detected between two years before job loss and two years after job loss. The study also takes advantage of the fact that the 2008-2009 recession increased layoff rates in a differentiated way across Canada and, thus, generated exogenous variation in layoff rates at the regional level. Using grouped data models that allow economic regions to display distinct trends in their rates of transition to PS institutions, the study finds that for every additional 100 adult men laid off in an economic region in a given year, there is an additional 2 to 6 men who enrol in PS education institutions on a full-time basis in the following year. The study also detects a positive relationship between regional layoff rates and regional PS transitions for unmarried women. In line with the notion that some non-laid-off workers may pre-emptively enrol in PS institutions, the study finds evidence that movements in regional layoff rates are positively correlated with short-term transitions to PS institutions for adult male workers aged 35 to 44 who have not been laid off yet.

Among people who leave high school prior to completion, many return to schooling as adults. High school equivalency programs (such as a General Educational Development or Adult Basic Education program) gives them the opportunity to go back and complete high school requirements. Using data from the 2017 Aboriginal Peoples Survey--a national survey of First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit aged 15 and over--this study examines the factors associated with upgrading and high school equivalency among the Indigenous population living off reserve. It also examines whether high school equivalency or upgrading is associated with better educational and labour market outcomes. The first part of the paper presents a brief profile of the high school completion status of the Indigenous population aged 20 and over living off reserve. This is followed by an examination of the characteristics associated with upgrading or high school equivalency among this population. The results are presented for the total Indigenous population living off reserve and for each group separately, whenever possible. The final part of the paper adds to the limited existing research by examining, in both bivariate and multivariate models, the association of high school upgrading or equivalency with selected outcomes for Indigenous adults aged 25 and over.

Although completing a college certificate or diploma program after a bachelor's degree has long been a topic of interest for federal policy makers and academic organizations, its prevalence and nature have not been clearly characterized to this day. Many of the studies exploring this issue have been limited to a single institution or a single subnational region, or have faced challenges related to limited sample size. Additionally, many are from the United States. However, Canada differs from the United States, and from most other industrialized countries, in the strength and size of its college system. This paper fills the data and knowledge gap on college credentials completed after a bachelor's degree, by providing a clear characterization of this pathway's prevalence, nature and outcomes. It combines data from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) with data from the 2016 Census of Population to examine recent graduates from public colleges in Canada (i.e., those who graduated between 2010 and 2018) who had a prior bachelor's degree. Although this article deals with findings prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides important insights to better understand non-traditional educational pathways, which may become more common in the current context. While it is still early to evaluate the structural and longer-term changes to the economy caused by the pandemic, it is already clear that some industries such as accommodation and food services and arts, entertainment and recreation have been hit the hardest. Many workers from these sectors may have to complete a new program to start a new career or to build on their existing skills and knowledge.

This paper provides insight on how postsecondary students' work placements were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results are based on the recent Statistics Canada crowdsourcing data collection completed by over 100,000 postsecondary students between April 19 and May 1, 2020.

This paper provides insight on how postsecondary students' financial situation was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results are based on the recent Statistics Canada crowdsourcing data collection completed by over 100,000 postsecondary students between April 19 and May 1, 2020.

This paper provides insight on how postsecondary students' academic life was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results are based on the recent Statistics Canada crowdsourcing data collection completed by over 100,000 postsecondary students between April 19 and May 1, 2020.

This study draws on data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database to examine participation in Canadian post-secondary education (PSE) among adult immigrants in the 2002-2005 landing cohort, with an explicit focus on resettled refugees. The study describes the demographic characteristics of participants, the characteristics of participation, and the economic returns on investment in Canadian PSE. It also employs multivariate regression analysis to further examine the effects of participation in Canadian PSE on employment incidence and the income of those employed, while controlling for other factors associated with successful economic integration. [This paper was written with the support of Scott McLeish, Tristan Cayn, and André Bernard.]

This fact sheet explores the education and labour market situation of young Canadians aged 15 to 19. In this paper we find that: (1) The proportion of 15 to 19 year old Canadians who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) has fallen over time; (2) In general, countries with lower NEET rates for this age group tend to have a higher typical age of high school graduation; (3) The 15 to 19 year old group is a heterogeneous one with younger Canadians aged 15 and 16 being much more likely to be in school and older youth in this group starting their first transition to postsecondary education or the labour market; and (4) There was very little provincial variation in terms of NEET rates that was statistically significant in 2016.