Education and Training Options

Universities and Colleges

For those who are headed for university or college, a thorough investigation is necessary. Entrance requirements for a particular university program are not always what they appear. For example, they may be stated in the calendar as a minimum of 65%. However, due to the number of people who applied with higher percentages, the lowest average mark that was accepted the previous year could actually have been 75%.

Another requirement that needs to be checked is the recommended course prerequisites in both universities and colleges. It may be that so many applicants have the recommended courses that no one has gotten in without them in several years. Clients and students should also know that their extra-curricular activities can influence their entrance into some universities and colleges. Volunteer or paid work in the field of interest can be a major benefit in many cases and, sometimes, political or social service involvement is of interest to an institution trying to boost student interest in school politics.

Although Grade 12 or its equivalent is the minimum entrance into community colleges, high school graduates are competing more and more with university graduates. Graduates of general science and general arts programs are finding the practical training received in college is what can get them in the door to a job, and the university degree will give them the edge in advancement opportunities. According to Maclean's Guide to Community Colleges, many larger colleges report that up to 30% of their students already have a university degree (Sheppard, 1999, p. 9). College and institute programs, such as medical laboratory technician, respiratory therapist, business administration, business information systems, optician, broadcasting, early childhood education, public relations and journalism, are popular choices for the degree graduates.

The increased interest of university graduates in college education has led to a blossoming of post-degree/post-diploma programs in the colleges across Canada. Pressure from the consumer, students who see the benefits of both a degree and a diploma, and the demand from business for workers with experiential learning has led to a substantial number of transfer agreements between colleges and universities. In many cases, the agreements cross provincial boundaries.

CO-OP: Education with Career Relevance Co-op is short for co-operative education, a program that integrates paid work experience in a student's field along with academic studies. The name reflects the co-operative relationship between students, schools and employers. For the fortunate few who have a clear idea of what kind of work they would like to do, co-op provides a chance to get real experience before they graduate. For students who are unsure about their future career, co-op can be a tool for discovery, an opportunity to test interests, aptitudes and abilities in a variety of jobs. Results from the National Graduate Survey show that, in comparison with non-co-op graduates, graduates from co-op programs found that their programs provided them with more knowledge of career opportunities. Other benefits of co-op education include: higher employment rate for graduates in their chosen career/field of study; employment found sooner after graduation; reduced student debt load; graduates who are more satisfied with their salary levels and networking opportunities; a lower student drop-out rate; and graduates who develop improved interpersonal relations, self-confidence and independence.

In spite of the growing tendency to transfer agreements, there are still precautions to be taken when planning to enter a program at either university or college. Hidden entrance requirements, which may not be apparent from reading a college or university calendar, can affect graduates from general degree courses who want to go on to a professional course in university. Some of the following programs have a prerequisite of one or two pre-professional years of university, others require a full degree, yet the competition is so fierce that a full degree is often the real bottom line for entry into most of these programs: law, medicine, architecture, social work, dentistry, veterinary medicine, speech language pathology, physical therapy, journalism, library and information science, optometry, pharmacy, occupational therapy and teacher education.

Regardless of the educational path chosen, the learner's journey does not often lead neatly into employment in a related field. Social, economic and personal factors can lead to unexpected turns in the pursuit of education and career directions. Martina's story demonstrates how one young woman's post-secondary education choices and her movements within the labour force were affected by the socio-economic elements shaping the labour market.

Prior Learning Assessment Recognition

For some members of the labour force (and potential members, such as new Canadians who worked in other countries) enrolment in an educational or training facility would be a duplication of learning, using precious resources of time and money. Prior learning assessment recognition (PLAR) is a method used to gain credit for learning outside the classroom. Aimed at those who have acquired substantial experience, often through employment experiences, PLAR is useful for tradespersons and professionals who trained on the job and are looking for recognition in order to move into a different or related area. It creates a formalized record of their learning experience and translates it into college credits and then applies it to a course or program. PLAR should help potential students get into a program at the right level, avoiding repetition which is costly to the individual and the system.

Although PLAR has proven effective where it has been applied conscientiously, it is not used to its full potential. For instance, many immigrants could benefit from PLAR to help them find work that matches the skill levels and knowledge they bring with them to Canada. The demand for skilled workers in many Canadian industries is pushing PLAR for new Canadians to the forefront as one potential solution to filling some gaps.

When applied consistently on a wide scope, PLAR will enable members of the labour force to move in and out of employment and to transfer between colleges and universities with ease. To facilitate this happening, colleges need to move to a more learner-based delivery with more part-time access and, at the same time, the program must ensure that standards are maintained. Students have to meet admission requirements for both the college and the program. Their evaluation looks at course matches to give credits for specific courses. The assessment can be done in two ways: a challenge exam for single course credits or a portfolio of experience to challenge a level or group of courses.

PLAR is in a different state of development in each province. Only British Columbia, Ontario's community colleges, New Brunswick's community college and the PLA Centre in Halifax have systems in place to conduct PLAR (Training and Development Associates, 1999). The increasing number of employees returning to school to upgrade and immigrants needing assessment for recognition is emphasizing the need for quick, efficient development of standardized processes and province-wide systems. This will be aided by the same trend to technological innovations that has changed the skills needs of the labour force: technological tools for PLAR in the form of portfolio development software programs. A learning bank or learning account, which everyone would carry, would be registered in a yet to be decided physical or cyberspace location. (See the Open Learning Agency of British Columbia for an example of a working learning bank http://www.ola.bc.ca under Workplace Credit Review).

Martina's Story: From Sociology to Web Design

While in high school, Martina chose to go into an engineering program. After the first year she found it wasn't exciting her and she switched into a sociology program. This program fit her interests so well she planned to do a master's degree. However, in the back of her mind she was aware of a nagging worry that she would not find employment with a sociology degree.

Meanwhile, on the social front she had found a partner. He finished school and began working in the engineering field. She was forging on with the master's program. The year Martina was due to graduate, her partner received an offer to work in the United States for a couple of years. The financial and learning opportunities were too good to turn down. But Martina decided to stay behind because she had no work experience and didn't believe she could get a job in the States.

So she set about to find work in Canada as her partner headed south. Although she had her doubts, a friend encouraged her to go and talk with someone at a high tech company. The employer was very anxious to hire someone with excellent writing and organizational skills, and Martina's sociology degree had prepared her very well for this. Her one year of engineering gave her enough of a background to understand the company's work and she was hired as a technical writer.

However, once in the position she became aware of many other opportunities to learn skills she didn't have, and she volunteered for every project that came up. Soon she had completed small projects in almost every department including working on the company's Internet Web site.

As she became more adept at and more interested in Web site design, Martina developed a plan. She would open her own small business developing Web sites for non-profit organizations. In this way she would be able to combine her love of sociology with her new-found technical skill. She began by volunteering to do work on Web sites on weekends to gain experience and make contacts in an entirely different sector, the social sciences sector. By the time her partner returned to Canada she had left the high-tech firm and was nurturing a fledgling business.

Martina's story plainly illustrates labour market dynamics in action. Marketability of certain educational qualifications, demand for generic skill sets, the social trend toward two income earners being equally important, the economic draw of the United States for highly qualified people in certain sectors and the impact of technology, were all labour market factors shaping Martina's career path.