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News Release

Employers say Ontario college grads well prepared for workplace

February 17, 2003

TORONTO – Ninety-two per cent of employers were very satisfied or satisfied with how well college graduates were prepared for the workplace, Dianne Cunningham, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities said today in releasing the latest Employment Profile of college graduates.

The annual Employment Profile of college graduates also shows that 89 per cent of college graduates in Ontario found work within six months, with almost two-thirds finding work in their field of study. In addition, 81 per cent of graduates indicated they were very satisfied or satisfied with their college education.

"The high level of employer and student satisfaction, combined with excellent employment rates, demonstrates the value of a college education in preparing young people for a good job – and indicates that students are using the information from the Employment Profile when deciding on their future," said Cunningham.

The Employment Profile is a summary of employment information about college students who graduated in 2000-01. It is based on responses from 35,033 of a total of 46,820 college graduates. The data was collected six months after students graduated. More than 7,900 employers were surveyed.

Employment rates for college graduates is just one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that are collected annually to measure and report on the postsecondary system. Other indicators include graduation rates, student satisfaction, graduate satisfaction and employer satisfaction rates.

Since 2000-01, the Ontario government has used the KPI measures of graduate and employer satisfaction and graduate employment to allocate part of the colleges' operating grants.

"Our government made a commitment to provide students and their parents with the relevant information they need to make informed choices about their futures – and we're making this information easily accessible," said Cunningham.

The full Employment Profile report and individual institutional Key Performance Indicators are available on the ministry Website: for the employment profile: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/serials/eprofile00-01/index.html; and for the institutional KPIs: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/postsec/colindicator.html.