Employment Profile

User's Guide

Introduction

This User’s Guide is intended to help readers understand the terms, information, and layout contained in the program cluster profiles. In the pages that follow, information is presented on graduates’ employment experiences, both province-wide and for "program clusters" of related programs. The program cluster profiles provide information on graduate employment – full-time, part-time, earnings, graduate satisfaction, and employer satisfaction. Please note that percentages in this report may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Readers are advised to keep in mind that graduates’ employment experiences change over time as they progress through their work careers. The information presented in this report reflects the status of graduates six months after they have graduated.

Program Information Not Reported

To maintain adequate confidentiality in light of the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Individual Privacy Act, employment information is not presented for programs in which the total number of graduates in the labour force is less than five. While data for these programs are included in the overall cluster statistics, they are not included in the tables Summary of Graduate Outcomes by Program or Earning of Employed Participants.

Definition of Terms

To assist the reader, this section provides definitions of terms presented in the report.

Average Annual Earnings:

Average starting annual salary of respondents who were employed in fulltime jobs.

Employed:

Graduates who, during the reference week, were employed, part-time or full-time, salaried or self-employed, permanent or temporary, related or unrelated to the program of study.

Employment Rate:

The percentage of graduates who indicated they were in the labour force during the reference week and were employed.

Employer Satisfaction:

The percentage of employers that completed the survey who are satisfied with the employees' college preparation for the type of work being done.

Full-time Employment:

At least 30 hours of work per week at one job, or less than 30 hours per week, if this is considered full-time employment in a particular occupational field.

Graduate Satisfaction:

The percentage of graduates that completed the survey who are satisfied with the usefulness of their college education in achieving their goals after graduation.

Industries of Employment:

Graduates' indication of the type of business or service offered by their employer coded on the basis of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This replaces the Statistics Canada Standard Industrial Classification code (SIC) used for data prior to 2000. The classification systems are different so earlier data cannot be directly compared.

Labour Force:

Graduates who were either employed or looking for work during the reference week.

Median Salary:

The middle annual earnings of graduates when the salaries are arranged in order of size.

Not in the Labour Force:

Graduates who, during the reference week, were unemployed and not looking for work, including those attending school fulltime, travelling, or staying home for health reasons or because of family responsibilities.

Occupational Categories:

Graduates' occupations classified according to the 1993 Employment and Immigration Canada's National Occupational Classification Code (NOC).

Participation Rate:

The labour force expressed as a percentage of the population in the survey.

Part-time Employment:

Less than 30 hours of work per week.

Post Diploma programs:

These programs are designed to provide additional or advanced skills that will enhance an existing knowledge base for which a certificate, diploma or degree has been awarded. They generally are one year in duration.

Program Cluster:

A grouping of programs leading to related occupations.

Program Cluster Profiles:

Information on graduate outcomes presented by program clusters.

Program Name:

Ministry assigned name for programs with similar outcomes offered by one or more colleges. Some colleges may use a variation of the program name in their calendars.

Reference Week:

The week for which the Graduates were asked to provide information for the Graduate Outcomes/Graduate Satisfaction Survey. (e.g., November 1st - November 7th, 2002, for winter 2002 graduates). All the information provided by graduates relates to their experience during this period.

Response Rate:

The percentage of graduates who completed the survey.

Unemployed:

Graduates who were without work but were looking for work during the reference week.

Program Cluster Layout (PDF, 34 KB) Adobe Acrobat format.