Canadore officials pleased Wynne is looking at 3-year degree programs

Canadore College
News Release

**********************

Ontario colleges are pleased that Premier Kathleen Wynne has agreed to start a process to consider establishing three-year degree programs at the province’s public colleges.



“Employers are increasingly seeking people with a combination of a post-secondary degree and career-specific skills and qualifications,” said Canadore College President George Burton. “Expanding the range of degree-level programs at Ontario’s colleges will help more people find meaningful work when they graduate, especially our young people. This move will also further international recognition of the value and quality of our college credential.”



The presidents of Ontario’s 24 colleges met with Premier Wynne on Tuesday afternoon at Queen’s Park. The meeting was arranged to discuss measures to strengthen post-secondary education in the province. Other issues addressed at the meeting included fiscal challenges and apprenticeship reform.



At the meeting, Premier Wynne said the government wants to work with colleges to ensure the province has the agility to meet labour market needs. At the end of the meeting, the premier agreed to investigate the three-year degrees issue in partnership with the colleges.



“We appreciated the opportunity to meet with Premier Wynne, especially when it came to her openness to dialogue about this integral issue,” said Burton. “We are passionate about the success of our students. The entire college system is looking forward to working with the government to implement changes to help more people get the education, training and retraining they need.”



Ontario’s colleges successfully deliver four-year degree programs in a range of career-specific fields. Three-year degree programs are currently available at universities but those programs aren’t designed for people seeking an applied education.



In most of the world, graduates of three-year post-secondary programs earn a degree. Furthermore, many of Ontario’s three-year college programs are already aligned with provincial standards for baccalaureate education.

Providing more career-focused degree programs at colleges will help greater numbers of people, including those in underrepresented groups and students at risk, pursue a wider range of career options.



Ensuring the credentials in Ontario accurately reflect the program of study will also open up more career opportunities for unemployed people seeking retraining and provide more opportunities for students to ladder into honours programs and graduate studies.



This is important as Ontario works to close the skills mismatch – the gap between the skills held by many people seeking work and the qualifications sought by employers. Many people looking for jobs can’t get hired for available positions because they don’t have the right credentials and skills.



The problem is expected to get worse as technology continues to transform the workplace. In his groundbreaking report on the issue – People Without Jobs, Jobs Without People – Seneca College president emeritus Dr. Rick Miner said more than 700,000 Ontarians will be unemployable by 2021 due to insufficient education and training. Meanwhile, more than one-million jobs will go unfilled.



The government understands the skills mismatch is a significant challenge. As Premier Wynne said recently in the Toronto Star, “We need to make sure that we are providing training programs in areas where there actually are jobs.”



To help address the mismatch, Ontario should offer a full range of degree, diploma and certificate programs to help more people find meaningful work and achieve long-term success, the college presidents said. The province should also reform the apprenticeship system to encourage more young people to enter the trades.



“We need to ensure more people enter the workforce with applied skills and the qualifications to find meaningful work,” said Burton.

**********************