Unlocking the nation-building power of post-secondary education
Working-age Canadians agree that post-secondary education brings lasting personal and professional benefits. jk1991 via getty images
Post-secondary education, considered a key pathway to success, is widely acknowledged for the potential to boost quality of life and career flexibility for individuals, improve outcomes at community and business levels – and enhance Canada’s prosperity and competitiveness overall.
Yet how do working-age Canadians view post-secondary education, especially against the backdrop of rising cost-of-living pressures and changing economic conditions? This question was central to the recent The Value of Post-Secondary Education in Canada report by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) and Abacus Data, which also inquired about barriers to participation.
“When I think about how my college education at Conestoga College has served me, it is very practical,” says Nelson Chukuwuma, Conestoga College graduate and former chair of CASA. “The learning style of completing assignments and projects on a weekly basis helped me stay organized and improved my project management skills.”
“If we want the strongest economy in the G7, we need the strongest post-secondary system in the G7. That means world-class training and research that give Canadians the skills to lead in every sector. ”
Mr. Chukuwuma also credits his public relations study with improving his writing and analysis skills and his study of user experience and user interface design with understanding the design thinking process, which he uses as research methodology.
“This has helped me advance in my chosen field of government relations and provide value to the organizations I’ve worked with,” he adds.
Similarly to Mr. Chukuwuma, post-secondary graduates responding to the survey reported lasting personal and professional benefits, such as stronger skills, broader career opportunities and greater confidence in navigating the labour market. They were also more likely to hold positions of responsibility, adapt to job changes – and experienced higher life satisfaction, better mental health and stronger community ties.
The survey also showed that working-age Canadians who did not attend post-secondary education still recognize its potential value and regret the fact that they did not attend, with 70 per cent believing they would have had improved career opportunities had they completed a post-secondary program.
A vast majority of individuals stated they would encourage their children to pursue some form of post-secondary education, whether in skilled trades, colleges, polytechnics or universities.
“Post-secondary education gives students more than a credential; it gives them the skills, confidence and purpose to build the life they want,” says Logan Routhier, director of advocacy at CASA. “But rising tuition and mounting student debt are putting those opportunities out of reach for too many.”
Affordability remains the most significant barrier to access and success, with the survey identifying cost as biggest barrier to enrolment and high tuition and student debt as the biggest downsides of attending post-secondary education, with lasting effects on graduates’ ability to buy homes, start families or launch businesses.
In answer, there is broad support (89 per cent) among working-age Canadians for increasing federal funding to expand access to post-secondary education as well as strong support (79 per cent) for the use of public funds to assist low-income students.
“Students know – and working-age Canadians agree: supporting post-secondary education is supporting Canada’s economic future,” says Wasiimah Joomun, executive director at CASA.
As the federal government has set ambitious goals to strengthen Canada in the face of geopolitical and technological change, none of these goals will be achieved without the training, expertise and innovation that takes place at post-secondary institutions, according to CASA, whose advocacy efforts aim to improve affordability, accessibility, quality and innovation in post-secondary education.
“If we want the strongest economy in the G7, we need the strongest post-secondary system in the G7. That means world-class training and research that give Canadians the skills to lead in every sector,” adds Abdul Abbasi, chair of CASA.