'It will open up a much greater range of career options for graduates'
Ontario is now allowing colleges to develop new three-year degree programs.
"Expanding the degree programs at colleges ensures more students will have access to high-quality, career-focused programs," says Jill Dunlop, minister of colleges and universities. "More students will acquire the expertise and credentials to succeed in today's job market."
Colleges can do this alongside their diploma programs and expand their range of career-focused, four-year degree programs.
Currently, most of the programs offered at colleges are diploma programs. Prior to today's announcement, colleges were only authorized to award degrees to graduates of their career-focused four-year programs. Expanding the degree programs at colleges will fulfil the growing demand among employers for graduates with more highly specialized qualifications, according to the government.
And this change does the entire education system a lot of good, says Linda Franklin, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario.
"This groundbreaking announcement elevates Ontario's post-secondary system on the world stage," says Franklin. "It will open up a much greater range of career options for graduates and drive economic growth through a more highly qualified workforce."
Nearly 70 per cent of Ontarians also support the creation of three-year degree programs that will expand the range of career-focused degree programs at colleges, according to a previous report from Colleges Ontario.
This will also help companies that promote themselves and their workforce internationally, says Guido Benvenuto, vice president of engineering at Flex-N-Gate.
“Degree holders enjoy more opportunities in our global manufacturing world. This will make a significant difference in our sector."
More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of Canadian employers say they are having a hard time hiring people with the skill sets they need to grow, and more than half (52 per cent) are not confident they will find people with the skills they need and will consider recruiting outside Canada, according to a previous study.
And globally, nearly a third of young people feel their current education is not preparing them with the skills they need to get jobs, according to a UNICEF report released in March 2020.
