The purpose of this document is to provide accurate and current information to learners and other stakeholders on the learning and labour market experiences of public and private college graduates in Newfoundland and Labrador. The two-page program profiles that follow focus on graduate employment, initial earnings, length of job search, satisfaction with programs, student debt and migration out of province. This users’ guide is designed to assist readers in interpreting the profiles and to highlight any methodological issues.

The numbers of graduates and response rates vary. Caution should be exercised when interpreting information when the response rates and numbers of graduates are low. In particular, Table 3 and 4 present information only from graduates who had full-time employment in the reference week. These tables must therefore be viewed keeping in mind the resulting lower number of respondents.

The names of the programs and the institutions are the names that were used in the 1995/96 academic year with one noteworthy exception. In 1995/96, the public college system in the Province was composed of five regional colleges. These colleges have since been amalgamated into one institution, the College of the North Atlantic. The 1995/96 graduates who graduated from any one of the regional colleges are listed in this report under the College of the North Atlantic.

Readers who may be interested in pursuing a program profiled in this report are advised to obtain a current calendar. The institution’s calendar is the best source of the current name of the program, its description and the location where it is offered.

This is the best single indicator of graduate success in finding and maintaining a job. The survey queried graduates on their employment status in each of the thirteen months from July 1996 through to July 1997. All graduates who responded to the survey answered this question. The percentage of respondents for each of the employment categories listed was computed for each of the thirteen months. These values were averaged to produce the data that are displayed in the table.

Some graduates indicated more than one labour market activity in a given month. In some situations, a graduate may have had a part-time job and been looking for full-time work. Graduates who reported multiple responses in a given month were assigned the highest work force experience for the month. (See ranking below.) For example, graduates who indicated they were looking for work and had a part-time job would be given credit for the part-time job. Multiple responses accounted for approximately 20% of all of the monthly responses.

This indicator presents the success of programs’ graduates in obtaining work in the reference week June 22 to June 28, 1997. Although this indicator is only a snapshot of labour market activity, unlike the 13-month average described above, it is simple and allows easy comparison of one program to another.

The reference week occurs in early summer when most seasonal jobs are underway and a year following the graduation for most of those surveyed. Employment rates are generally higher than those in Table 1 because most seasonal workers are working and most graduates have had at least a year to find employment.

Table 3 provides an indicator of the initial earnings of graduates. These numbers represent weekly salaries before taxes as stated by the graduates themselves.

It should be noted that only those graduates who indicated that they were employed full-time in the reference week answered the salary question. Consequently, for those programs with few respondents, this salary information should be viewed with caution. In cases where there were fewer than five actual respondents who stated they were engaged in full-time employment in the reference week and who reported a weekly salary, only the numbers are presented, as percentages can misrepresent these situations. Graduates who reported they were working part-time in the reference week may have also reported a weekly salary but these salaries were not included in the calculation of earnings.

The total number of graduates who answered this question may not add to exactly the number of graduates who indicated they were employed full-time in the reference week. This is the case because some graduates refused to answer the question and some indicated they were paid on a commission basis that is not directly comparable to one week of salaried wages.

As was the case for the salary indicator, only the responses of graduates who reported full-time employment in the reference week June 22 to June 28, 1997 were reported in Table 4. For those programs with few respondents, the employment related to training should be viewed with caution. Where there were fewer than five actual respondents who reported having full-time employment in the reference week, percentages are not presented.

In several cases, the total number of graduates who answered this question may not add to exactly the number of graduates who indicated they were full-time in the reference week due to unreported information.

All respondents answered this question.

All respondents answered this question. It should be noted that some programs had large numbers of students’ tuition and living expenses carried by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) or the Atlantic Groundfish Strategy (TAGS) fishery adjustment program. These factors may have led to higher levels of satisfaction with financial investment than would otherwise have been the case. It is suggested that this indicator be viewed in conjunction with Table 8 which shows the level of student indebtedness, and Tables 1, 2, and 3 which show graduates’ employment rates and the average weekly salaries.

Only graduates who indicated they had found at least one full-time or part-time job following graduation answered this question. It may be helpful to view this indicator in conjunction with Table 9 which shows the out-migration of graduates and Tables 1 to 4 which show the labour market success and salary levels of graduates.

The average loan amounts are the average of self-reported debt upon graduation for students who had government student loans only. Loans from family members, private loans or private student lines of credit are not included in this analysis. The level of student debt reflected in this table is therefore likely to be an underestimate of graduate indebtedness.

As described above, some college graduates were funded by TAGS or HRDC. Programs that had large numbers of sponsored students would have a very few number of graduates reporting loans.

The information presented shows graduates’ responses to their current province of residence at the time they were surveyed, approximately one year following graduation.