Understand the recent graduates entering the youth labour market

Understanding graduate levels

Graduates represent a key source of new talent entering the labour market. Tracking the number of graduates and the types of credentials they earn helps show how the future workforce is developing. This information can provide insight into the supply of newly trained workers and how education pathways connect to labour market needs. Understanding graduate trends can also help identify where skills and training may align with, or need to align with, employer demand.

Graduates

Graduates of a post-secondary program are inclusive of college and university programs. The totals include both Canadian and international students. Totals across each row by program may not match up with Statistics Canada totals due to rounding from the sum of all degree categories.  

Table notes

Geography

The provinces or territories (grouped) where recent graduates are located.  

Degree types

The degree types obtained by recent graduates. Including:  

• Upper secondary education
• Tertiary education below a bachelor’s degree, which combines the following:
  • Non-university certificate or diploma
  • Trade certificate or diploma, or apprenticeship certificate
  • College, CEGEP and other non-university certificates or diplomas
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• Master’s or equivalent
• Doctoral or equivalent

The degree types displayed are standardized according to ISCED 2011 classifications. More information on these classifications can be found in UNESCO’s ISCED 2011 documentation.

Age groups

The age of recent graduates, including:  

• Youth (24 years old or younger)
• Early prime-age (25-39 years old)
• 40 years and older

The age groups differ from those provided in the Labour Force Characteristics Dashboard and are grouped as closely as the data allow.

Gender

Listed as men, women, or unknown. These gender groupings are as provided by Statistics Canada. In 2021, the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) stopped collecting data on sex and began collecting data on gender. However, due to low counts, the "Non-binary person" category has been rolled into "Gender unknown" for dissemination purposes. As a result, an increase in “Gender unknown” might be observed. Furthermore, there is a discrepancy between how gender is reported in this dataset and the labour force characteristics in the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Please refer to the Guide to the Labour Force Survey for more information on data collection and standards.

References

Statistics Canada Postsecondary graduates, by International Standard Classification of Education, institution type, Classification of Instructional Programs, STEM and BHASE groupings, status of student in Canada, age group and gender https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3710016401  

UNESCO Institute for Statistics, International Standard Classification of Education - ISCED 2011. https://www.openemis.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/unesco-international-standard-classification-education-isced-2011-en.pdf  

Statistics Canada, Guide to the Labour Force Survey. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-543-g/71-543-g2025001-eng.htm