Ensuring Ontario has the
workforce it needs

To create the highly skilled workforce that is essential in the new economy, Ontario must produce more college graduates.

A key step the province can take to encourage more students to pursue the career-focused programs at colleges is to allow colleges to start offering three-year degrees.

The colleges already offer four-year degrees and independent research done for the provincial government has confirmed the four-year degree programs are successful. However, colleges must award diplomas to graduates of three-year programs. It’s unclear why this is the case.

In most of the world, graduates of similar three-year post-secondary programs earn degrees, and a number of Ontario’s three-year college programs are already aligned with the provincial standards for three-year degrees.

Increasing numbers of employers want graduates with degrees who also have career-specific skills and qualifications, and degree programs are attractive to students and parents. Students who are completing degree-level programs deserve to earn credentials that refiect their achievements and strengthen their ability to compete for rewarding careers at home and globally.

Recommendation:
Ontario must allow colleges to offer three-year degrees.