Too few Canadian students are choosing to study fields that are in high demand, according to an August 26 CIBC World Markets report.
The report says that Canada has the highest proportion of adults with a post-secondary education among all OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries, despite having tuition costs that are double the average of those countries. However, students are increasingly choosing to study fields that don't lead to lucrative careers, it states.
"A higher education may be a necessary condition for a good job in Canada, but it is no longer a sufficient condition," said Benjamin Tal, CIBC deputy chief economist and study co-author.
"Narrowing employment and earning premiums for higher education mean that, on average, Canada is experiencing an excess supply of post-secondary graduates.
"And despite the overwhelming evidence that one's field of study is the most important factor determining labour market outcomes, today's students have not gravitated to more financially advantageous fields in a way that reflects the changing reality of the labour market."
The study found just under half of all recent graduates studied fields such as humanities and social sciences, which it said isn't giving them an advantage when it comes to a career.
Other findings include:
- the unemployment rate among university graduates is now just 1.7 percentage points lower than high-school graduates, a gap that the study said was much higher in the 1990s;
- the unemployment rate among university graduates is 0.7 percentage points lower than college graduates; and
- unemployment among graduates with an MA or PhD is 0.5 percentage points lower than those with a bachelor's degree.
