Canada

Citation

(2008), "Canada", Education + Training, Vol. 50 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2008.00450fab.002

Canada

Article Type: Research news From: Education + Training, Volume 50, Issue 6

Research links education to higher earnings

Figures published by Statistics Canada have revealed the extent of the link between education and earning potential. Individuals with degrees or advanced vocational qualifications such as apprenticeships earned significantly more than those with a high school diploma or no qualifications. Full-time workers with a university degree earned substantially more than those with just a high school diploma, regardless of age or sex, the data shows. And the more degrees the better. Young men with a bachelor’s degree, for example, had median earnings of $50,506 while those with graduate degrees had even higher median earnings at $54,686. “By and large, in Canada, individuals with high levels of education don’t tend to suffer on the labour market”, said Wolfgang Lehmann, a sociologist at the University of Western Ontario. “They tend to have higher levels of employment, lower levels of unemployment. They’re less likely to find themselves in part-time work or contract work and more likely to get benefits and higher salaries.”

Those with a registered trade or apprenticeship were earning nearly $40,000 – some $2,600 more than those who had a high school diploma and some $8,000 more than those who didn’t even have that.

According to Lehmann “Education is paying off. It may not always pay off to the extent an individual would like it to pay off, but it is paying off … . The most disadvantaged in the labour market in Canada are still those that don’t even graduate from high school.” Canada’s top earners – those making six-figure salaries – were also more likely to have a university degree. Although they represented no more than a quarter of full-time earners, those with a university degree accounted for 57 per cent of $100,000-plus earners and 65 per cent of $150,000-plus earners.