The days of going to school, getting an education, and getting a good job may be over for some students.
University and college graduates are facing adversity when it comes to finding jobs.
But the Pathways program available at Durham gives the university graduates the skills they need to be able to find a job
In the 2012/2013 academic year Durham College had 2,553 Pathway students, about 35 per cent of the student body. Pathway students are students who have attended college or university prior to them continuing education.
Of the 2,553 students, 1,257 students said Durham College was their previous post secondary experience, while the remaining 1,296 students said they attended a different college or university other than Durham College or UOIT.
It’s not clear what percentage of that group attended a university prior to enrolling in Durham College.
For a university graduate who can’t find work, college can be beneficial.
Colleges offer university grads the ability to fast track their education.
They would need to have the correlating university degree but they can be finished school much more quickly.
“Fast track programs are specifically geared towards university graduates,” said Greg Murphy, dean of Durham’s School of Media, Art and Design. An advantage of fast track programs is that they deliver a hands-on and applied work experience that a university might not provide , according to Murphy.
For others it means having to go back to school full-time.
Nicole Ross is a York University student who is majoring in sociology and had hopes of becoming a school teacher.
In the next academic year she will be attending Durham College or Centennial College to enroll in an early childhood educator program.
She could not find a job out of teacher’s college as a full-time teacher or a substitute teacher because of the competitive job market.
“I feel like college will give me a more hands on education and I would benefit from the work experience a college education would give me,” she said.
In contrast, Barb Durham, an elementary school teacher of 23 years did not have any trouble finding a job coming out of teachers college, and she went to York University.
Durham says school boards would conduct interviews just before Christmas because they were trying to secure jobs in their schools but now it is very difficult to get a job.
