Regulated Career Colleges in Canada

Regulated career colleges have been an integral part of the post-secondary educational landscape in Canada for close to two centuries.

Facts:

  • Canada’s first regulated career college dates back to the early 1800s.
  • Annually, regulated career colleges have more than 175,000 students enrolled.
  • Over 35,000 employees work in regulated career colleges.
  • NACC itself was founded in 1896.

Regulated Career Colleges Programs

  • Are fully recognized and reviewed by provincial governments.
  • Offer compressed length of study, high-quality and regulated instruction, small class sizes, and flexible schedules, all of which are appealing to students.
  • Provide graduates the necessary skills to get jobs and fill industry voids immediately.

NACC by the numbers. About our graduates:

  • 79% of grads enjoy higher income than before training.
  • 89% of grads are participating in the workforce.
  • 80% of those employed are working in sectors related to their training.

Work Permits for International Students

Issue

  • International students registered in a public educational institution are able to obtain a post-graduate work permit.  Currently, this does not apply to students of private institutions (with very few exceptions).
  • This is discrimination against small and medium sized businesses trying to create jobs in our communities.
  • By design, career college programs are more condensed, which appeals to many international students. Comparable programs are often unavailable at public institutions.

Facts

  • Loss of students:  International students wanting to attend programs offered at career colleges choose other destinations instead of Canada.
  • Loss of job creation:  Should international students attending career colleges be allowed to receive work permits, it is estimated that thousands of jobs would be created.
  • Loss of revenue:  Estimated at $120 million per year.

What NACC is doing

  • On behalf of our members, NACC has been lobbying Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Minister’s Office to have this policy changed since 2010.
  • We have been promised an answer on a number of occasions, and been given timelines. Each time the change has not come and the deadlines were ignored.
  • We will continue to push to end this discriminatory policy so that more jobs can be created throughout Canada.

By allowing international students attending private institutions to obtain post-graduate work permits, more international students will choose Canada.