{"id":76,"date":"2019-09-11T18:26:09","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T18:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/socedind\/chapter\/__unknown__-8\/"},"modified":"2021-03-17T03:09:40","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T03:09:40","slug":"__unknown__-8","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/socedind\/chapter\/__unknown__-8\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 8: School-to-Work Transitions","rendered":"Chapter 8: School-to-Work Transitions"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_61\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"640\"]\"\"<\/a> Source: \"Graduation Caps<\/a>\" by John Walker is licensed CC BY 2.0<\/a>[\/caption]\r\n\r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

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After reading this chapter, you will be able to<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n \t
  1. Define knowledge economy<\/em> and how it is related to educational attainment in Canada.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Explain what is meant by opportunity cost<\/em> and human capital<\/em> with regard to pursuing education.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Identify how \u201cgappers\u201d and \u201csecond chancers\u201d experience the transition from school to work.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Explain what is meant by the \u201cforgotten half.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Identify the strategies used by youth when trying to find a job after completing education.<\/li>\r\n \t
  6. Describe how the transition to work varies by credentials and field of study.<\/li>\r\n \t
  7. Define job\u2013education mismatch<\/em> and explain what is meant by vertical <\/em>and horizo<\/em>n<\/em>tal<\/em> mismatch<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n \t
  8. Summarize how experiential learning assists with school-to-work transitions.<\/li>\r\n \t
  9. Describe the major stages in the transition to adulthood and how these have changed in recent generations in Canada.<\/li>\r\n \t
  10. Describe the main differences in school-to-work transitions and explain how transition to adulthood varies between country typologies.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    Introduction<\/h1>\r\n

    In previous chapters, the function of school as a socializing agent has been discussed. School also gives students skills and knowledge that they need to be successful citizens and provides the groundwork for any additional education or training that they may desire. The purpose of education is not only to socialize students and make them into knowledgeable and productive citizens, but also to prepare them for the labour market. In the past, a high school education has been the gateway to many desirable jobs, but this is less true in today\u2019s economy. Vocational training, college, and university pathways are increasingly being chosen by youths after high school graduation due to the shifting demands of today\u2019s job markets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    Education and the Canadian Work Force<\/h1>\r\n

    A major reason why people pursue post-secondary education is so that they will attain <\/span>marketable skills that will result in increased employment opportunities. The numbers of Canadians with post-secondary education have been increasing<\/span>, as discussed in the prev<\/span>i<\/span>ous chapter<\/span>. For example, according to the Canadian census, about 13 percent of Canad<\/span>i<\/span>ans had university degrees in 1981, which more than doubled to around 28 percent in 2006. Similar increases in other forms of post-secondary education have o<\/span>c<\/span>curred as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    There are several reasons for the increase in post-secondary credentials. Since the 1950s, there has been an expansion of \u201cwhite-collar\u201d positions that target educated semi-professionals in administrative or office positions, for example (Owram 1996). The rise in white-collar positions coincided with a decrease in \u201cblue-collar\u201d work, which is characterized by manual labour in the service sector. The middle-class popul<\/span>a<\/span>tion began to view post-secondary education as a necessary stage for personal <\/span>ec<\/span>o<\/span>nomic success. Recently, discussions about the <\/span>knowledge economy<\/em> have become commonplace in educ<\/span>a<\/span>tion policy and research. The <\/span>[pb_glossary id=\"177\"]knowledge economy[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>\u00a0refers to a continuously adapting society characte<\/span>r<\/span>ized by a large proportion of jobs based upon the skills of highly educated and technically proficient employees. Many Western <\/span>go<\/span>v<\/span>ernments use the term to talk about education, life-long learning, and employment and skills training programs (Gibb and Walker 2011). A key feature of such economies is that the workers must be able to continuously adapt to and learn new technologies. Workers in the know<\/span>l<\/span>edge economy are in the situation of having to update their skills in order to keep up with the changing demands of their jobs. Gibb and Walker (2011) point out that although many governments, including Canada\u2019s, discuss Canada as <\/span>being a knowledge eco<\/span>n<\/span>omy, \u201cknowledge workers\u201d actually make up only a relatively small proportion of jobs in Ca<\/span>n<\/span>ada. <\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

    The Cost of Education<\/h2>\r\n

    Post-secondary education is costly in that it requires not only government expenditure, but also personal investments. In terms of government expenditure, in 2006 Canada devoted 6.1 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product) to educational institutions, and 2.6 percent of this to post-secondary institutions. Among the OECD countries,1<\/sup> Canada and the USA allocate the largest share of education spending on post-secondary (<\/span>Canadian Education Statistics Council 2010).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n\r\nMost students must pay tuition fees in order to attend a post-secondary institution. The tuition fees of post-secondary institutions have been steadily rising over the years. In terms of tuition, the national average university tuition was around $5100 a year in 2010\/2011, although this varies considerably by program of study and region. In the same year, tuition fees at Ontario universities were the highest at $6307, followed by fees in New Brunswick, which were just over $5500. The lowest tuition fees in Canada were found in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, which had average fees of around $2500. Nearly all provinces experienced an increase except for Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. Nova Scotia, in contrast, experienced an average decrease of around 4.5 percent. Unlike the situation in the United States, education is heavily funded by the territorial and provincial governments; tuition fees obtained from students account for around 20 percent of the total costs of education, while federal funding accounts for under 10 percent.\r\n\r\nTable <\/span>8.<\/span>1 s<\/span>hows that tuition has been steadily rising over the years and that there are stark differences in tuition rates based on program of study. For example, in 2010\u20132011, one year of dentistry tuition was $<\/span>14\u00a0701, compared to $3859 for tuition in education fields. In fact, dentistry students pay the highest tuition across Canada, followed by students in medicine and pharmacy at the undergraduate level. At the post-graduate level, however, the most expensive programs in Canada are the master of business (MBA) programs. The \u201cexecutive\u201d MBA had an average tuition of nearly $29\u00a0000 in 2010\u20132011, while the regular MBA had an average tuition of just over $21\u00a0000.2<\/sup> In contrast, graduate tuitions for most other disciplines such as agriculture, education, engineering, nursing, pharmacy, and the social sciences are around $4500 to $5500 per year. The average student finances his or her education through a combination of means, including employment, government loans, savings, family support, private loans, and grants (Berger, Motte and Parkin 2007).\r\n\r\nIn terms of personal costs, the pursuit of post-secondary education requires not only a tuition cost, but also the time devoted to studying, and potential forgone wages that could have been accrued had a person not been in education. Individuals making the choice to pursue post-secondary education must weigh the potential <\/span>opportunity cost<\/em> against the pe<\/span>r<\/span>ceived benefits of the educational credential. An <\/span>[pb_glossary id=\"199\"]opportunity cost[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>\u00a0is a term borrowed from economists and refers to the benefits that have to be forgone in <\/span>o<\/span>r<\/span>der to pursue the activity of choice. In the case of education, there is the opportunity cost of forgoing potential earnings from full-time work while pursuing educational <\/span>credentials. It is anticipated that there will be future (often economic) benefits to purs<\/span>u<\/span>ing the education in the long run that would make up for (and exceed) any lost ear<\/span>n<\/span>ings from a low-skilled and poorly paid job.<\/span>\r\n\r\nRelated to the idea of opportunity costs is the theory of <\/span>economic capital<\/em>. <\/span>In Chapter 2, the idea of economic capital was introduced.<\/span>\u00a0This consists of skills that individuals acquire that are quickly converted into money. Skills acquired through ed<\/span>u<\/span>cation are a typical <\/span>example of this type of capital. A related theoretical perspective that is also bo<\/span>r<\/span>rowed from economists is the <\/span>human capital<\/em> argument. <\/span>Human capital<\/em> refers to personal chara<\/span>c<\/span>teristics that are possessed by the individuals that are transferable into ec<\/span>o<\/span>nomic reward (Becker 1964), such as education and work experience.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCommon to both the idea of the opportunity cost and human capital theory is that <\/span>i<\/span>n<\/span>dividuals make a rational choice when they enter education and training. The choices they<\/span> make are linked to future perceived economic benefits. Students are students b<\/span>e<\/span>cause they hope that upon completion of their degrees, diplomas, or certificates they will enter the workforce into an occupation that economically rewards them more favourably than if they had not pursued the credential.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n
    \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_62\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"905\"]\"\" Table 8.1<\/strong> Undergraduate Tuition Fees for Full-Time Canadian Students, by Discipline
    Source: Statistics Canada, www40.statcan.ca\/l01\/cst01\/educ50a-eng.htm<\/sub>[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_63\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"\" Figure 8.2<\/strong> The Various Pathways between High School and Work
    Source: Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca\/pub\/81-595-m\/81-595-m2007054-eng.pdf<\/sub>[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n\r\nThere are many possible school-to-work pathways that a youth may follow. It may seem that the most promoted route is high school post-secondary studies job, but there are many young adults who have deviated from this set of stages.\r\n\r\nThe Canadian Policy Research Networks have identified 20 paths that can be taken on the journey from school to work, which are illustrated in Figure 8.2. As shown, there are two general sets of routes for youth: one for those who graduate high school and one for those who leave high school before completion.\r\n