Graduates in the Labour Force
Topic Box from the 2011 Final Benchmark Report
Where BC Ranks, Provincial Comparison |
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| There are several ways to obtain a high school graduation certificate that do not get picked up in the statistics used for performance indicator 10. The labour force provides a measure of the proportion of young people who have high school credentials. The information presented here is based on the proportion of 19 to 24-year olds in the labour force who have a high school graduation certificate. Higher ratios earn better ranks. |
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| In 2010, 90.4 of British Columbian and 88.5 percent of Canadian 19 to 24-year olds had high school certificates. Quebec, at 84.1 percent, had the lowest ratio in the country. |
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| Rates improved in all provinces between 1990 and 2010, ranging from 6.3 percentage points in Quebec to 15.1 in Newfoundland and Labrador. BC’s improvement was eighth best at 7.1 percentage points. |
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| The “Best and Worst Performers” reflects improvement in the proportion of young people with a high school graduation certificate but also shows the difference between best and worst provinces to have shrunk over the last 20 years. The gap in 2010 was roughly half that in 1990. |
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Why It's Important
Levels of education tend to correlate strongly with future personal prosperity and well-being. With the knowledge content of most jobs steadily increasing, high school graduation or better is generally deemed essential as a base qualification for higher learning and entry level employment. |
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