EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS

SURVEY SHOWS CHANGING TRENDS OF WORKFORCE

More contract work, self-employment and vocationally-related volunteer work are just some of the employment trends indicated by Lethbridge Community College’s 1998 Completer’s Survey.

The Completer’s Survey is an annual poll of more than 1,500 graduates and completers of LCC credit programs. Since 1979, the survey has measured the grad’s performance after College activity — employment, further education or other. Over a three week period each year, hundreds of graduates are contacted by telephone interviewers.

In the 1998 report more than 1,000 grads were contacted about their activity in the six months following completion of their studies:

• 71% were employed and 18% were engaged in further education within six months of completion. 7% were unemployed but seeking work and 4% reported not seeking any kind of employment.
  
• 48% of respondents reported that their employment was directly related to their education and 17% said it was generally related.
  
• of the 334 who reported they were continuing their education, 188 are returning to LCC for that additional training.
  

Doug Patching, Chair of Counselling Services and author of the Completer’s Survey, says that many of the employment trends occurring in the rest of the country are reflected in the LCC Survey.

“Multi-tasking is a reality, many graduates are working and studying or working multiple jobs,” says Patching. “More are employed in contract and term positions or self-employed. Also, this is first year we measured vocationally related volunteer work, and in the future we hope to use the numbers to support the idea that volunteerism relates to the type and level of employment.”