The experience of school leavers

A significant proportion of people entering the labour force come directly from high school. However, leaving high school before graduation has become an increasing area of focus. In this section, we examine the experience of school leavers compared with that of graduates, focusing on their demographics, profiles, and employment transitions.

Over the last 10 years, growing concern over the large number of school leavers has raised questions about the effectiveness of Canadian educational institutions in enhancing the country's economic prosperity and ability to compete in the global economy. Many foresee that future Canadian jobs will demand high levels of skill and technical training. To be "trainable" for many growth occupations, applicants will require at least a high school diploma. Although, by international standards, educational attainment in Canada is high and Canadians have ready access to post-secondary education, a relatively large number of students do not complete high school.

To shed light on the dropout phenomenon, Human Resources Development (HRD) commissioned a study from Statistics Canada, the School Leavers Survey (1991), which attempted to examine the factors that influence school leaving and to explore the prospects of school leavers compared with high-school graduates. The data analyzed here were derived mainly from this survey.

Profiles of school leavers and graduates

Estimates of the school leaver rate vary widely depending on the approach used. Average national figures range as high as one third. The School Leavers Survey estimated the rate at 18%; provincial rates ranged from a low of 14% in Alberta to a high of 25% in Prince Edward Island. However, the statistics revealed even wider variations between the sexes (Figure 15). This disparity occurred in all provinces but Saskatchewan, but was greater in the eastern provinces and narrower in western Canada.