Some facts about college education and employment chances in Ontario

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I promise you this is interesting -- or at least that it is worth your attention if you worry about employment in Ontario nowadays.

The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, which is an agency of the Government of Ontario, has made some credible information demonstrating the value of a college (postsecondary) education available on its website.

In Ontario between 1999 and 2011, the unemployment rate among people between the ages 25 and 44 with any postsecondary credential (e.g., a college diploma or a bachelor’s degree) was always lower compared to the unemployment rate among people without such credentials.

So far, this probably doesn’t surprise you.  Everyone knows that education is valuable because it is linked to success in the job market.  If this is true, then it seems to make sense that achieving a “higher” degree should improve one’s overall chances of landing a job even more -- but the data do NOT support this reasoning with much strength.  In fact, the unemployment rate for these people varied within 1% in both 2010 and 2011.  Having postsecondary education was important, no doubt, but it didn’t make a huge difference if someone graduated from college versus university.  Even if you don’t understand all of the details, I’m sure you’re aware that economic times were pretty rough around 2008.  These data show that in 2008 there was even less of a difference in unemployment rate among people who had completed postsecondary education; it varied within just 0.3%!  The unemployment rate for both college and university graduates in this demographic was almost the same in 2008.  When the unemployment rate peaked for those with no postsecondary credentials in 2009, there was a more pronounced difference in the unemployment rates for people with different types of credentials, but they still had better chances of being employed than those without higher education

These data do not analyze the quality of the jobs that were out there, but for many people who are out of work that's a secondary consideration compared to gaining any employment in the first place.

See the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario’s “Quick Stats” here.

Uhm -- I should explain the name of this blog

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One reason why people retain (hire) legal professionals, such as lawyers and paralegals, is to get legal advice, but what does this mean?

People might need help to

  • understand the range of options that are available to them in different situations
  • ensure that they've complied with all the laws that pertain to a specific issue
  • prepare documents
  • navigate the civil and criminal court system

You get the point.  Legal professionals might be asked to do numerous things, and the reason people pay them instead of tackling this work themselves is to get any of these types of things done properly.  After all, you wouldn't pay someone to do these things for you improperly, would you?

To promote fairness, all legal professionals in Ontario must comply with various rules of professional conduct that, among other things, govern the legal professional's relationship to his or her clients.  If a lawyer gives anyone legal advice, even without being paid for it, the recipient of the advice might believe that they have established a lawyer-client relationship where none exists.  Maybe the advice was trivial and nothing bad would come of it, but the situation could very easily become a lot messier, especially if the advice was incorrect.  This is just one example.  Legal professionals are required to abide by many many rules.  Even if these rules didn't exist, normally it would be rude to ask a legal professional for free advice.  Do you work for people for free just because they ask you to?

So how can legal professionals talk about the law without giving legal advice?  Oftentimes we use the concept of "legal information", which is general and not-specific to any individual's needs.  When I teach my students I provide only legal information for educational purposes.  If the content of one of my classes touched on a personal concern of one of my students, they would have to look elsewhere for legal advice.  For example, in my corporate law class I explain the main ways that people can structure their for-profit businesses -- this is legal information -- but I would never tell a student what the best choice would be for his or her particular business -- that would be legal advice.  It is my responsibility to ensure that my students understand that we have a teacher-student relationship and not a lawyer-client relationship.

You won't confuse this blog with legal advice, I'm sure, because it is called "THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE", and now you know why!
 

New Year, New Semester --> New Blog !

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Welcome to the new semester #LAWS115, and welcome to Centennial #PRLG702!

I'm starting this blog because I need to learn more about the new internet.  I dipped my big toe into Twitter (@ScottTanaka) recently, but I still have lots to learn on that front.

Hopefully blogging will help me share ideas with you that do not necessarily belong to a particular course.

First things first:  there are several coffee outlets on campus, with different pros and cons depending on your needs.  If you're new to the college, I suggest you start observing when the lineups peak at certain locations and plan accordingly so you can always arrive in class on time.

 -- and remember:  it's unconvincing to claim that you cannot be on time for your classes when you're holding a steaming hot drink because anyone who's been around the college understands that the line up situation most often necessarily means that, but for your caffeine fix, you could've arrived in the classroom earlier!

You can find out more about food on campus here: http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CA/Centennial/Locations/ProgressCampus.htm.  If you want something simple, oftentimes you will be better off avoiding the huge lineup at the Tim's in C-block.

Last semester I resolved to bring tea in a thermos to avoid the lineups altogether, but it's taking me some time to find my ideal not-too-big-not-too-small thermos.

Nerdy is so cool nowadays (see this) so hit the ground running by starting good academic habits from day 1!