Largest Career Colleges in Canada

Average age of Canada's career college students: 29

97% of the students surveyed attended full-time

88% of students in career college health programs are women.

82% of students in trades/technical training are men.

14% of career college students attended high school outside Canada.

Approximately one quarter of career college students in Canada were born outside of Canada (visa students and recent immigrants). Of these foreign-born students, 17% attend career college to gain recognition for their foreign credentials and 34% to change their careers.

86% of career college students plan to work following graduation: 76% say they will seek new employment, 3% plan to return to work at a current or previous job, while 7% intend to start their own business.

Average Total Tuition Cost (full program) for Private Career College Programs in Canada

Program Cost	Trades/Technical Training	Design	Health	Media/Information Technology	Other Service	Other
Under $6,000	11%	5%	13%	7%	10%	14%
$6,000-$8,000	7%	5%	13%	10%	14%	15%
$8,001-$10,000	13%	16%	18%	17%	19%	8%
$10,001-$12,000	10%	11%	11%	14%	13%	6%
$12,001-$14,000	18%	6%	5%	11%	13%	6%
$14,001-$16,000	5%	8%	12%	12%	4%	3%
$16,001-$20,000	8%	12%	9%	13%	8%	7%
Over $20,000	16%	27%	11%	7%	8%	31%
No Response	12%	10%	8%	12%	11%	12%
Average Tuition	$19,289	$16,743	$13,521	$13,386	$13,078	$15,821
(Note: numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding)

Student Enrollment in Programs at Private Career Colleges in Canada

Programs	Response %	Males %	Females %
Trades/Technical Training	7.1%	20.9%	1.8%
Construction/Other Trades	2.2%	7.4%	0.2%
Aviation	1.4%	3.5%	0.5%
Driver Training	1.2%	3.9%	0.1%
Automotive Service/Business/Retail	0.4%	1.1%	0.1%
Electronics/Engineering/Robotics	0.2%	0.7%	—
Civil Engineering Technology	0.1%	0.4%	—
Other Trades/Technical training	1.6%	3.9%	0.6%
Health	38.1%	15.8%	46.8%
Health Care/Health Services	17.9%	10.8%	20.7%
Hairdressing	7.4%	1.6%	9.7%
Beauty/Esthetics/Cosmetology	7.1%	0.6%	9.7%
Dental Care	1.9%	0.2%	2.6%
Alternative Healthcare (Acupressure)	1.3%	1.1%	1.3%
Other Health	2.5%	1.5%	2.9%
Other Service	10.0%	9.5%	10.2%
Law and Security	3.3%	4.3%	3.0%
Child & Youth Worker/Special Ed./Education Assistant	2.1%	0.6%	2.7%
Childcare	1.7%	0.1%	2.4%
Counselling	0.7%	0.5%	0.8%
Social Services/Community Support	0.6%	0.2%	0.7%
Other Service	1.5%	3.8%	0.6%
Media/Information Technology	23.6%	28.6%	21.7%
Office Business Administration	13.1%	8.1%	15.3%
Computers	4.8%	10.9%	2.3%
Radio/Television/Film/Music	3.9%	6.1%	3.0%
Desktop Publishing/Multimedia	0.4%	0.9%	0.2%
Journalism/Photography	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%
Other Media/Information Technology	1.1%	2.4%	0.7%
Design	4.4%	7.2%	3.3%
Interior Decorating/Design	0.9%	0.4%	1.1%
Fashion/Design/Merchandising	0.4%	0.1%	0.5%
Other Design	2.9%	6.5%	1.6%
Other	16.8%	18.0%	16.3%
Performing Arts	4.5%	2.7%	5.3%
Bible/Theological	3.8%	6.5%	2.9%
Hospitality/Tourism/Travel	3.6%	2.4%	4.0%
Culinary/Cook/Chef	1.8%	3.5%	1.2%
Animal Care	0.7%	0.1%	1.0%
General Upgrading	0.7%	1.2%	0.5%
Other	1.6%	1.9%	1.5%
(Note: numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding)

Source: Survey of Canadian Career College Students Phase II: In-School Survey, published by Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), 2008.