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By Adrian Nieoczym
The recession has people contemplating a return to school to upgrade their job prospects.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in applications,” said Okanagan College’s director of public affairs, Allan Coyle.
The number of people applying to the college is up 18 per cent over last year, going from about 5,900 to almost 7,000.
But Coyle cautioned that not every person who applies will actually register for classes. Last September, the college had 5,229 students.
Coyle said the bulk of the applications were for the college’s applied programs with its engineering technology, health care and adult basic education programs proving to be most popular.
Students in adult basic education are either getting their high school equivalency or upgrading to meet prerequisites for specific programs.
Coyle cited the current employment situation as the single largest factor driving up the interest in the college’s programs.
“Even people who aren’t unemployed probably realize education helps their job prospects,” he said. “It’s a great time to get that training.”
While the job market may be depressed at the moment, Coyle noted that our society is still facing a demographic challenge as baby boomers retire and leave the workforce en masse. Which means as the economy picks up, employers will be hungry for fresh talent.
Traditionally, enrollments at post-secondary institutions increase during bad economic times but decrease during good economic times when decent paying jobs are easier to find.
But during the recent boom time, said Coyle, enrollments at the college actually increased as people flocked into the trades to try and cash in on the construction boom.
adrian@kelowna.com/(250)575-3517
Tags: enrolment, Kelowna, Okanagan College
