About the Skills Development Fund and the state of the colleges

Read The Save Our Colleges Report
Read the Report Summary
Ontario Colleges: A Successful System - 86% of college graduates find employment in their field - 91.8% of employers report they are satisfied with their college graduate hires - Colleges deliver 80% of apprenticeship placements province-wide - College graduates have the lowest rate of unemployment of any education outcome in Ontario -- Colleges were key to recovery from 2008 Financial Crisis -Ontario colleges enrolled an additional 20,000 during the recession - 45,000 laid-off workers were enabled to re-enter the workforce -- Colleges are transparent and Publicly accountable: - Every year, each college publishes financial statements, program information and key performance indicators -- But at a time of economic crisis Ontario's public colleges are collapsing: - more than 650 training programs closed just this year - more than 10,000 college jobs cut just this year -- Doug Ford claims to be funding post-secondary education, but.... -- Ontario Colleges are badly underfunded: - Colleges in Ontario receive far less funding per student than in other provinces: only 55% of the national average - Government funding in Ontario pays for only 25% of operating costs. Across Canada, the average level of provincial funding is 60% of operating costs. -- Ford is funneling money to the Skills Development Fund (SDF) - The SDF consists only of unsupervised, unaccountable private providers - Since 2020, more than $2.5 billion of taxpayer money has gone to the SDF.
The Dangers of Private Colleges: A Lesson from Australia Starting in 2013, The Australian Government cut public funding for colleges by $3 Billion. - Almost 40% of institutions were forced to shut down, and over 8800 educators laid off. - The number of apprentices dropped by 140,000 - Rural communitities lost economic hubs: colleges provided employment, education, and training that met specific local needs - Private providers took billions in government money while failing to meet educational standards. - Unscrupulous prive providers siphoned taxpayer money with scams like "ghost colleges" (enrolling students for courses that didn't exist). By 2018, the Australian government had to increase funding to try to undo the damage. -- Underfunding is already preventing Ontario colleges from supporting local economies. -- Tourism and hospitality in Prince Edward Country and the Thousand Islands: - Accomodation and food services are the second largets source of employment in the region - 9,355 job vacancies in the food services and hospitality in Eastern Ontario - 30.6% of Prince Edward County employers report difficulty