Progress Report 2014: education

Education gives people the opportunity to prosper and the security to pursue their ambitions in life. It is the ladder we use to climb up into a better job and increased prosperity, and it is how our children will achieve their potential in a province of expanding opportunity.

Education is also essential for the health of our democracy, one in which our public institutions take care of people and help them do more in life. This link between our education and our wellbeing today and tomorrow means we can’t afford to settle for a good education system. It’s why we’ve made great education a starting point for the people of Ontario.

A great education system is never static; it must constantly evolve to meet the changing needs of families, students, teachers, workers and businesses. This requires ongoing attention and collaboration between government and its many education partners, a commitment to continually investing public resources where they will have the greatest impact, and thoughtful measurement of those investments.

But in Ontario, governments have not always treated the education system as a critical means by which we build a thriving economy, a stronger democracy and a brighter future for the people of the province. When governments have stalled, students and people of all ages have seen their current and future prospects diminished, communities have suffered, and the economy has performed below capacity.

To build opportunity, create security and improve the lives of people across the province every day, since 2003 the Ontario government has shown an unwavering and unprecedented commitment to building the world’s best education system.

Working with all partners and all people, we’ve invested billions in new schools, universities and colleges, in programs, in people, and built a modern, equitable and excellent education system from early-childhood all the way through to skills upgrading for people switching careers later in life.

Progress measurements confirm that Ontario now boasts a world-leading education system. Since 2003, elementary test scores and high school graduation rates are up, and post-secondary enrolment and attainment are up as well.

Our highly educated workers are drawing the eye of the world’s most innovative companies. As new sectors emerge and our educated workers renew existing ones to compete globally, we’re setting the stage for the people of Ontario to lead this century just as they have the last one.

Child care and early years

To prepare children for success in life and ease the burden families were facing in finding and affording high-quality child care, we’ve increased child care funding by 90 per cent since 2003. We’ve also modernized child care and made funding more responsive to local needs and families across Ontario. As of March 31, 2013:

• since 2003, licensed spaces in child care centres have increased by approximately 107,400
• there are 5,050 licensed child care centres in the province with a total capacity of 294,490 spaces — 143,020 of them in publicly funded schools
• since 2003, the province has increased funding for child care by 90 per cent to more than $1 billion in 2013-14

As more four- and five-year-old children enter the school system through full-day kindergarten, Ontario’s child care providers will adapt to serve younger children. We’re providing $346 million in child care funding over four years to stabilize this transition, and to continue modernizing the child care system:

• we’re investing $63.5 million a year to permanently fill the funding gap left when the federal government walked away from its child care responsibility
• we have provided investments growing to $51 million by 2015-16 to support child care operators, parents and children to seamlessly transition into full-day kindergarten
• we’re providing $12 million over five years to help non-profit child care centres with renovations that will improve the care of younger children
• since 2011 we have invested an additional $17.8 million to support on-reserve child care for First Nations
• we’re providing $113 million to school boards to support retrofits and renovations for school-based child care services, so that high quality child care is available where families need it

Our government is committed to supporting the child care and early learning needs of children and families through an increasingly integrated system of high-quality, responsive programs and services.

Elementary and secondary school

Infrastructure

Since 2003, we have invested more than $12 billion to make schools better places to learn. With 27,000 renewal projects (e.g., replacing roofs, windows and boilers) and nearly 650 new schools built, under construction, or planned, we’re making sure crumbling infrastructure never stands in the way of student achievement.

French-language education

As part of our commitment to excellence and equity in education, our government has invested $609 million in the French-language education system at the elementary and secondary levels between 2003 and 2013 — a 67 per cent increase in funding per student.

French language school boards are now providing a great education to nearly 99,000 students in Ontario, and are projected to receive $1.36 billion in 2013-14.

Full‐day kindergarten

More than 184,000 four- and five-year-olds in approximately 2,600 schools are benefitting from full‐day kindergarten this school year. We’re giving them the best start and saving parents up to $6,500 per child.

By September 2014, full‐day kindergarten will be available to approximately 260,000 children at 3,600 schools across Ontario.

Depending on demand, some boards are offering before‐ and after‐school programs to help with a seamless transition between child care and school.

Growth of full‐day kindergarten:

• September 2010: 35,000 students; 600 schools
• September 2011: 50,000 students; 800 schools
• September 2012: 120,000 students; 1,700 schools
• September 2013: 184,000 students; 2,600 schools
• September 2014: 260,000 students; 3,600 schools

Assessment results

2012‐13 Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) assessment results for reading, writing and math:

• 71 per cent of students in Grades 3 and 6 are meeting or exceeding the provincial standard (a “B” grade) — up 17 percentage points from 54 per cent in 2002-03
• over 150,000 more elementary students are meeting or exceeding the provincial standard compared to 2002–03

Ontario students continue to perform above the OECD average in every category in the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment test.

Student success

More students are graduating high school with confidence in their abilities and direction in their life. To make high-school learning accessible and enriching for all young people, students in grades 7 to 12 need an education that fits their strengths, goals and interests.

The programs Ontario has designed to help all students succeed include:

• Specialist High Skills Major: allows students to experience a future career path and begin developing specialized skills through classroom courses, workplace experiences and sector certifications. This school year, enrolment in Specialist High Skills Major programs rose again. About 42,000 grade 11 and 12 students are participating in one of 19 majors now offered, including aviation and aerospace, environment, justice, community safety and emergency services, and more
• E‐Learning: gives students access to online courses and allows teachers to share resources across the province
• Dual Credits: counts towards a student’s high school diploma as well as a college certificate, diploma or apprenticeship. In 2013-14, approximately 22,000 students are participating in Dual Credit programs
• Co‐operative Education: students can earn up to two of the compulsory high school credits they need to graduate through hands‐on learning in a workplace
• The School Support Initiative (SSI): a partnership between the Ministry of Education and selected school boards where pass rates in Grades 9 and 10 applied compulsory courses are below the provincial rate, and students may not be on track to graduate within four or five years. The majority of participating schools in SSI have seen consistent improvement in student achievement

Ontario is also helping struggling high school students get back on track to graduate:

• every school board has a Student Success Leader who works directly with principals to improve graduation rates
• Student Success Teams provide extra support and attention in every high school for students who need it
• on average, there is one Student Success Teacher in every high school

Tiffany Sherri Caldwell from Saugeen District Secondary School in Port Elgin became a skilled welder after she was crowned prom queen.

Read about inspiring student success stories

Grad rates

Working with students, parents and educators, Ontario’s Student Success Strategy has helped raise the high school graduation rate for ten consecutive years.

In 2003-04, only 68 per cent of students graduated from high school. Today, that number is 83 per cent.

Our Student Success Strategy means 138,000 more high school grads than Ontario would have had the rate remained at the 2004 level.

Graduation rates in Ontario:

2003‐04: 68%
2004‐05: 71%
2005‐06: 73%
2006‐07: 75%
2007‐08: 77%
2008‐09: 79%
2009‐10: 81%
2010‐11: 82%
2011-12: 83%
2012-13: 83%

College, university and apprenticeship

Higher learning leads to higher paying jobs and a stronger economy across Ontario. That’s why we’ve invested heavily to expand capacity at our institutions, to develop programs that give people workforce-ready skills, and to keep the cost of postsecondary education affordable for families.

We want to make sure that young people are not deterred from getting the right skills and the right training.

30% Off Ontario Tuition Grant

In January 2012, Ontario introduced the 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant to help low and middle income families send their children to college or university.

In 2013-14, the grant is saving students in a university or college degree program $1,730, while students in college diploma and certificate programs will save $790 — money that can be put towards things like textbooks or housing.

About 230,000 students received the 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant in 2012-13, up from 207,000 in 2011-12. And we’ve expanded eligibility requirements this year so that about 5,000 more students can benefit from the extra support. To help the most number of young people, students who apply for OSAP are automatically considered for the grant.

Ontario continues to have one of the most generous student assistance programs in the country. More than 370,000 students — more than half of all full-time students — received student financial aid in 2012-13, including the 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant.

More spaces

Since 2002-03, there are more than 160,000 more students enrolled at Ontario colleges or universities, an increase of over 40 per cent. The increase during this period is greater than any comparable period in Ontario’s history, including the 1960s. Enrolment at Ontario’s universities is up 49 per cent from 2002‐03. At Ontario colleges, enrolment is up 27 per cent.

Since 2002-03, Ontario has increased enrolment in post-graduate programs by 60 per cent.

Through our investments, we have created another 260 first-year medical school spaces, established four new medical education campuses, and are providing additional funding to improve the quality of undergraduate medical education.

Expanding capacity

Ontario has introduced a plan to guide major capacity expansions at postsecondary institutions to ensure students have access to spaces where they are needed most.

The Major Capacity Expansion Policy Framework defines criteria for where new or expanded campuses should be located, and a Call for Proposals was issued to the sector on March 27^th. Working in collaboration with municipalities, universities’ and colleges’ expansion proposals will be evaluated to determine how they:

• increase spaces in underserved areas and align with provincial growth and economic development plans
• align with their strategic mandate agreements and their priorities under the Differentiation Policy Framework
• demonstrate value for money and provide regional and provincial economic benefits
• improve quality, innovation and competitiveness
• increase affordability for both students and taxpayers

Apprenticeships

Approximately 120,000 apprentices are learning a trade today — nearly 60,000 more than in 2002–03.

Annual apprenticeship registrations have grown from 17,000 to more than 32,000 in the last ten  years. We’ll continue to sign up new apprentices while increasing support to help registered apprentices complete their training.

We also established the Ontario College of Trades to modernize Ontario’s apprenticeship and trades training system.

Modernizing facilities

Since introducing our Reaching Higher Plan in 2005-06, our government has invested $2.6 billion in capital funding for Ontario colleges and universities.

Our most recent investments have produced over 5.5 million additional gross square feet of space at our colleges and universities with an additional 1.6 million gross square feet of renovations and modernization to existing space.

The government has committed a further $669 million in capital funding to support an additional 24 projects currently in progress at Ontario colleges and universities.

Our investments will help improve teaching facilities and generate the advanced technological infrastructure needed to keep our colleges and universities at the forefront of scientific advancement.

French-language education

Funding to French-language postsecondary education increased by over 62 per cent between 2003-04 and 2012-13. This targeted funding of $83.6 million was enhanced in October 2013 by a further investment of $14.5 million over the next three years to help universities and colleges expand their French-language programs and services — including expansions already underway at Glendon College, Collège Boréal and La Cité collégiale.

Training

Second career

The Second Career program provides funding, based on individual need, to laid‐off, unemployed individuals, for up to two years of skills training to help them find jobs in occupations with demonstrated labour market prospects in Ontario.

Second Career has helped more than 76,000  individuals retrain since June 2008. More than 81 per cent of Second Career clients who responded to a follow‐up survey indicated that skills training funded through Second Career helped them with their future employment.

Help finding work  

Individuals can get help finding work through the new Employment Service, which combines former federally delivered programs with Ontario’s programs in a more community-centred, streamlined system.

More than 600,000 Ontarians were served through this program last year. Overall, 63 per cent of these clients have found employment after leaving the program, and an additional 15 per cent have gone on to further education or training.

Youth Jobs Strategy

Higher youth unemployment threatens to create a generation of stalled hopes and stagnant wages. We’ve introduced a Youth Jobs Strategy to help young people overcome the challenge they face entering the workforce and launching a successful career. It includes four elements:

The Youth Employment Fund, introduced in Budget 2013 and launched on September 23, 2013, is providing $195 million over two years to create job placements for 25,000 youth. While the program is available to all Ontario youth, we’re making a special effort to help youth facing barriers to work and youth living in high-needs communities. The Fund has put more than 9,800 young people into job placements as of March 28, 2014.

The Youth Entrepreneurship Fund will provide $45-million to our next generation of business owners through training, mentorship and start-up capital.

The Youth Innovation Fund will provide $30 million for campus-linked accelerators and internship programs for graduate and PhD students.

And the Youth Skills Connections Fund will provide $25 million to help address the skills gap in Ontario by promoting partnerships among business, labour, not-for-profits, educators and youth.

In March, 2013, we announced two new projects under the Youth Skills Connections Fund. George Brown College and Ryerson University will partner with business and labour to deliver specialized programs that will prepare 212 young people for jobs in the food, metal manufacturing and information communications technology sectors.

Summer Jobs

We’ve increased the number of students receiving help with summer jobs from just over 60,000 in 2004 to more than 100,000 in 2013. Many of Ontario’s summer jobs programs target youth in high‐needs neighbourhoods.

Students and youth can go online to:

• find job listings
• search for a job through Employment Ontario agencies
• improve their marketing skills and resume writing
• apply for a job with the Ontario government

Through the Summer Job Service, employers are also encouraged to hire students and provide hands‐on training for tomorrow’s workforce through a $2‐per‐hour hiring incentive.

Internationally trained professionals

Since 2003, we have invested in 300 bridge training programs that have helped more than 50,000 newcomers get the training they need to find a job in their field.

We passed the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006 and created the Office of the Fairness Commissioner to ensure a fair and transparent process for registration and licensing in 40 regulated professions.

Global Experience Ontario is a one‐stop information and resource centre that has helped nearly 10,000 internationally trained people so far.

This school year, Ontario has provided tuition‐free language programs that will help more than 120,000 newcomers improve their ability to speak English or French.

Funding to support the training and integration of international medical graduates is five times what it was in 2003, meaning 1,521 more international medical graduates were practising in Ontario as of 2011.

In November 2012, the government released Ontario’s first immigration strategy, which was developed after reviewing recommendations from Ontario’s Expert Roundtable on Immigration, as well as consulting with many sectors and stakeholders across the province.

The goal of the strategy is to make immigration work better for Ontario’s economic development and better support newcomers and their families so they can succeed and fully contribute to Ontario’s economic prosperity.

Learn about our progress on health