1993 About Vocational School

8/10/2019 1993 About Vocational School

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Th e Ca n ad i an J o u r n a l o f H i g h er Ed u ca t i o n , Vo l . XX I I I - 3 , 1 9 9 3

La r ev u e can ad i en n e d ' en s e i g n emen t s u p r i eu r , Vo l . XXI I I - 3 , 1 9 9 3

Profile of Private Vocational Training Schools

R OBER T S WEET*

Abstract

This paper ou t l ines the sa l i en t f ea tu res o f p r iva te vocat ional t r a in ing schoo l s in

fou r m aj o r r eg ion s o f Ca na da . Schoo l s a re fu r th er desc r ibed in te rm s of the i r

opera t ing p r inc ip les and p rac t i ces , the r ange o f t r a in ing p rograms o f fered and ,

f ina l ly , the r egu la to ry and gov erna nce s t ruc tu res of f edera l and p rov incia l gov -

er nm en ts and o f the indus t ry i t se l f . Th i s p ro f i l e ou t l in es the m ark et -o r i en ted

natu re o f the p ropr ie tary schoo l indus t ry and i s p resen ted wi th reference to the

c o m m u n i t y c o l l e g e a n d in s t it u t e s y s t e m w h e r e , t o a l i m i t e d d e g r e e , s i m i l a r

en t rep reneur ia l f ea tu res are found . On the bas i s o f th i s compar i son , some obser -

va t ions are made as to the po ten t i a l con t r ibu t ion o f p ropr ie tary schoo l s toward

cur ren t gove rnm en t ef fo r t s a t im prov ing t r a in ing p rov i s ion in Can ada .

Rsum

Cet ar t i c l e dcr i t l es carac tr i s t iques p r inc ipa les des co les p r ives de fo rmat ion

profess ionnel l e dans l es quat re g randes rg ions canad iennes . On t r ace l e por t ra i t

d ta i l l de l eu r s modes d 'opra t ion , de l ' ven ta i l des p rogrammes o f fer t s , des

s t r u c t u r e s d e c o n t r l e et d ' a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i m p o s e s p a r l es g o u v e r n e m e n t s

f d r a l e t p r o v i n c i au x , e t p a r l ' i n d u s t r i e mme. Le p r o f i l d g ag s o u l i g n e l a

f o r t e o r i en t a t i o n d e mar ch d es co l es p r i v es e t u n e co mp ar a i s o n av ec l e s

s e r v i c es o f f e r t s d an s l e s co l l g es co m m u n au t i a r es e t l e s i n s t i tu t s t e ch n i q u e s

pub l i cs permet de dgager des t r a i t s communs aux deux sys tms par r appor t

l eu r approche en t rep reneur ia le . A par t i r de ce t t e compara i son , des observat ions

* Lakchead University


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A P ro f i l e o f P r iva t e V o ca t iona l S ch oo l s 37

son t t i r e s su r l a con t r ibu t ion po ten t i e l l e de s co le s p ro fe s s ionne l l e s p r ive s

d a n s l e c a d r e d e s p o l i t i q u e s g o u v e r n e m e n t a l e s v i s a n t l ' a m l i o r a t i o n d e

l ' e n s e i g n e m e n t p r o f e s s i o n n e l a u C a n a d a .

C an ad ian p rop r i e t a ry s choo l s in 1989 r eco rded 190 , 000 en ro lm e n t s i n va r ious

p r e - e m p l o y m e n t b u s i n e s s , s e r v i c e , a n d t e c h n i c a l - t r a d e s c o u r s e s . O f t h e s e

e n r o l m e n t s , 1 4 0 , 0 0 0 a t te n d e d o v e r 1 , 0 0 0 s c h o o l s a n d a f u r t h e r 5 0 , 0 0 0 w e r e

se rved by som e 50 co r r e spon denc e p rog ra m s (N icho l , 1991 ) . N u m ber s o f t h is

m agn i tude c l ea r ly ind ica t e a m ean ing fu l ro l e fo r t he p r iva t e s ec to r i n expand ing

educa t iona l oppor tun i ty a t the pos tsecondary leve l . Ye t the p r iva te voca t iona l

t r a i n i n g s c h o o l s ( P V T S ) h a v e n o t f i g u r e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y in p o s t s e c o n d a r y

educa t iona l po l i cy s t a t em en t s . R ecen t f ede ra l gove rnm en t a t t em p t s t o encou rage

pr iva te sec tor invo lvement in t ra in ing have been d i rec ted pr imar i ly toward up-

g rad ing p rog ram s , ope ra t ed o r sponso red by bus ine s s and indus t ry i t s e l f . S om e

at tempt to increase d ivers i ty o f p re -en t ry p rov is ion was , however , apparen t wi th

t h e C a n a d i a n J o b S t r a t e g i e s s c h e m e u n d e r w h i c h t h e i n d i r e c t p u r c h a s e o f

t r a i n i n g f r o m p r o p r i e t a r y s c h o o l s w a s s u p p o r t e d . T h i s s e e m s t o b e a p o l i c y

d i r ec t ion the new L abour F o rce D eve lopm en t B oa rd w i l l con t inue , and even

e x t e n d ( M a h o n , 1 9 9 0 ) . A t t h e p r o v i n c i a l l e v e l , M i n i s t r i e s o f A d v a n c e d

E duca t ion inc rea s ing ly a r e i nc lud ing the p rop r i e t a ry s choo l i ndus t ry in t he i r

hum an r e sou rce deve lopm en t p l ans . D esp i t e changes in po l i cy o r i en ta t ion , t he re

is no adequa te body of research on th is sec tor tha t would in form educa t iona l

d e c i s i o n s . W h i l e t h e r e e x i s t s o m e h i s t o r i c a l l y i m p o r t a n t p i e c e s ( J a c k s o n &

Gaske l l , 1987; More land , 1977) , few s tud ies have examined the indus t ry in any

em pi r i ca l de t a i l (H ope , 1986 ; S l ade & S w ee t , 1989 ; S w ee t , 1990a ) . S e l ec t ed

aspec ts o f the p ropr ie ta ry sec tor have , however , been presen ted . Pacque t (1988)

d i scus sed the na tu re o f t r a in ing and educa t ion by the p r iva t e s ec to r . S w ee t

(1991) examined i ssues o f access and technology as these app ly to the p r iva te

c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s c h o o l s . M o r e r e c e n t l y , S w e e t ( 1 9 9 3 ) e x a m i n e d P V T S

s t u d e n t s ' p e r c e p t i o n s o f t h e i r t r a i n i n g a n d t h e u t i l i t y o f a c q u i r e d s k i l l s t o

e m p l o y m e n t .

This paper f i r s t ou t l ines the sa l ien t ins t i tu t iona l and cur r icu la r fea tures o f

propr ie ta ry schools , i l lus t ra t ing the i r p resence and pos i t ion in the pos tsecondary

sys t em s o f fou r r eg ion s o f C an ada . P V T S a re fu r the r de sc r ibe d in r e l a t ion to

com m un i ty co l l eges w i th pa r t i cu l a r r e f e rence to the r ange o f t r a in ing p rog ram s

of fe r ed , the i r op era t ing pr inc ip les and prac t ice s , and f ina l ly , the regu la tory and

gove rnance s t ruc tu re s o f m in i s t r i e s o f educa t ion , gove rnm en t s , and the indus t ry

i t se l f . On the bas is o f th i s p rof i le some observa t ions a re made on the po ten t ia l

con t r ibu t io n of p rop r ie ta ry sc hoo ls to cur re n t e f f or t s a im ed a t im pro vin g t ra in -

ing prov is ion in Canada .


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38 Rob er t Swe et

Data Sources

The informat ion employed in assembl ing th is prof i le was drawn f rom a var ie ty

of sources , the in i t ia l re ference be ing the 1986 nat ional survey of a l te rna t ive

t r a in ing ins t i t u t ions and p rograms (S ta t i s t i c s C anada , 1988) . T hese inc luded

programs avai lable through unions , volunteer agencies , consul t ing and manage-

me nt f i rms, and the propr ie tary scho ols - inc luding those opera t ing wi th t radi -

t i o n a l c l a s s r o o m f o r m a t s a n d t h o s e o f f e r i n g c o r r e s p o n d e n c e i n s t r u c t i o n . A

reanalysis of the original data f i le was requested and separate s tat is t ics for pro-

pr ie tary schools were genera ted . The i tems on the 1986 S ta t i s t ics Canada survey

were updated and e labora ted for the 1989 school year by Sweet (1990a) who

repor ted ins t i tu t ional , course , and enrolment informat ion on schools for most

pro vinc es . A fur the r da ta source wa s a survey of provincia l gov ernm ent adm in-

i s t r a t o r s w h o p r o v i d e d i n f o r m a t i o n o n i n s t i t u t i o n s , c o u r s e s a n d e n r o l m e n t s

(Sweet , 1990a) . Descr ip t ions of government pol ic ies and ac t iv i t ies was obta ined

from documents suppl ied by the re levant minis t r ies in each province . S imi lar

documents were obta ined f rom the profess ional associa t ions of the propr ie tary

schoo l s loca ted in mos t p rov inces and th rough the N a t iona l A ssoc ia t ion o f

Career Col leges (NACC), the na t ional organiza t ion represent ing pr iva te career

t ra in ing schools . Because th is paper i s concerned pr imar i ly wi th the s t ruc ture

a n d o p e r a t i o n o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h c o m p r i s e t h e p r o p r i e t a r y s e c t o r , a

detai led descript ion of s tudents is not included. In any event , data on student

characteris t ics are notably absent in the case of proprietary schools . With the

except ion of Mani toba (Oepkes , 1990) , governments have not mainta ined infor-

mat ion on PVTS enrolments or graduate p lacements comparable to tha t ga th-

e r e d f r o m c o l l e g e s a n d i n s t i t u t e s . A l t h o u g h a ll p r o p r i e t a r y s c h o o l s k e e p

regis t ra t ion records and some fol low the i r graduates through job placement sur -

veys , for the most par t such ef fo r t s serve gove rnm ent regis t ra tion requ i reme nts

or genera l market ing purposes . This s i tua t ion i s changing somewhat : the NACC

recently conducted a survey in Ontario and, when avai lable, the resul ts should

prov ide a com preh ens ive accoun t of propr ie tary ins t i tu t ions and the i r s tudents .

Scope and Structure of the Industry

Most d iscuss ions of pr iva te pos t -secondary schools involve the i r re la t ionship

wi th the publ ic sec tor , speci f ica l ly the communi ty col leges which are express ly

mandated to prepare s tudents for the work force . There exis t impor tant d i f fer -

ences be tween PVTS and col leges , a t leas t when the compar ison i s made wi th

the t radi t ional , comprehensive col lege . However , there i s cons iderable var ia t ion


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A Prof i le of P r iva te Vo cat ional Schoo ls 39

in the stated purpose and funct ions of community col leges. In addit ion to their

t ra in ing mandate , col leges serve a lso academic and communi ty educat ion needs

(Dennison & Gal lagher , 1986; Dennison & Levin , 1988) . Al though the compar-

a t ive approach of ten i s he lpful to unders tanding and in terpre ta t ion, the fo l low-

ing ana lys i s o f p ropr i e t a ry schoo l s does no t a t t empt a compar i son w i th the

public sector at al l points . Where the data al low and to the extent they i l lumi-

nate the na ture of the propr ie tary school indus t ry , some genera l re la t ionships

between the two sectors are presented and discussed.

1 . Schoo l Di s tr ibut ion and Gr ow th Pat terns

Tab le 1 show s the d is t r ibut ion of schools , courses and enro lme nts in the m ajo r

regions of B.C. , the Prair ies , Ontario, and Atlant ic Canada for the 1989 year .

Th e inform ation displa yed in Ta ble 1 is based on data supp lied by p rovin cial

min i s t r i e s th rough the i r na t iona l o rgan iza t ion , t he C anad ian A ssoc ia t ion o f

A d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f P r i v a t e T r a i n i n g O r g a n i z a t i o n L e g i s l a t i o n ( C A A P T O L ) .

Unfor tunate ly , Quebec i s not a par t ic ipant in CAAPTOL and data are not avai l -

able f rom tha t province . ' Nor are prec ise enrolment f igures avai lable f rom New

B r u n s w i c k a s t h a t p r o v i n c e r e g i s t e r s b u t d o e s n o t m o n i t o r t h e p r o p r i e t a r y

schools . As a consequence , Quebec has been omi t ted f rom the fo l lowing analy-

s i s and es t imates based on a survey of individual schools in New Brunswick

( S w e e t , 1 9 9 2 a ) w e r e u s e d t o c o m p l e t e e n r o l m e n t e n t r i e s f o r t h e A t l a n t i c

provinces . P rovincia l da ta are aggregated by region to a l low compar isons wi th

data original ly col lected by Stat is t ics Canada (1988) and presented in that form.

Provincia l prof i les a re avai lable f rom the author , as a re separa te analyses of

t r a in ing schoo l and co r res po nd en ce da ta f rom the S ta t i s t i c s C a nad a (198 8)

survey.

Although the private sector is represented in al l regions, Ontario and B.C.

account for most of the schools . B .C . has the grea tes t number perhaps because

the defini t ion of what const i tutes a proprietary school in that Province is espe-

cial ly inclusive (Slade, 1991). But private vocat ional t raining in B.C. has a long

h i s to ry . T h ere w ere , fo r exa m ple , a t l eas t a doz en sch oo l s op e ra t ing in the

province by 1910, most in or near Vancouver (Moreland, 1977). In fact , histori-

cal differences in the urban-rural distr ibut ion of schools in al l provinces remain

qu i t e marked . Mos t schoo l s ope ra t e in o r nea r the ma jor c i t i e s ( see , e . g . ,

Marshal l , 1989). This varies somewhat by the type of t raining offered but cer-

tainly the technology schools and the major business schools are located in the

ci t ies . Not only are the large urban centres a source of s tudents , but locat ing

the re e s t ab l i shes c lose t i e s w i th loca l employer s , a necessa ry cond i t ion fo r

ef fec t ive jo b placem ent of grad uates .


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40 Rob er t Sw eet

Table 1

Proprietary School Indicators for 1989

R egion

Ins t i tu t ions Courses Enrol lment

B.C. 450 2 ,390

62 ,813

Pra i r ies 201 873

24 ,076

On tar io 275 1 ,235 37,17 3

At lant ic 136 391 10,000'

1

Tota l inc ludes es t imate of Ne w Brunsw ick enrol lm ents (Mi l lman, 1992)

Whi le some schoo l s have deep h i s to r i ca l roo t s , o the r s a re r a the r r ecen t

addit ions. The industry as a whole underwent a period of rapid growth in the

ea r ly 1 980 ' s . T he nu mb er o f P V T S es t ab l ished be tw een 1980 and 1986 w as

412. This represented a three-fold increase over the 1979 level and meant that

by 1986 new schoo l s compr i sed some 61% of the to t a l i ndus t ry (S ta t i s t i c s

Canada, 1988) . Between 1986 and 1989 the percentage increases in t ra in ing

ins t i tu t ions , courses , and enrolments for the four regions cons idered in Table 1

were 76, 101, and 23, respect ively.

2

In at least two of the regions the enrol lment

f igures remained essent ial ly s tat ic . This presents an unusual pat tern of growth in

the Prair ie and Atlant ic regions: s tabi l i ty in enrolments and signif icant increases

in the number of ins t i tu t ions and courses . I t sugges ts not so much a grea ter

diversi ty in t raining opportuni t ies in these regions as the establ ishment of more

scho ols off er ing cou rses in the sam e areas, for the mo st part involving bu sine ss

applicat ions of computers . In contrast , both B.C. and Ontario registered signif i -

cant increases not only in the number of inst i tut ions and courses but also in the

number of s tudents regis tered in these courses . Between 1986 and 1989, enrol l -

ments increased by over 50 percent in B.C, and by one third in Ontario.

As a proport ion of the total s tudent populat ion undertaking formal t raining

in Canada, propr ie tary enrol lments are not as la rge as those of the communi ty

college system. However, they are almost as great as col lege ful l t ime enrol l-

ments i f one cons iders s imi lar types of t ra in ing, speci f ica l ly pre-employment ,

pre-vocat ional and ski l l upgrading (Stat is t ics Canada, 1990). There are diff icul-

t ie s o f i n t e rp re t a t ion in com par in g co l l ege ' fu l l - t im e equ iva len t s ' and P V T S

regis t ra t ions s ince PVTS programs typica l ly are much shor ter than those of fered

in community col leges. But in the case of the private sector , shorter program or


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A Prof i le of P r iva te Voc at ional Scho ols

41

course durat ion t imes are qui te del iberate: much of their appeal to s tudents is

due to program durat ions that are, on average, half those of the col leges.

I t i s d i f f icul t to de termine the degree to which col leges impose an upper

boundary on propr ie tary enrol lments . The compet i t ive presence of the col leges

is jus t on e e leme nt in a far mo re comp lex mix of fac tors af fec t ing s tudent par -

t icipat ion or , more specif ical ly, inst i tut ional choice. Certainly the col lege sys-

tem does not provide access to al l who might wish to acquire t raining. Ei ther

because of academic prerequis i tes , course avai labi l i ty or caps on enrol lments ,

s igni f icant bar r iers to col lege ent ry remain in a l l provinces (Barr iers P rojec t ,

1989) . The pr iva te sec tor may pick up some of th is col lege 'overf low ' but , in

fact , there is evidence that proprietary schools serve a rather different cl ientele

or a t leas t a seg m ent of the s tudent mark et wi th d i f fer i ng edu cat io nal nee ds

(Oepkes, 1990; Sweet , 1991; 1992a). This s i tuat ion may be signif icant ly al tered

with the re-direct ion of federal government funds to the private sector under the

Labour Force Development Board scheme which broadens the base of f inancia l

suppor t t o s tuden t s en ro l l ed in p ropr i e t a ry schoo l s (C L MP C , 1990) . In any

event , the older , more establ ished inst i tut ions have maintained consistent annual

enrol lments. Less s tabi l i ty is found in some of the newer schools and in those

establ ished to meet an immediate market need such as data entry. Although, i f

in te l l igent ly marketed, the la t te r type of program can be remarkably successful .

The Academy of Learning, for example , has f ranchised out le t s in s ix provinces

(and the Yukon) using a formula of instruct ional s tandardizat ion and t ight con-

trol of equipment , personnel , and class s ize.

2 . School Ty pes

There are two basic types of proprietary inst i tut ions: t raining schools and dis-

t a n c e e d u c a t i o n s c h o o l s . T r a i n i n g s c h o o l s a r e o r g a n i z e d a r o u n d t r a d i t i o n a l

classroom instruct ion often with some lab faci l i ty or s i te where pract ical appli-

cat ions of instruct ion occur. These form the focus of discussion in the present

paper ; however , the d is tance educat ion schools comprise a s igni f icant segment

of the propr ie tary school indus t ry and deserve br ief comment . Al though few in

number , the d is tance educat ion schools account for an unusual ly la rge propor-

t ion of the to ta l propr ie tary enrol lment . The S ta t i s t ics Canada (1988) survey

included 49 such schools wi th 37,000 regis t ra t ions . This meant they represented

only 6% of the industry but enrol led over 20% of the students . In fact , nearly al l

these enrol lments are at tached to three or four of the largest distance educat ion

schools . Sweet (1991) s tudied these par t icular ins t i tu t ions and out l ined the i r

structure and operat ion in Canada. For the most part , the schools are organised

along tradi t ional , correspondence l ines. That is , program del ivery rel ies on the


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A Prof i le of P r iva te Vo cat ional Scho ols 43

other at t r ibutes) may al low responsiveness to t raining needs but i t may also con-

strain the level of technological t raining that can be offered by a school .

The in ternal organiza t ion of communi ty col leges and PVTS is h ighly s imi-

lar in the sense that classroom instruct ion in both is character ised by use of the

same pedagogica l techniques and s t ra tegies . However , the external s t ruc tures

and re la t ionships among PVTS display rea l var ie ty . Other than the s tand-a lone

schoo l , t he re ex i s t t h ree ma jor o rgan iza t ion a l r e l a t ionsh ips : b ranch schoo l s ,

f r anch i ses , and subs id ia r i e s . A s w i th any bus iness ven tu re , w hen a schoo l

becomes successful i t a t tempts to expand by opening another fac i l i ty . There are

a number of schools that operate in various locat ions, each school run by a resi-

dent manager yet al l under a central administrat ion. Examples of these branch

schoo l s inc lude T he O nta r io B us iness C ol l ege w i th e igh t schoo l s , and the

Toronto School of Business which runs three schools as branches and a twenty-

six others as franchises. Franchise schools are a fair ly recent innovation, at least

on a large scale and in the f ield of postsecondary t raining. Their development

reflects in part the diff ic ul t ies associa ted with running a m ult i -ca m pu s o rgan iza-

t ion from a single administrat ive centre. Like franchises in other areas of busi-

ness, the essent ial ingredient to a successful t raining franchise is a consistent

o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e a n d s e t o f o p e r a t i n g p r i n c i p l e s . T h e A c a d e m y o f

Learning franchise is an example of the applicat ion of a ' formula ' in i ts comput-

er applicat ions schools . Each is well-equipped with the necessary hardware and

is managed according to set rules. An interest ing feature of this system is the

l imi t p laced on enrol lments to ensure tha t ow ner-m anag ers are d i rec tly involved

with the instruct ional process. Subsidiar ies of larger U.S. companies comprise

the third organizat ional form. There are a number of schools owned by larger

U.S . organiza t ions tha t have e i ther bui l t subs idiar ies in Canada or purchased

es tabl i shed Canadian schools . These ins t i tu t ions have the advantage of be ing

able to draw on the f inancial and curr icular resources of the U.S. parent f i rm to

improve stabi l i ty in a diff icul t market . Often American instruct ional materials

f i t easi ly into a basic t raining course, while at other t imes instruct ional design

chan ges are needed . This can crea te d i f f icul t ies a l though p robab ly no m ore than

are found in the universi ty or col lege classroom where U.S. curr icular material

i s wel l enough known, i f not a lways welcome. The propor t ion of U.S . owned

schools in Canada is not large al though they tend to be fair ly s izable operat ions.

E x a m p l e s i n c l u d e t h e H e r z i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n w h i c h h a s s c h o o l s i n Q u e b e c ,

Ontar io and Mani toba , and Trend Col leges wi th two schools in B .C. Perhaps

correspondence schools have the grea tes t potent ia l to expand in Canada. ICS

Canadian Ltd. is an example of a distance educat ion school that could, with the

financial backing and technological expert ise of i ts U.S. parent , develop a very


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44 Rob er t Swe et

s ign i f i can t en ro l lment w ere i t t o employ modern communica t ions t echno logy

(Sweet , 1991).

4 . Pro gram Are as

Th e propr ie tary sec tor of f ers cou rses in f ive ma jor areas. Th ese are show n in

Table 2 , together wi th enrol lments for the 1989 year . Al though informat ion dis -

played in the Table can be e labora ted to inc lude gender d i f ferences in enrol l -

ments (and th is i s very useful in assess ing the degree to which the indus t ry

contr ibutes to accessibi l i ty) , only the pat tern of enrol lment by program area wil l

be employed to describe the structural features of interest in this paper . '

Th e Prog ram Area labels used here d i f f er f rom S ta ti s tics C an ad a 's M ajo r

Field of Study Code Classif icat ion Structure, as this scheme col lapses most of

the ca tegor ies tha t most meaningful ly descr ibe the vocat ional na ture of PVTS

training (Slade & Sweet , 1989; Sweet , 1990b). The Personal Care area includes

h a i r d r e s s i n g , c o s m e t o l o g y , a n d f a s h i o n d e s i g n f i e l d s . T h e B u s i n e s s a r e a

inc ludes management , computer appl ica t ions (e .g . , word process ing) and t radi -

t i o n a l c o m m e r c i a l ( e . g . , s a l e s ) a n d s e c r e t a r i a l s t u d i e s . C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e

descr ibes heal th and day care t ra in ing, and secur i ty services . The Hospi ta l i ty

and Tour ism category conta ins hote l management , bar tending and genera l cul i -

na ry a r t s i n add i t ion to t r ave l counse l l ing t r a in ing . L as t ly , T echno logy and

Trades includes al l the technological and technical ski l ls such as computer sys-

tems analys is and e lec t ronics des ign and maintenance; t rades inc lude t ruck dr i -

v ing, machining ski l l s , process ing and any non-apprent iced t rades .

Table 2

Enrol lments bv Reeion and Program Area

R egion

Program Area

Personal

Care

B us iness C ommuni ty

Service

Hospital i ty

T our i sm

T e c h n o l o g y

T rades

B.C. 3,329 13,065 9,171 6,156 31,092

Pra i r ies 2 ,793

13,242 770

3,010 4 ,261

Ontar io

4,49 8 12,230 6 ,728

2,416 11,301

At lant ic 2 ,490 5 ,29 0 780

110 1,330


10/28


11/28

46 Rob er t Sw eet

such as univers i t ies and col leges . Cer ta in ly they are when one cons iders the

es tabl i shed, d isc ip l ine-based facul t ies and profess ional programs of the univer-

si t ies or the curr icula of t radi t ional comprehensive col leges. The lat ter are, how-

e v e r , u n d e r i n c r e a s i n g p r e s s u r e to a d o p t m o r e f l e x i b l e a n d r e s p o n s i v e

approaches to program del ivery . A reduct ion in provincia l formula funding and

the need to pursue government or employer sponsored sea t purchase opt ions in

the t rades and vocat ional a reas compel col leges to adopt more innovat ive prac-

t ices . Under ly ing innovat ion i s an a t t i tude of ent repreneurship expressed in the

w i l l i n g n e s s t o g e n e r a t e n e w i d e a s a n d r e s p o n d t o i n i t i a t i v e s ( D e n n i s o n &

B en ke , 1992) . W hi l e the re a re s ign i f i ca n t d i f f e re nc es in the en t repre neu r i a l

b e h a v i o u r o f P V T S a n d t h e c o m p r e h e n s i v e c o l l e g e s , p a r t i c u l a r d e p a r t m e n t s

wi thin many col leges possess 'organiza t ional cul tures ' tha t a re both enterpr i s ing

and innovat ive . For example , the opera t ion of cont inuing educat ion divis ions of

universi t ies and col leges and those of PVTS reflect s imilar i t ies in their respec-

t ive opera t ing en vi ron me nts of cos t - recovery and prof i t . Th ere remain , ho we v-

e r , s ign i f i can t d i f f e ren ces be tw een P V T S and co l l eges in the mean in g g iven

ent repreneurship and the der iva t ive v iew of the s tudent as consumer . These may

be seen in s tatements of organizat ional purpose and in the administrat ive styles

of P V T S and com prehens ive co l l eges.

1 . Entr e pr e ne r s h ip

The most obvious fea ture of propr ie tary school opera t ion i s the necess i ty to

rema in prof i table . Recen t f igures publ i shed by the N A CC (Nichol , 1991) indi -

ca te the indus t ry as a whole succeeds in th is regard: the one thousand or so

PVTS annual ly genera te an es t imated 380 mi l l ion dol lars in tu i t ion revenue.

Whi le necessary to the successful opera t ion of the PVTS, fees can present an

access bar r ier to many s tudents , especia l ly those most in need of re t ra in ing.

Cer ta in ly , fees for propr ie tary schools are s igni f icant ly h igher than those of col -

l eges . S w ee t (1991) r epor t ed median f ees ac ross p rov inces tha t r anged f rom

$1,860 in B.C. to $3,500 in the Atlant ic region. While these give some indica-

t ion of the general cost levels , there is considerable variabi l i ty across program

areas, with tui t ion in some courses as low as a few hundred dol lars and in others

as h igh as $15,000. In compar ison to fees charged by most col leges these appear

exorbi tant . Yet they may not be when set against opportuni ty costs . The greatest

f inanc ia l penal t ies for any s tudent a re forego ne earnings and s ince mo st s tudents

a re o lde r , employed , and have f ami ly r e spons ib i l i t i e s , t he p ropr i e t a ry op t ion

may be less cos t ly . Much the same f inancia l a rgument can be made for the h igh

school graduate who i s not ye t employed and requi res some form of t ra in ing to

gain ent ry to the workplace . Increas ingly , however , the federa l government i s


12/28

A P ro f i l e of P r iva t e V oc a t iona l S choo l s

4 7

w i l l i n g t o p r o v i d e f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t e i t h e r t h r o u g h s e a t p u r c h a s e p l a n s b y

Employment & Immigra t ion or d i rec t s tuden t loans . The la t te r a re ava i lab le to

s tuden t s en ro l l ed in som e 350 p rop r i e t a ry s choo l s ' d e s ig na te d ' a s i n s t i t u t ions

o f f e r ing cou r se s t he f ede ra l gov e rnm en t i s w i l l i ng to fun d th rough the C a na da

S tuden t L oan P rog ram .

The def in ing charac te r i s t ic o f th i s indus t ry may no t be the p rof i t mot ive bu t

ra ther a more genera l en t repreneur ia l a t t i tude which v iews the s tudent as a con-

su m er . B ec au se i t i s co m ple t e ly d ep en de n t on tu i t i on f ee s fo r i ts i nc om e , a

PVTS can des ign , deve lop , and de l iver on ly those courses an ind iv idua l o r bus i -

ne s s i s p repa red to buy . Whi l e such m arke t -d r iven a r r angem en t s m ay appea r t o

cont ras t wi th the bas ic cur r icu lum and ins t ruc t ion prac t ices o f publ ic educa t ion-

a l ins t i tu t ions , PVTS func t ion under cons t ra in ts s imi la r to those faced by un i -

ve r s i ty o r co l l ege con t inu ing educa t ion depa r tm en t s t ha t ope ra t e cos t - r ecove ry

pro gra m s. Both of f e r on ly those pro gra m s tha t a t t rac t suf f ic ie n t s tude n t in te res t

a n d f e e i n c o m e a n d t h u s b o t h e m p l o y o p e r a t i n g p r i n c i p l e s a n d p r a c t i c e s

requi red to be f inanc ia l ly se l f - suppor t ing . B laney (1986) descr ibes the ex ten t to

w h ich m arke tp l ace incen t ive s shape the p rog ram s and ope ra t ions o f un ive r s i ty

cont inu ing educa t ion and which lead to an en t repreneur ia l o rgan iza t iona l cu l -

tu re . Here one f inds para l le l s in the conduc t o f publ ic and pr iva te ins t i tu t ions as

each organ iza t ion responds to s imi la r , a l though no t iden t ica l , incen t ives o f cos t -

recovery and prof i t . Necessary a l so to the deve lopment o f th i s cu l tu re i s the

inc lus ion of adu l t educa t ion pr inc ip les wi th the i r essen t ia l concern for lea rner

au tonom y . T he l a t t e r i s an e l em en t i n P V T S and con t inu ing educa t ion v i ew s o f

the s tudent as consumer . A sampl ing of the educa t iona l en te rpr i se f rom a mar-

ke t pers pec t ive g ive s som e sense of the cu l tu ra l d i f fe ren ce be tw een the en t re -

prene ur ia l and t rad i t iona l co l lege appro ach es to edu ca t io n and t ra in in g :

1. Pr io r i ty is g ive n to par t- t im e s tude nts .

2 . Curr icu la r re levance and qua l i ty a re paramount .

3 . Th ere i s a ma rke t ra ther than a d isc ip l inary or ien ta t ion .

4 . P re r equ is i tes a re seen as bar r ie rs to par t ic ipa t ion .

5 . En t repre neu r ia l f i sca l po l ic ies a re requ i red .

O p t im a l ope ra t ing p r inc ip l e s and p rac t i c e s fo r t he pos t s e cond a ry t r a in ing

sys tem are no t eas i ly de te rmined . S ign i f ican t change and innova t ion wi l l never -

the less be requ i red of the ex is t ing sys tem. To the ex ten t en t repreneur ia l p r inc i -

p les under l ie innova t ive behaviour , the shared opera t ing pr inc ip les and prac t ices

o f t he P V T S and the con t inu ing educ a t ion depa r tm en t s o f f e r one r e spo nse to an

unp red ic t ab le t r a in ing env i ronm en t . T he need fo r i nnova t ion w as an t ic ipa t ed by


13/28

48 Robe r t Swe et

Dennison and Gal lagher (1986) who l i s ted f ive poss ib le d i rec t ions for change in

the col lege sys tem. Offered as pol icy choices in the mid-e ight ies , they serve to

descr ibe the sys tem's present day complexi ty and evolving s ta tus :

they can evo lve f rom the i r ( comprehens ive ) roo t s ; t hey can

become prepara tory ins t i tu t ions ; they can become t ra in ing ins t i tu-

t ions ; t hey can spec ia l i ze ; t hey can become cen t res fo r l i f e long

lea rn ing ; and they can dec ide tha t t hese cho ices a re no t a lw ays

mu tual ly exc lus iv e . (p . 177)

These images of the col lege were presented as a l te rna t ives to meet the genera l

educat ional needs of individuals l iv ing in the ' informat ion age ' but they speci f i -

ca l ly ref lec te d a con cern wi th ' the a l te red t ra in ing req ui rem ents of the labou r

f o r c e . D e n n i s o n a n d G a l l a g h e r ( 1 9 8 6 ) e m p h a s i z e d t h e v a l u e o f t h e l i f e l o n g

learning opt ion as one which incorpora ted more open learning concepts : tha t i s ,

one which was sens i t ive to the personal c i rcumstances of adul t learners and

respons ive a l so to the r equ i rement s o f bus iness and indus t ry . D enn i son and

Benke (1992: 70) subsequent ly d iscussed the ac t iv i t ies of th is more responsive

col lege sys tem in te rms of i t s abi l i ty to innovate . Speci f ica l ly , th is meant a

des i re to dev elop crea t ive ins t ruc t ional mod els , imaginat ive cou rses and pro -

grams , o rgan iza t iona l and admin i s t r a t ive s t ruc tu res w hich a re more e f f i c i en t

and ef fec t ive , and inno vat ive wa ys of me et ing the needs of bus in ess and indus-

tr ial cl ientele. Innovative act ivi ty and an entrepreneurial at t i tude are displayed

wi th increas ing f requency by col leges and univers i t ies as they a t tempt to ant ic i -

p a t e c h a n g i n g e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s . D e n n i s o n a n d B e n k e ' s

(1992) f indings indica ted tha t individual col leges employed many unique and

innova t ive p rac t i ces w i th in the i r ma ins t r eam programming ; bu t , ove ra l l , t he

communi ty col lege sys tem def ined i t s mandate in ways which di f fered f rom the

ent repreneur ia l approach of the PVTS.

2 . Goals

At the centre of the l i felong learning opt ion is a focus on the student (Dennison

& Gal lagher , 1986: 151) . In responding to the individual , PVTS a t tempt to be

sensi t ive to ma rket for ces - both those of the jo b m arket and those of their s tu-

dent cl ientele, wh o typical ly w ish to acqu ire jo b entry or ad va nc em en t ski l ls as

quickly as poss ib le . Som e sense of the cent ra l ity of the s tudent as con su m er

concept to the operat ion of PVTS may be seen in a comparison of goal s tate-

ments of propr ie tary school owners and publ ic sec tor adminis t ra tors and of f i -

cials . Table 3 indicates their respect ive posi t ions on a set of goals that ref lect the

twin concerns of accessibi l i ty to s tudents and the relevance of ski l ls .


14/28

A Pro fi le of Private Vo cat iona l Sch ools 49

2.1 Access ibi l i ty

As may be seen in Table 3, the general orientat ion of the comprehensive col lege

and PVTS are s imilar to the extent that both are concerned with defined areas of

voca t ional t raining and with edu cat ion . But their mo tivat ion s diffe r . For ex am -

ple, the col lege rat ings of access and responsiveness to community or regional

needs sugges t a t radi t ional ra ther than ent repreneur ia l organiza t ional cul ture .

College responses to these i tems ref lect the concerns of most provincial govern-

men ts wi th imp roved a ccess ib i l ity fo r d isadva ntaged grou ps and the ef f ic ien t

and rat ional distr ibut ion of educat ional resources across communit ies . The pri-

v a t e s e c t o r a p p e a r s m o r e s e n s i ti v e t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t ' s i m m e d i a t e

employment needs and to the requi rements of employers . In o ther words , PVTS

appear organized to react to the demands of a market comprising students and

employers while col leges are guided more by social imperat ives as interpreted

by provincia l governments .

Table 3

G o a l P r i o r i t ie s o f C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e s a n d P r i v a t e V o c a t i o n a l T r a i n i n g

Schools '

Goal Col lege PV TS

Rank Rank

1. Pro vide acces s to edu cat ion al 1 4

oppor tuni t ies .

2. Imp art kn ow led ge & ski l ls in voc at ions 2 2

& special ized f ields.

3. Serv e edu cat ion al interests or need s 3 5.5

of communi ty or region.

4 . Tra in for em ploy me nt . 4 1

5. Enc oura ge explora t ion & develop men t 5 3

of individual potent ial .

6 . P rov ide broad, com prehe nsive cu rr ic - 6 5 .5

ulum for educat ion & t ra in ing.

7. Prov ide instruct ion in basic, general 7 6

educat ion.

1

Col lege ranks f rom Dennison (1989) and Den nison & Levin , (1988) ; P VT S

ranks f rom NACC records . Col lege sample = 14; PVTS sample = 19


15/28

50 Rober t Sweet

There are a number of immedia te access i ssues fac ing pos tsecondary edu-

ca t ion ins t i tu t ions , inc luding the propr ie tary schools . The most s igni f icant of

these involves a change in s tudent characteris t ics . Like the col leges, proprietary

schools wil l be forced to adjust to demographic shif ts in age, gender, and ethnic

c o m p o s i t i o n . A l t h o u g h p o s t s e c o n d a r y e n r o l l m e n t s h a v e n o t d e c l i n e d t o t h e

degree predicted (Secretary of State, 1991), the populat ion of s tudents in the

' t radi t ional ' age range of 17 to 24 continues to shrink and both public and pri-

vate schools must address the t raining needs of the older , adult s tudent . In fact ,

many proprietary schools have always served the older learner so this wil l not

be too d ramat i c an ad jus tment fo r t hem. T he s ign i f i can t number o f w omen

entering the labour force wil l , however, have important implicat ions for the pat-

tern of proprietary school enrol lment . An increase in the proport ion of female

students wil l entai l s ignif icant al terat ions in course structure, as greater numbers

of wo m en seek not only jo b ent ry and upgra ding ski l l s but a l so t ra in ing fo r

pos i t ions in non- t r ad i t iona l j obs , i nc lud ing the t r ades and t echno logy a reas .

Predic t ions for col lege and univers i ty enrol lments indica te the number of par t -

t ime s tudents wi l l increase s igni f icant ly . Both ins t i tu t ions are gear ing up for

older s tudents wi th fami ly and employment responsibi l i t ies who must never the-

less upgrade the i r work ski l l s . To accommodate these par t - t ime enrol lments ,

col leges are developing dis tance educat ion programs, t ra in ing par tnerships wi th

business and indus t ry , of f -campus fac i l i t ies and a var ie ty of cont inuing educa-

t ion and extension act ivi t ies . Proprietary schools wil l a lso have to construct pro-

grams with even more f lexible entry points and instruct ional formats than they

current ly at tempt. There is some evidence that the industry is doing so in the

form of s ingle courses for individuals or modularised programs tai lored to the

needs of par t icular com pan ies (Sweet , 1992a) .

Whether or not the proprietary schools operate to expand the social base of

access is unclear . Certainly, there are those who argue that private sector t rain-

ing programs in Canada fos ter c lass and gender d iv is ions among s tudents , thus

l i m i t i n g t h e a s p i r a t i o n s o f s o m e t o i m p r o v e d c a r e e r a n d s o c i a l m o b i l i t y

(Bruneau, 1989; Brown, 1989; Kutz, 1989). However, in order to adjudicate this

issue, i t wil l be necessary to gather data that describe the backgrounds of both

college and proprietary school s tudents and which trace their respect ive experi-

ences f rom t ra in ing through employment .

2.2 Skill

The dist inct ion between training and educat ion is often made in comparing the

goals of PVTS and communi ty col leges . Vocat ional educat ion typica l ly i s seen

by the col leges to include bui lding a context for ski l l development or as a means


16/28

A Prof i l e o f P r iva te Vo cat ion al Sch oo l s 51

of enhancing the ind iv idual ' s qual i ty o f l i f e . In th i s fo rm i t f r equen t ly i s c l a imed

b y t h e co l l eg es a s a cu r r i cu l a r d i f f e r en ce t h a t en h an ces t h e i r g r ad u a t es ' j o b

m obi l i ty , if not also thei r jo b ent ry pro spe cts . In tere s t ingly , we f ind in T ab le 3

tha t ne i ther g roup ass igns th i s a h igh p r io r i ty . The co l l ege responden t s ' i nd i f fer -

en t pos i t ion toward the goal o f p rov id ing a 'b road ly based and comprehens ive '

t rain ing curr iculum is cur ious , g iven thei r s tated v iews on the value of a general

educat ion (ACCC, 1986) . Nei ther sec to r r a t ed as a p r io r i ty the upgrad ing func-

t ion o f bas ic educat ion . P resumably the l a t t e r i s seen as the respons ib i l i ty o f

another level of educat ion ( i .e . , the publ ic school sys tem). The pos i t ion of col -

l ege and PVTS groups on the va lue o f gener ic sk i l l acqu i s i t ion canno t be d i rec t -

ly r ead f rom the avai l ab le da ta ; a l though qu i t e d i f feren t v iews may be in fer red

f ro m the i r r a t ings o f ' t r a in ing fo r em plo ym en t ' . The se d i f fer enc es are r e la ted to

i s sues of sk i ll deve lopm en t fo r jo b en t ry to and w ork in an increas ing ly t ech no-

log ica l workp lace .

W i th em plo ym en t increas ing ly d iv ided in to 'goo d jo bs ' and 'bad jo bs ' on

the bas is of s tabi l i ty and income (Picot , Miles , & Wannel , 1990) , there i s con-

s iderable debate as to the ro le sk i l l s p lay in pos i t ioning people in one or o ther of

t h es e ca t eg o r i e s . I t i s g en e r a l l y a s s u med t h a t h i g h e r l ev e l s o f ed u ca t i o n a r e

requ i red in a workp lace increas ing ly dominated by t echno logy . More d i f f i cu l t to

dete rm ine i s the na tu r e o f t r a in ing requ i red fo r jo b en t ry and con t inue d mo bi l i ty

wi th in the au tomated workp lace : shou ld s tuden t s be t augh t genera l i zab le sk i l l s

such as p rob lem so lv ing , dec i s ion mak ing , and evaluat ion ; o r i s t ask - speci f i c

sk i l l t r a in ing more usefu l to the ind iv idual? When one examines the p rograms

and s t a ted a ims o f PVTS, the i r c l a im to workp lace re levance appeal s to s tuden t s

s eek i n g en t r y - l ev e l p o s i t i o n s , a l th o u g h t h e a r g u m en t i s o f t en ma d e t h a t r e l e -

v an ce an d s p ec i f i c i t y may n o t s e r v e s t u d en t s we l l o v e r t h e co u r s e o f t h e i r

career s (Denn ison , 1988 ; Park , 1989) . Th i s seems to be the v iew under ly ing

cu r r en t g o v er n m en t p o l i cy ( E co n o m i c Co u n c i l , 1 9 9 2 ; EI C , 1 9 8 9 ; P r o s p e r i t y

Secre tar i a t , 1992) desp i t e d i f f i cu l t i es in de te rm in ing the cog n i t ive requ i rem ents

o f career mobi l i ty . The l i t e ra tu re on sk i l l def in i t ion and measurement in the

workp lace i s no t eas i ly r e la ted to the educat ional r equ i rements o f work nor to

the p red ic t ion o f jo b en t ry l evel s and subs equ en t caree r pa th s o f in d iv idu al s

(D av ies , 1986; V al las , 1990; Ba i ley , 1991; Joh nsto n, 1993) . A nd in the conte xt

o f g o v e r n m e n t a t t e m p t s to r e s t r u c t u r e t h e l a b o u r f o r c e d u r i n g a

per iod o f ec on om ic recess ion and une m plo ym en t , it i s eve n mo re d i f f i c u l t to

d i sen tang le the purpo ses r ep resen ted by d i f feren t ind ica to r s o f t r a in ing success .

W he re jo b p lac em ent i s the cr i t e r ion (e .g . , Albe r ta Min i s t ry ) , the is sue may be

more abou t ' t he mos t bas ic k ind o f employab i l i ty , no t abou t any speci f i c sk i l l


17/28

52 Rob er t Sw eet

development ' (Gaskell , 1991, p . 375) . This is the case where tra ining is offered

in jo b areas that prom ise no grow th in em plo ym ent o r involv e skil ls ta i lored to a

wo rkplace tha t of fe r s l it tle oppor tuni ty for ca reer advan cem ent .

In any event, skil l development is not s imply a question of whether a more

gener ic tra ining wou ld better equ ip s tuden ts for techn olog ically in volve d tasks

over the course of the i r ca reers . Changes in the organiza t ion of work have

equally important skil ls implications . Most discussions of the re levance of tra in-

ing assume a tradit ional form of work organization which typically is hierarchi-

c a l a n d a u t h o r i t a r i a n , w h e r e p r o d u c t i v e w o r k d e m a n d s c o n f o r m i t y a n d

compliance on the par t of the employee. Alternative posit ions on the nature of

re levant workplace sk i l l s a re , however , emerging and to a s ign if icant degree

ref lect a reanalysis and redef init ion of tradit ional management forms. In these

sett ings , individual ini t ia t ives in the production (or service delivery) process are

encouraged, as is a conceptual unders tanding of the tota l operation of the orga-

n iza t ion . To the ex ten t co l labora t ion am ong em ployee s i s required for e f fec t ive -

ness and productivi ty , cooperative interpersonal skil ls are a necessary par t of an

employee 's skil l reper toire (Kern & Shumann, 1987; Streek, 1989) .

Both technology and management , then , de te rmine the re levance of work-

place skil l and have important implications for future tra ining designs and indi-

cators of their ef fectiveness (see , e .g . , Levin & Rumberger , 1989; Elam, 1990) .

A detai led comparison of the college approach to skil l development and that of

the propr ie tary schools is needed to inform future postsecondary tra ining policy.

At the presen t t ime we can only assu m e that with their c la im to jo b re lev ance

and shor t course durations , the propr ie tary schools develop very task-specif ic

skil l se ts and l ikely social ize s tudents to an employee role within current work

organiza t ion fo rm s . W hether the som ewh at d i f fe ren t goa ls and program s of co l -

leges are conducive to gener ic skil l development and collaborative interpersonal

skil l acquis i t ion among s tudents is not c lear . Nor can i t be determined whether

or to what degree a genera l educa t ion informs both domains . But these a re

empir ical questions and not ones to be decided through conjecture or asser t ion

(M arshall , 19 89; Tu rk, 1990) .

3 . Personnel

In descr ibing the entrepreneur ia l nature of continuing education, Blaney (1986)

suggests that while dis t inctive goals are basic to es tablishing an organization 's

culture , the decis ions that shape i ts unique character are re la ted to the ways the

ins t i tu t ion o rgan ize s , mo t iva te s and deve lops the p ro f e s s iona l sk i l l s o f i t s

employees . This refers specif ical ly to the s tyle of leadership. In the case of pro-

pr ie tary schools , leadership is most of ten provided by an owner-operator . Only


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A Prof i l e o f P r iva te V oca t ional Sch oo l s 53

in the l a rger schoo l s a re managers found and s ince 64% of p ropr ie tary schoo l s

enro l l f ewer than 100 s tuden t s (Sweet , 1991) , many ins t ruc to r s a re a l so schoo l

o wn er s . Th e s t y l e o f man ag emen t n eces s a r i l y i s v e r y ' h an d s o n ' an d mo s t o wn -

ers are d i rect ly involved in al l aspects of the t rain ing and adminis t rat ion of the

schoo l . Whi le there ex i s t s no research tha t wou ld a l low one to charac ter i se the

t y p i c a l C a n a d i a n P V T S o w n e r , W i l m s ( 1 9 8 7 ) d e s c r i b e s t h e ' i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c '

c h a r a c t e r o f U . S . o w n e r s a n d m a n a g e r s , w h i l e a t t h e s a m e t i m e c a u t i o n i n g

agains t s tereotyping, as they are a group too d iverse to permit easy general iza-

t ion:

( P r o p r i e t a r y s ch o o l o wn er s ) s h a r e s o me b as i c q u a l i t i e s t h a t s e t

them apar t f rom t rad i t ional educato r s : a l iber t ar i an ou t look , a be l i e f

in the p ro f i t mot ive , an en t rep reneur ia l sp i r i t , a be l i e f in the f r ee

m ark et ,a nd a d is t rus t of pub l ic p la nn ing . (p . 16)

A perusa l o f

The Communicator

( the p ro fe ss iona l pub l i ca t ion o f Ca nad ian

P VTS ) o r a t t en d an ce a t t h e i r an n u a l co n v en t i o n p r o v i d es t h e cas u a l o b s e r v e r

w i t h e v i d e n c e o f m a n y o f t h e s a m e s e n t i m e n t s a m o n g C a n a d i a n o w n e r s .

Ho wev er , t h e i r n o t i o n o f g o v er n men t an d i t s r o l e i n t h e t r a i n i n g en t e r p r i s e

appears to be undergo ing some recen t r ev i s ion . In any even t , there are su f f i c i en t

d i f ferences in the Canad ian and U.S . soc ia l con tex t s o f educat ion (e .g . , Sko ln ik ,

1991) tha t a p ro f i l e o f Canad ian owners l ike ly would reveal a un ique v iew.

In t e rms o f the i r c l as s room and l abora to ry ar rangements , and facu l ty t each-

ing respons ib i l i t i es , the l a rger schoo l s and chains funct ion in much the same

m an n e r a s p u b l i c l y f u n d ed v o ca t i o n a l an d t ech n i ca l i n s t i t u t e s . Re g ar d l es s o f

s i ze , however , s ign i f i can t d i f ferences do appear to ex i s t in the creden t i a l l ing o f

facu l ty and in the i r employment cond i t ions . Pedagog ica l t r a in ing i s no t a c r i t e r i -

on fo r em plo ym en t as an ins t ruc to r a t a p ropr ie tary scho o l a l though t eac h ing

ef fec t iveness i s es sen t i a l in an ins t i tu t ion which v iews the s tuden t as a con-

sum er : one w ho ha s pa id d i rec t ly fo r tu i tion and i s seek ing job- re la ted sk i ll s .

Schoo l managers and owners o f success fu l schoo l s a re qu ick to po in t ou t tha t

i n s t i t u t i o n a l l o n g e v i t y r e s t s o n s a t i s f i e d s t u d e n t s a n d g r a d u a t e s w h o f i n d

employment and tha t these are in l a rge measure a funct ion o f e f fec t ive ins t ruc-

t ion . The impl ica t ions o f these evaluat ive cr i t e r i a a re d i scussed in some deta i l

by Wi lms (1987) who po in t s ou t the i r impact on facu l ty h i r ing and re ten t ion in

U.S . p ropr ie tary schoo l s . Less i s known abou t PVTS facu l ty in Canada as l i t t l e

b ey o n d b as i c d emo g r ap h i c d a t a an d p r o f es s i o n a l acc r ed i t a t i o n i s av a i l ab l e , a

cond i t ion on ly now being addressed by ACCC and EIC (EIC, 1992) .

M a n y f a c u l t y m e m b e r s o f p r o p r i e t a r y s c h o o l s a r e p a r t - t i m e e m p l o y e e s

althou gh it is diff icu lt to assess the status of instructors in the sm aller esta blish m en ts


19/28

5 4 Ro b er t S w ee t

s u c h a s c o s m e t o l o g y o r h a i r d r e s s i n g s h o p s . F u l l - t i m e c o l l e g e f a c u l t y t e a c h

ap p r o x i ma t e l y 6 0 0 h o u r s p e r y ea r . S wee t ( 1 9 9 0 b ) f o u n d t h a t 6 5 % o f P VTS f ac -

u l t y t a u g h t l e s s t h a n 5 0 0 h o u r s a n n u a l l y . P a r t - t i m e i n s t r u c t o r s o f t e n a r e

employed in areas o f bus iness o r indus t ry tha t a re ins t ruc t ional ly r e levan t . I t can

be argued tha t th i s bu i lds in a measure o f cu r r i cu lar cu r rency , a l though there are

d i s t inc t l imi ta t ions to ins t i tu t ional development and con t inu i ty when the majo r i -

ty o f s t a f f i s t emporary . Nor are there cons i s t en t ways o f ensur ing ins t ruc to r s

a r e p e d a g o g i c a l l y a w a r e o r c o m p e t e n t ; a l t h o u g h in t h e P r o v i n c e o f

Newf o u n d l an d , Memo r i a l Un i v e r s i t y ' s F acu l t y o f Ed u ca t i o n i s o f f e r i n g i n s t r u c -

t ion and cer t i f i ca t ion to p r iva te sec to r ins t ruc to r s . On the o ther hand , mos t p ro -

p r i e t a r y i n s t r u c t o r s d o n o t f a c e t h e b a r r i e r s a n d c o n s t r a i n t s t o p r o f e s s i o n a l

d ev e l o p m en t en co u n t e r ed b y t h e i r co m m u n i t y co l l eg e co u n t e r p a r t s w h o o f t en

f ind i t d i f f icul t to return to an act ive ro le in bus iness and indust ry , even for a

shor t per iod o f upgrad ing . Th i s s i tua t ion i s , however , be ing rec t i f i ed in some

co l l eges th rough mandato ry s tudy and work l eaves (MCU, 1990) .

Regulation Accreditation

Ensur ing p rogram qual i ty invo lves mat ter s o f accred i t a t ion and accoun tab i l i ty .

T h e p r iv a t e p o s t - s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n s e c t o r i s r e g u l a t e d , m a n a g e d o r i n f l u -

enced by a var i e ty o f agencies and fo rces , some ex ternal to the indus t ry and o th -

er s developed wi th in the indus t ry i t se l f . These may be ca tegor i sed as : provincial

governments,

wh i ch i m p o s e m i n i ma l s t an d a r d s o f o p e r a t i o n an d g u a r an t e e a

m e a s u r e o f c o n s u m e r f i n a n c i a l p r o t e c t i o n ;

industry-based trade associations,

wh ich p rom ote a pos i t ive im age o f the indus t ry and work to im prov e the p ro fes -

s i o n a l s t a n d i n g o f i t s m e m b e r s ; a n d t h e

market,

c o m p r i s i n g s t u d e n t s a n d

employers who respect ive ly choose to en ro l l and h i re thus p rov id ing a measure

of qual i ty contro l . I t should be s t ressed that the agencies , external and in ternal ,

whose t ask i t i s to se t and p romote s t andards mus t be v iewed more as po ten t i a l

than rea l . In some p rov inces , government evalua t ion o f p ropr ie tary schoo l s i s

no t a lways an annual under tak ing and cer t a in ly schoo l membersh ip in p rov in -

c ia l and na t ional t r ade associa t ions o r wi th any nat ional accred i t a t ion agency

do es not inv olv e the to tal indu st ry . T he m ark et i s , ho w ev er , a co nst an t and in an

impor tan t sense the f ina l a rb i t e r o f qual i ty .

1 . Pro v i nc i a l M i n i s tr i e s

Th e mo s t o b v i o u s ex t e r n a l ag en t s a r e t h e p r o v i n c i a l g o v er n men t s wh i ch r eg u -

la te wi th two l egal ins t ruments : th rough l eg i s l a t ion such as the B.C. appren t i ce-

s h i p ac t ; an d wi t h an an n u a l mo n i t o r i n g p r o ced u r e i n v o l v i n g i n s p ec t i o n an d


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A Prof i le of Pr iva te Voca t iona l Scho ols 55

assessment of a school ' s operation. Both serve the pr imary purpose of holding

propr ie ta ry schools to minimal s tandards of program qua l i ty . Regula t ions wi th in

the var ious provincial acts governing the pr ivate post-secondary industry con-

ta in a wide array of sections: prel icensing requirements , government fee s truc-

tures , the approval of ins tructors , bonding requirements , adver t is ing constra ints ,

school management , sa le of courses , cance l la t ion agreements , s t ipu la t ions con-

cern ing d ip lomas and cer t i f ica tes , and the bus iness per formance of agents who

se l l the courses . Annual moni tor ing can ex tend f rom a cursory co l lec t ion of

enro llm ent d ata to a thorou gh ev aluation of s taff , faci l i t ies , ins tructional m ater i-

a ls , and adminis tra t ive procedures . In some provinces , s tudent evaluations are

being gathered f rom those currently enrolled as well as graduates .

An analysis of provincial government var ia t ions in the observance of these

cr i ter ia was presented in Slade and Sweet (1989) . Annual repor t ing c lear ly a ims

at maintaining a quali ty control of the industry and is potentia l ly the most pow-

erful external regulatory inf luence upon the industry. There currently are a num-

ber of changes in the organization of individual provincial depar tments . Some

are designed to s trengthen exis t ing regulat ions , while others appear to express

the view that the industry should be largely self - regulat ing (Slade, 1990) . In

1987, the provincial adminis tra tors of the legis la t ion formed a national associa-

t ion to exchange informat ion and consul t on pol icy deve lopment . The annua l

meeting of this group al lows an exchange of information and a shar ing of effec-

t ive practices . I t would appear that very dif ferent approaches are being taken by

the var ious m inis tr ies . Ontar io is m akin g every effo r t to con sult with the in dus-

t r y a s t h e y m a k e m o r e e f f i c i e n t t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e e x i s t i n g a c t .

Newfoundland is requir ing that propr ie tary school ins tructors take ins truction in

p e d a g o g y f r o m t h e M e m o r i a l U n i v e r s i t y F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n . A l b e r t a i s

enforcing s tandards of school performance as a condit ion of their e l igibil i ty for

f inanc ia l suppor t . These cond i t ions inc lude spec i f i ed d ropou t r a te s and job

placement ra tes . In B.C. , a commiss ion has been es tab l ished to de te rmine an

ins t i tu t ion ' s e l ig ib i l i ty f o r s tuden t loan suppor t . Th i s commiss ion wou ld be

independen t o f gove rnmen t and the indus t ry a l though the s choo ls wou ld be

called upon to f inance its operations through a levy additional to the annual reg-

is tra t ion fee . While there are obvious dif ferences across provinces* there a lso is

an interes t in es tablishing a national exchange of information for the resolution

of problems and the more ra t iona l deve lopment of po l icy . The fur ther deve lop-

ment of the provinc ia l adminis t ra tors ' p rofess iona l assoc ia t ion wi l l f ac i l i ta te

these exchanges .


21/28


2 . I n d u s t r y - B a s e d T r a d e A s s o c i a t i o n s

Qu al i ty i s in f lue nce d by the indus t ry i t se lf th roug h the d i f fe ren t t r ade assoc ia-

t ions es tab l i shed on bo th p rov incia l and na t ional l evel s . Here , the purpose i s no t

to se t min imal s t andards o f p rogram qual i ty bu t to p romote h igher s t andards o f

ed u ca t i o n a l an d t r a i n i n g ex ce l l en ce . P r o v i n c i a l a s s o c i a t i o n s ex i s t i n a l l f o u r

reg ions bu t in on ly f ive P rov inces : B.C. , Saskatchewan , Mani toba , On tar io , and

Newf o u n d l an d . New Br u n s wi ck i s i n t h e p r o ces s o f o r g an i z i n g an a s s o c i a t i o n .

In general , the aims of these associat ions are:

1. to p resen t the ind us t ry ' s v iew s to gov ern m ent agen cies , l eg i s l a-

tu res and o ther agencies ;

2 . to p ro m ote mu tual r espect , good wi l l and und ers tan d ing am on g

m e m b e r s ;

3 . to fos ter a pos i t iv e im ag e of the indu st ry to the publ ic ;

4 . t o en c o u r ag e i mp r o v em en t s t o cu r r i cu l u m th r o u g h r e s ea r ch and

t ra in ing ;

5 . to p rov ide m em be rs wi th da ta per t inen t to the indus t ry ;

A t t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l , a n u m b e r o f s c h o o l s b e l o n g t o t h e N a t i o n a l

As s o c i a t i o n o f Car ee r Co l l eg es ( NACC) . S e r v i n g s o me 7 3 memb er s , t h e a s s o c i -

a t ion has genera l a ims and ob jec t ives s imi lar to those o f the p rov incia l as socia-

t i o n s , b u t p r o v i d es s o me ad d i t i o n a l s e r v i ces i n c l u d i n g a n a t i o n a l n e t wo r k o f

exa m inat ion s i tes fo r as socia t ion m em be rs and vocat ional com pete nc y t es t ing in

some 40 f i e lds . The NACC pub l ica t ion ,

The Communicator,

serv es the indus t ry

as an i n f o r mat i o n ex ch an g e an d f o r u m f o r co n t i n u i n g p r o f es s i o n a l ed u ca t i o n .

A f f i l i a t e d w i t h t h e N A C C is t h e N a t i o n a l A c c r e d i t a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n .

Founded in 1984 , i t i s an indus t ry - in i t i a t ed o rgan iza t ion which exer t s a p ro fes -

s i o na l i n f l u en c e u p o n me m b e r o r g an i za t i o n s t o war d s a g o a l o f Ex ce l l en ce i n

Ed u c a t i o n . O r g an i za t i o n s s eek i n g acc r ed i t a t i o n , an d t h e o b v i o u s s t a t u s an d

c r e d i b i l i t y t h a t a c c o m p a n i e s p r o f e s s i o n a l s c r u t i n y , s u b m i t t h e m s e l v e s t o a n

ev a l u a t i v e p r o ce s s b as ed o n ad m i s s i o n p r o ced u r es , f acu l t y ex p er t i s e , p r o g r am

features , scope of faci l i t ies , s tudent services and bus iness pract ices . In i t ial ent ry

cons i s t s o f submi t t ing bas ic schoo l documenta t ion wi th l a t er on-s i t e evalua t ions

ca r r i ed o u t b y t h e o r g an i za t i o n ' s co mmi s s i o n e r s o r t h e i r d e l eg a t es . P o t en t i a l

m e m b e r s m u s t h a v e b e e n i n b u s i n e s s f o r a t l e a s t t w o y e a r s a n d a n e a r n e d

accredi tat ion is for a f ive year per iod . Whi le the number of ins t i tu t ions granted

accredi tat ion s tatus remains qui te smal l ( th i r ty-one main schools and s ix branch

schools in May, 1989) , a profess ional s tandard is in evidence, based upon cr i ter ia


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A Prof i le of Pr ivate Vocational Schools

5 7

of excellence ra ther than upon minimal s tandards . The potentia l for ins t i tut ional

improvement i s l ike ly grea te r th rough the profess iona l deve lopment e f for ts of

the assoc ia t ions than as a conseq uence of governm ent mo ni tor ing .

Support for the trend toward greater coordination of accredita t ion activi ty is

l imited to re la t ively few inst i tut ions , but among those who have involved them-

selves are the larger ins t i tut ions and the correspondence schools which, by the

very nature of their business , tend toward a broader , national perspective. The

NACC is moving to become the parent body of a l l the provincial t rade associa-

t ions . As an ' umbre l l a ' o rgan iza t ion , the NACC wou ld be be t t e r p laced to

involve the propr ie ta ry schools in the pol i t ica l p rocess of the Labour Force

Development Board 's a t tempts to es tablish a national tra ining scheme. In fact ,

de sp i t e the i r ind iv idua l i sm, the p rop r ie ta ry s choo ls have been ac t ing on a

na t iona l leve l for many years . Where the co l leges have been cons t ra ined by

the i r r eg iona l , ' communi ty ' manda te and by f ede ra l -p rov inc ia l ju r i sd ic t iona l

constra ints , the propr ie tary system has es tablished a national infras tructure for

curr iculum, tes t ing and ins t i tut ional accredita t ion.

3 . The M ar ke t

An ex te rna l in f luence on p rog ram qua l i ty i s the marke t i t s e l f . Th i s wou ld

include s tudents as consumers of tra ining who have a measure of choice in their

selection of schools , e i ther pr ivate or public . Continued enrollments as well as

posit ive s tudent evaluations of the tra ining exper ience are indicators of quali ty .

There is , however , l i t t le available evidence of program quali ty that has been

ga thered f rom s tudents . The fo l low-up surveys of s tudents conduc ted by the

schools themselves may be discounted, as they represent successful graduates

w i l l ing to r e spo nd to a que s t ion na i r e . How ev e r , the M an i t ob a M in i s t r y o f

Ed uca t io n and Tra in in g in 1988 and 1989 survey ed s tuden ts and grad ua tes .

Those who d id not comple te the program or course were a lso surveyed . As

repor ted by Oepkes (1990) , the results indicated a reasonably high level of sa t is-

faction with those aspects of ins truction that most directly concern s tudents :

teachers , curr iculum mater ia ls , and the facil i t ies and amenit ies of the ins t i tut ion.

Ob vious ly , r esu l ts f rom one Province d o not a l low genera l iza tion o r co mp ar ison

but they do g ive some indica t ion of the reac t ion of s tudents to propr ie ta ry

school tra ining. More than anything else , they re inforce the Economic Council ' s

(1992) recent cal l for more and improved data on the postsecondary system in

general and the private sector in particular.

A second market force consis ts of the employers of the PVTS graduates . To

the extent employers are satisfied with the entry-level skills and attitudes of pro-

pr ie tary school graduates , their hir ing preferences operate as a quali ty control


23/28

58 Rober t Sw eet

guide to the schools . For example , acceptance by Alber ta schools of the job

placement cr i ter ion for accredita t ion by the minis try in that province suggests a

wi l l ingness to opera te success fu l ly wi th in a marke t-dr iven model . Cer ta in ly ,

one of the implied (and sometimes s ta ted) outcomes of the task-specif ic skil ls

tra ining offe red by propr ie tary scho ols is succ essful jo b placem ent. T o s trength-

en this re la t ionship fur ther , many schools operate placement services , while oth-

e r s ma in ta in c lose , pe r sona l con tac t wi th bus ines s and indus t ry to ensu re

program relevance and to facil i ta te the transit ion of their s tudents to the work-

p lace . Yet among the many surveys of Canadian employers , none has sought

d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t p r o p r i e t a r y s c h o o l g r a d u a t e s . T h e C a n a d i a n

Federa t ion of Independent Bus iness d id s tudy employer pre fe rences in h i r ing

graduates of postsecondary ins t i tut ions (CFIB, 1989) . Employers were asked to

rate their degre e of sa t isfaction with the 'prepara tion fo r em plo ym en t ' of gra du-

ates f rom college, univers i ty and propr ie tary school. The PVTS were decidedly

super ior in the view of small business employers . While there were some obvi-

ous methodological l imita t ions to this research, the point never theless is made

that the training and attitudes of proprietary school graduates are highly valued

among employers who h i re f rom th is sec tor .

Conclusion

Conce rn wi th the r e la t ionsh ip be tween voca t iona l educa t ion and work , a s

expressed by governments and business a t the turn of the century, paral le ls our

current preoccupation with globalism, competi t ion and the role of education as

a means of improving compet i t ive economic advantage (Lyons , Randhawa, &

Paulson, 1991) . As was the case then, government continues to shape the re la-

t ionship between public and pr ivate education sectors . This is apparent in broad

pol icy s ta tements concerned wi th deve loping a ' lea rn ing cu l ture ' (Prosper i ty

Secre ta r ia t , 1992) and in more spec i f ic in i t ia t ives such as the Labour Force

D e v e l o p m e n t B o a r d s ( C L F D B , 1 9 9 1 ) . I n a d d i t i o n to i ts c o m m i t m e n t t o

i m p r o v e d e d u c a t i o n f o r m a r g i n a l i z e d w o r k e r s , t h e l a b o u r f o r c e s t r a t e g y

promotes the direct involvement of the pr ivate sector in post-secondary tra ining.

I t l ikely does so with the a im of introducing a degree of competi t ion to the post-

secondary system although the more press ing requirement is the mobil izat ion of

a l l a v a i l a b l e t r a i n i n g r e s o u r c e s in C a n a d a . T h e C a n a d i a n L a b o u r M a r k e t

Productivi ty Centre (CLMPC, 1990) and other policy bodies have consis tently

and repeatedly s ta ted in their recommendations to government that the demand

for tra ining so far exceeds the capacity of the es tablished education system that

al l post-secondary sectors must be involved if the labour force is to be upgraded


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A Prof i l e o f P r iva te Vocat ional Schoo l s

5 9

and made capab le in the res t ruc tu red economy of the 1990s . To the ex ten t gov-

e r n m e n t p o l i c i e s p r o m o t e d i v e r s i t y a m o n g C a n a d a ' s t r a i n i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s , a

co mp l emen t a r y r o l e f o r t h e P VTS an d co l l eg es l i k e l y wi l l emer g e . Th er e a r e

obv ious ga ins in ef f i c i ency f rom such a development bu t they are no t wi thou t

q u a l i f i ca t i o n .

The con t inued po lar i za t ion o f the Canad ian work fo rce , made ev iden t in the

r a p i d g r o w t h of s e r v i c e s e c t o r e m p l o y m e n t ( p a r t - t i m e w i t h m i n i m a l p a y ) ,

def ined the shape o f l abour market s th roughou t the 1980s . Mobi l i z ing Canada ' s

t r a in ing resources to he lp overcome these d iv i s ions th rough a po l i cy o f ins t i tu -

t io n a l d iv e r s i ty d o es imp l y co m p l em en t a r y r o l e s f o r P V TS an d t h e c o m m u n i t y

co l l e ges and ins t itu tes wi th in the pos t sec ond ary sys te m (Ha t ton , 1990 ; Swe et ,

1 9 9 2 b ) . A t t h e p r es en t t i me , p o s t s eco n d ar y ed u ca t i o n i n Can ad a i s s t r a t i f i ed

a l o n g l i n es wh i ch r o u g h l y p a r a l l e l t h e men t a l - men i a l d i v i s i o n s o f t h e wo r k

f o r ce . I n b o t h ed u ca t i o n a l an d emp l o y men t a r en as , g r ea t e r v a l u e i s acco r d ed

profess ional than vocat ional pursu i t s , l a rge ly because the fo rmer confer s g rea ter

ca ree r m obi l i ty . I t i s , co nse qu en t ly , im por ta n t tha t PV T S a t t end to the sk i l l s

they develop in s tuden t s . Where the schoo l s con t rac t wi th a company to p resen t

a n e m p l o y e e t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m , h i g h l y ta s k s p e c i f i c i n s t r u c t i o n p r o b a b l y i s

appro pr ia te . Fo r the mo s t par t, p ropr ie tary sc hoo l s tr a in fo r en t ry - l ev el em plo y-

m ent and the job- re le van t na tu re o f the i r p ro gra m s may l imi t the care er opp or tu -

ni t ies of thei r graduates . Cer tain ly , t rain ing for work that i s terminal ly menial or

has l i t t le potent ial for advancement does not serve the long term in teres ts of s tu-

d en t s . Wi t h i n a f r amewo r k o f g o v er n men t r eg u l a t i o n , f u n d i n g an d p o l i cy d i r ec -

t i o n , p r i v a t e v o c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g s c h o o l s a n d s o m e d i v i s i o n s o f c o m m u n i t y

co l l eg es h av e r e s p o n d ed i n i n n o v a t i v e way s t o mee t t h e t r a i n i n g d eman d s o f

s t u d en t s wh o t h ems e l v es a r e r eq u i r ed t o mee t r ap i d l y ch an g i n g co n d i t i o n s o f

work . The opera t ing p r inc ip les and p rac t i ces o f the PVTS in par t i cu lar exh ib i t

an innov at ive sp i r i t w h ich i s con s i s t en t wi th the need fo r ins t i tu t ional r espo n-

s iveness . Bo th co l l eges and PVTS are l ike ly to benef i t f rom government po l i -

c i e s d es i g n ed t o en co u r ag e e f f i c i en c i es i n t h e p r o v i s i o n o f t r a i n i n g t h r o u g h

i n s t it u t i o n a l d i v e r s i t y . H o w e v e r , a s t h e y a s s u m e a m o r e m e a n i n g f u l r o l e in

C an ad a ' s p o s t s eco n d ar y s y s t em, P V T S mu s t j o i n wi t h t h e co l l eg es an d i n s ti -

tu tes in def in ing the i r r espect ive con t r ibu t ions to improved t r a in ing and human

resource development . The p rac t i ces o f the p ropr ie tary schoo l s and those seg-

ments of the publ ic sector that d isp lay an ent repreneur ial at t i tude can provide a

mo d e l o r m e t ap h o r f o r i n s ti t u ti o n a l ch an g e . Ho w ev er , t o t h e ex t en t co m p l em en -

tary ro les fo r co l l ege and PV T S con t in ue the t r ad i t ional d iv i s ion be tw een the

cur r i cu la o f pub l i c and p r iva te sec to r s a long l ines o f ' j ob en t ry re levance , ' t hey

wi l l r e in fo rce ra ther than a l l ev ia te the po lar i zed cond i t ion o f the l abour market .


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N o t e s

1 Qu ebe c es tab l i shed d i f f ere n t ca teg or ies fo r p ropr ie tary scho o l s in 1987 .

Relatively few qualified for government accreditation and the Ministry declined to par-

ticipate in the 1989 survey (Sweet, 1990b). At the present time, the only comparative

data available are to be found in the 1986 survey by Statistics Canada (1988).

^ I t seem s l ikely Stat i s t ics Cana da included the B.C. Te lepho ne C om pa ny 's

Education Centre in its 1986 survey. At the time it enrolled approximately 20,000 stu-

dents. The practice of the B.C. Ministry is to discount these enrollments in the annual

tally, as the Centre offers very short-term courses and most of their training is for B.C.

Telephone employees (Sylvester , 1991). Consequently, the Stat is t ics Canada (1988)

entry for B.C. has been adjusted.

3 A re-analysis of the 1986 survey data (Statistics Can ada, 1988) showe d o bvious

gender divisions in enrollments for business (secretarial) and technological program

areas. A similar pattern emerged from 1989 data collected in a survey of proprietary

schools (Sweet, 1990b).

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ACCC (1986). Brief on the

ACC C Report on practical experiences with the Canad ian

job strategies.

Toronto: Association of Canadian Community Colleges.

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2(1), 45-56.

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1-2), 65-72.

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Athabasca: Athabasca University/ CSSE.


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6 1

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Document

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9-37.

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education.

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p

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