More than half of Grande Prairie residents aged 25 to 64 have a post-secondary education. The latest census data shows than in 2016, 55 per cent held a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, based on the 25 per cent of residents that filled out the long-form document.
Statistics Canada says 41 per cent of those graduated college, 30 per cent made it through university, and 23 per cent hold an apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma as their highest form of education. Nearly a third of adults over 25 have their high school diploma or equivalent, and 14 per cent don’t hold any certificate, diplomas or degrees.
Grande Prairie’s higher education levels fall below what’s seen across the country, as 65 per cent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 have finished post-secondary. 54 per cent have either college or university degrees, while that number is 42 per cent in GP. Canada now has the highest percentage of college and university graduates of any industrialized country in the world.
Not surprisingly, trades continue to be a popular career choice for Albertans. The province had the highest number of men aged 25 to 34 with apprenticeship certificates in the country at 12.5 per cent. Nationally, the number is 7.8 per cent.
Those young men are also paid well for their training. They earned only five per cent less than other men with a bachelor’s degree in Alberta and more than men with a bachelor’s degree in every other province.
Alberta is tied with Quebec for the province with the third most amount of women aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree at 38 per cent. Nationally, the number is 40.7 per cent, while for men it is closer to 30 per cent.
The 2016 census data also shows almost one-third of refugees who have received their permanent resident status upgraded their educational credentials since arriving in Canada. The majority have a bachelor’s degree or higher.