Education
Education Jobs
The number of education jobs in Greater Victoria increased by 9% from 2001 to 2006, matching the provincial growth rate.
The largest source of job growth was in universities and the "other" category, which includes a wide variety of specialized schools in fine arts, sports, and languages. Employment in elementary and secondary schools declined.
Relative to BC, the region overall has a similar concentration of education employment, although employment in universities is twice as common as the provincial average.
These employment figures from the Census are for "place of work", meaning they are jobs that have a fixed location in Greater Victoria, regardless of where the worker lives.
|
Education Jobs in Greater Victoria |
Jobs |
Job Growth, 2001-2006 |
Location Quotients* (relative to BC) |
|||
|
2001 |
2006 |
Greater Victoria |
BC |
2001 |
2006 |
|
|
Elementary and secondary schools |
5,640 |
5,250 |
-7% |
1% |
0.85 |
0.76 |
|
Community colleges |
1,075 |
1,225 |
14% |
-5% |
0.91 |
1.07 |
|
Universities |
3,595 |
4,485 |
25% |
39% |
2.28 |
2.00 |
|
Other (private colleges, sports schools, support services, etc.) |
1,150 |
1,510 |
31% |
25% |
0.90 |
0.92 |
|
Total |
11,460 |
12,475 |
9% |
9% |
1.07 |
1.05 |
| Source: Statistics Canada Census | ||||||
Annual Employment in Education
Education employment expanded rapidly in Greater Victoria from 2004 to 2007 before declining in 2008. Data for future years will show whether the growth trend has ceased or if the 2008 figure is a temporary (or random) downward shift in the data.
Education employment has also had strong growth in Metro Vancouver and throughout BC in recent years.
Annual employment data by sector is from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS). Because it is based on a survey, the results include sampling error and may vary somewhat year to year due to random variations as opposed to real changes in annual sector employment.
Caution is therefore advised for interpreting changes on a year over year basis. Sustained trends over longer time periods are considerably more valid.
|
Employment in Education (000) |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
Growth, 07-08 |
Growth 03-08 |
|
BC |
140.1 |
135.9 |
146.1 |
156 |
156.1 |
161.6 |
4% |
15% |
|
Greater Victoria |
10.2 |
8.7 |
12 |
14.7 |
15.3 |
13.5 |
-12% |
32% |
|
Metro Vancouver |
77.2 |
80 |
88.1 |
92.4 |
90 |
98.5 |
9% |
28% |
| Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. Reported by BC Stats. | ||||||||
Post-Secondary Research Funding at University of Victoria
Sponsored research funding at the University of Victoria increased by 127% between 2002/03 and 2007/08. Measured on a per faculty member basis, funding also increased from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
Over the same period, the share of NSERC grants and scholarships in BC that were spent in Greater Victoria increased from 16% to 19%. This moved Greater Victoria up slightly from 16th to 15th place among metropolitan areas in Canada receiving funds.
Research funding is a measure of the quality and output of post-secondary research, which is a key input into innovation and the development of local knowledge-based industries.
Changes in $/Faculty measures changes in quality and output more reliably than changes in overall funding level.
|
Research Funding for UVIC |
2002/03 |
2003/04 |
2004/05 |
2005/06 |
2006/07 |
2007/08 |
Growth 02/03-07/08 |
|
Sponsored Research Funding (000s) |
$46,852 |
$47,775 |
$60,045 |
$82,716 |
$71,179 |
$106,684 |
127% |
|
SSHRC/Faculty (000s) |
$8.1 |
$9.0 |
$7.6 |
$7.2 |
$10.1 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
NSERC/Faculty (000s) |
$59.8 |
$61.2 |
$59.8 |
$62.4 |
$77.0 |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Greater Victoria Share of BC NSERC Funding |
16% |
17% |
18% |
18% |
18% |
19% |
3% |
| Source: University of Victoria Institutional Planning and Analysis, National Science and Engineering Research Council | |||||||
Primary and Secondary Enrollments
As noted in the education employment data, jobs in primary and secondary schools declined in Greater Victoria from 2001 to 2006. This is consistent with the decline in primary and secondary school enrollments.
The number of teacher positions has fallen by less than the number of students, so the student-teacher ratio has fallen from over 20 in 2004/05 to 18.7 in 2007/08.
Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrolments and number of teachers are a measure of the size of the primary and secondary school system.
The student to teacher ratio is a proxy for quality of education. It also provides a proxy for capacity utilization when compared to the agreed maximums.
|
2003/04 |
2004/05 |
2005/06 |
2006/07 |
2007/08 |
Growth 06/07-07/08 |
|
|
Primary Enrollment |
20,659 |
20,238 |
19,668 |
19,110 |
18,702 |
-2.1% |
|
Secondary Enrollment |
17,229 |
17,399 |
17,104 |
16,457 |
16,050 |
-2.5% |
|
Total Enrollment |
37,888 |
37,637 |
36,772 |
35,567 |
34,752 |
-2.3% |
|
Teacher FTEs |
n/a |
1866.2 |
1869.2 |
1885.1 |
1858.2 |
-1.4% |
|
Student/Teacher Ratio |
n/a |
20.2 |
19.7 |
18.9 |
18.7 |
-0.9% |
| Source: BC Ministry of Education. Data is combined for School Districts 61 (Greater Victoria), 62 (Sooke) and 63 (Saanich). | ||||||