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Want to earn more? Go back to school |
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By Ethan Caleb » Workers who participate in adult education and
obtain a post-secondary certificate make significant gains in wages and
earnings, according to a new study released by Statistics Canada.
The study, which was launched back in 1994, examined the impact of adult education on hourly wages and annual earnings, taking into account factors such as union status, occupation, firm size, industry and province.
It found that younger workers among both sexes who went back to school and obtained a post-secondary certificate saw their wages jump. The increase was 8% more than those who did not go back to school in the case of male workers, and 10% in the case of young women.
However, wage increases among older workers, those aged 35 to 59, were restricted to those who stayed with the same employer.
Older men who stayed with the same employer while obtaining a post-secondary certificate registered gains in hourly wages that were on average 13% higher than those registered by their counterparts who did not go back to school. The gain among their female counterparts was 7%.
Both older men and women who stayed with the same employer recorded superior increases in terms of annual earnings as well.
However wages and earnings of older men and women who obtained a post-secondary certificate and switched employers did not increase faster than those of their non-participating counterparts.
Among young women who switched jobs, those who obtained post-secondary certificates registered hourly wage gains on average 15% higher than those who did not participate in adult education.
The study supported previous research which suggested that workers with high school education or above were twice as likely to participate in adult schooling and to obtain a post-secondary certificate as those with less than a high school education.
Marital status was another factor, particularly among women. Single women were more likely to participate than married women, and single women were twice as likely as divorced women to obtain a post-secondary certificate.
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