公布职业培训学校就业率有利公众监督

“公司高管将来我校招贤纳才……世界500强企业就业讲座……2016年以来最大规模招聘会，许多大公司的总经理将亲临现场……”

“Corporate senior managers are coming to our school to talk about job openings…  Seminars on how to find jobs in the Fortune 500 companies… Biggest job fairs since 2016 with managing directors from big firms on scene…”

尽管某职业培训学校的电子邮件和广告单张会大肆吹嘘其毕业生的就业机会，但安省政府最近公布的数据却显示私立职业培训学校毕业生就业前景普遍黯淡。据报道称，大量私校毕业生无法找到工作，而能找到专业对口工作的学生更是寥寥无几。

Despite the emails and flyers boasting top professional job opportunities for a private career college’s graduates, recent released data by Ontario government has painted a bleak picture for the employment prospects of PCC graduates in general. According to the reports, a high number of students cannot find jobs, and an even a smaller number of students have found jobs in the area they studied. 

根据报道，总体来看，只有不到一半（48%）已就业私校毕业生在从事专业对口工作。其中某些专业就业率较高，比如媒体制作和服装设计专业的就业率就分别达到75%和66.7%；而另一些专业就业率则呈明显差距，比如IT专业就业率仅有34%，商科专业就业率更是低至32%。

Overall, less than half (48%) of employed students were working in their field of study, according to the report. Some sectors – such as media production and fashion design -- have higher employment rates (75% and 66.7%), while others fairing much worse: IT 34% and business 32%.

私立学院学生人口结构与公立院校有所不同，其大部分学生都来自移民社区，英语为学生们之第二语言。早在2000年初，由于中国移民大量涌入以及政府亦大力资助寻求第二职业培训的人士，职业培训行业曾在华裔社区蓬勃兴起，这些培训学校的创办者也都收入颇丰。有关华裔社区首批为数不多的私立学院之一， 新概念学院的股东官司的法庭文件显示，该学校的创办者当年收入可高达$60万元。

Private colleges’ students have a different demographic than the public colleges, with many of them being immigrants who speak English as second language. Back in the early 2000s, with the influx of immigrants from China and the government funding for those seeking second career training, the sector in the Chinese community was booming and school owners enjoyed lucrative returns. Court documents on a legal battle between shareholders of New Concept College, one of the first few colleges in the community, revealed that the owners of the school could enjoy a profit as high as $600,000 a year.

但是，私立职业培训行业如今在华裔社区似乎已经风光不再。导致私校毕业生就业率低下的原因可能有很多，其中很重要的一点可能是很多私立学院都是以中文而不是英文提供课程，但英文则是求职时必须使用的语言。这种教学方式必定剥夺学生提高英语水平之机会。毕业生如果没有过硬的英语技能，就很难在加拿大找到体面的工作。

But it seems that the good run for the PCC sector in the community has been over. The reasons for graduates’ low employment rates could be many. It seems that students are given little opportunity to improve their English skills at many of these schools, as the training courses are provided in Chinese, rather than English – the language used in job interviews. Without adequate English skills, it is very difficult for the students to land decent jobs in Canada. 

此外，一些不良商业行为亦会损害企业声誉，甚至导致一些私校被政府勒令查封或关闭。华裔社区内就有多所职业学院目光短浅而贪图短期效益，为盲目追求利润而将学生利益抛之脑后，忽视了诚信立命的商业道德。

Some unethical business practices could damage business reputation and result in schools being ordered by the government to suspend operations or shut down. In their desperate attempts to seek quick profits, several career colleges in the community focused on seeking short term gains while putting students’ interest behind and ignoring business ethics of honesty and integrity. 

自从《私立职业学院法》2005年生效以来，已有多所多伦多华裔社区注册的职业学院因违反法规而被安省教育厅查封。2009年，青山理工学院因未能按要求提供规定培训课程而欺骗教育厅被吊销执照。虽然该院学生的培训费用--从学费到交通费等都是由政府资助，但教育厅在几次抽查中却发现学校根本没为学生提供拟定的课程。

Since the Private Career College Act became effective in 2005, several career colleges in the Toronto Chinese community were suspended by the Ministry for failing to comply with the Act. Mountain Institute of Technology had their license revoked in 2009 for misrepresenting the Ministry that it had delivered the promised training programs. Random inspections by the Ministry found that some scheduled training courses had not been offered to students, who received government funding – from tuitions to transportation costs.

2010年，维多利亚国际学院也因违反《私立职业学院法》而接到安省教育厅的整改令。教育厅在检查中发现该校宣传广告含有诸如“23名雇主合作伙伴将直接聘用毕业生”，或“安省规模最大的PSW培训班之一”等误导性语句。维多利亚学院随后依照整改令删除了被指具误导性的广告内容，并缴纳了罚金。目前该学院仍在多伦多运营。

In 2010, Victoria International College was issued a compliance order by the Ministry for breaching the PCC Act. Specifically, the Ministry has found that the schools’ advertising contained misleading statements, including “23 employer partners to hire graduates directly,” or “One of the largest PSW training courses in Ontario.” Victoria College has complied with the order by taking off the identified misleading statements and paid the fine. It is still operating in Toronto.

目前，政府已经开始提供毕业生就业率等有关私立职业培训学校的绩效指标数据，从而可以让公众更加充分地了解私立职业培训学校的培训质量。在掌握这些信息后，广大消费者或学生则可以作出更加明智的选择。数字不会说谎，它会令所有夸大或虚假宣传广告不攻自破，同时也有助于将违背商业道德的学校尽快淘汰出局。事实上，如果不遵循商业道德，华裔社区的培训学校则无立足之本。

The government has started to provide performance metrics for PCCs including graduates’ employment rate, offering more transparency into the quality of training provided by PCC schools. Armed with that information, consumers –or students – can make informed choices. Numbers don’t lie. They serve as a strong evidence to invalidate any exaggerations or false advertising, and will help accelerate the demise of schools that fail to follow business ethics that are critical to the success of training colleges in the community.