Education to varying degrees
“We had more workers than jobs in Hamilton, Toronto had way more jobs than workers and Waterloo had about the same number of workers and jobs.”
DESPITE BEING HOME to three post-secondary institutions — McMaster University, Mohawk College and Redeemer University College — Hamilton lags behind the rest of the province in the rate of adults who have post-secondary education.
About 62 per cent of people in Hamilton between 25 and 64 have some type of post-secondary degree. That’s below the rate for the rest of Ontario, which stands at 65 per cent.
There’s a noticeable difference in education between men and women in Hamilton. Almost 65 per cent of Hamilton women between 25 and 64 have some type of post-secondary degree, compared to less than 59 per cent of men.
The rates of post-secondary education in Hamilton have been rising steadily over the past decade. For women, the rate has jumped from 58 per cent in 2006 to 65 per cent.
But people in Hamilton are lagging significantly behind the rest of the province when it comes specifically to university degrees.
Just 25 per cent of people in Hamilton between the ages of 25 and 64 have a university degree, compared to 32 per cent for the rest of Ontario. For men, the rate is just over 22 per cent in Hamilton compared to 30 per cent for the rest of the province.
More women than men in Hamilton have college diplomas, university bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees while men in Hamilton have more doctorate degrees.
Nearly one in five adults between 25 and 64 in the lower former City of Hamilton don’t have a high school diploma.
The 30 census tracts with the highest rates of people between 25 to 64 who don’t have a high school diploma are all in the lower inner city.
“We have these major educational institutions and they haven’t done a good enough job in reaching out to the entire city,” said Mayo. “It’s certainly something that needs more attention.”
Hamilton also lags behind the rest of the province when it comes to people who obtained their post-secondary qualifications from outside Canada. Less than 15 per cent of people in Hamilton with post-secondary degrees obtained them outside Canada, compared to 21 per cent for the rest of Ontario.