Survey Says Half of Calgarians Are Thinking About Going Back to School

Alberta's unemployment rate rose as high as 7.5% in March 2010.

A recent survey of Calgary area adults revealed that job security and education are on people’s mind.

The survey was conducted by Leger Marketing, and reports that 46% of Calgarians feel that more education or career training will lead to increased job security.

Sid Mark, president of the Calgary staffing and recruiting firm FRIDAY Professional Group Inc. feels this is the right mentality for people to have.

“Employers currently have the advantage of choosing from a larger pool of candidates with a more advanced skill-set. When there are more candidates to choose from, employer expectations are higher.”

He added that his staffing clients tell him that, if a potential employee has been out of work for awhile, pursuing further education looks better because the applicant has remained active.”

The data also revealed that 42% of respondents would opt to study online courses, while 25% answered they would attend evening classes.

Leger Marketing conducted the survey of 405 Calgarians aged 18 years and older, in a period between November 15 and 18, 2010.

Alberta’s unemployment rate rose as high as 7.5% in March 2010 according to Statistics Canada. While that was the highest unemployment numbers the province has seen since 1996, Alberta has consistently remained below the national average.