This article was previously published on CambridgeToday.
Conestoga College has been at the front of the post-secondary pack for attracting international students, but some experts believe the school is falling short when it comes to helping students fill in-demand jobs in Canada.
According to numbers provided by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Conestoga College has the lion's share of international students coming in for business programs.
As of June 30, the IRCC had approved 9,680 study permits and permit extensions for the 2024-2025 school year for Conestoga, nearly double that of the next leading college, Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology with 4,970.
The numbers show that for the past three years where Conestoga has had the most international study permits approved; nearly 40 per cent of all permits are for business programs.
In those same years, skilled trades only account for around 1.2 per cent of all international study permits each year, with 120 permits out of the nearly 10k for 2024.
MP for Kitchener South Hespeler, Valarie Bradford, has been pushing for colleges like Conestoga to prioritize getting these students into the trades rather than into business programs, a field they argue is saturated with talent.
"We have a lot of students coming here and going into business programs, but there are no jobs in these fields," said Bradford. "We need to make sure that the option is there and they can access these programs to get them into the trades."
Bradford adds that when students graduate with a business degree, they might be working in the hospitality or gig industries and struggle to find gainful employment, while trade programs allow the student to be in an apprenticeship which typically leads to employment after receiving their diploma.
According to Immigration Canada, four of the top 10 in-demand jobs in Canada are skilled trades.
Experts in the field, such as the CEO for Skills Ontario, Ian Howcroft, have been stating for years that the skilled worker shortage is only going to get worse if it is not addressed.
"We have been going into schools and really trying to appeal to the younger generation and show them about the trades and how fruitful and necessary of a career path it can be," he said. "It doesn't have to be anyone's second option and if we can get international students onboard, then that would really help."
Reports done by RBC estimate that over 700,000 skilled tradespeople are expected to retire by 2028 and there is not enough workers to fill this gap.
Conestoga does hold annual skilled trades events at local high schools, but Bradford and Howcroft are ready to look at Conestoga as a way to fill the gaps in the worker shortage.
College officials say the school is actively growing its skilled trades campus to cater to any incoming international students.
"Phase two of the Conestoga Skilled Trades Campus – a $180 million expansion – is currently underway and will allow us to develop and deliver even more programming for international students so they can access the skills and knowledge needed for successful careers and help address workforce needs in the skilled trades sector," said Brenda Bereczki.
Despite these efforts to expand, the enrolment of international students in the trades is at a five-year low that dates back to two years before the doors of the skilled trades campus opened.
For years, Conestoga has been criticized by its staff and local politicians for bringing students into business programs, but according to the head of the school's largest union, now is the time to change that.
Leopold Koff who oversees the union representing teachers and faculty is calling for a complete revision and audit of programs at Conestoga College to make sure the school is offering comprehensive programming and not just trying to bring in more students.
"I mean these students are looked at as higher-paying cash cows, unfortunately, and this is leaving a sour taste in some staff members and teachers," said Koff. "We have an entire campus devoted to business programs and there are a lot of classes that are offered remotely and there is nothing wrong with this, but we need to make sure the programs are built properly."
Bereczki noted in her email that The Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS) does an audit at the school every five years with the latest one in 2020 giving the college the highest possible rating.
Koff explained some professors are reporting recent students don't have basic English reading and writing skills, putting extra weight on the staff who now have to spend more time on the basics instead of teaching their course.
Chris Arsenault is the former program coordinator for the creative industries at Conestoga College and has since moved on to chair of the master of media in journalism and communication program at Western University.
Arsenault stated in a previous interview with CambridgeToday, "The management structure and the economic structure of how the college has increased its international student intakes is fundamentally failing students."
He believes there is a reliance on untrusted and improperly vetted immigration agents has become a stain on the college, making the past few years especially challenging.
"The relationship as it currently stands, is fundamentally based on conflict of interest in the monetization of students, rather than the success of students and communities," said Arsenault.
International students have been paying three to four times as much as domestic students to offset subsidies that are provided by the government.
The average year of business school for an international student costs about $18,000 whereas a domestic student only pays $5,000.
In 2023, Conestoga had the most study permits approved and renewed by the IRCC with a total of 36,775; that year the school also posted a $250 million surplus.
The school has consistently been at the top of the list of colleges bringing in international students and recently returned to numbers similar to 2018 following implementation of a study permit cap.
Koff hopes the school can reevaluate its leadership and see what kind of institution it would like to be.
"When you have a $250 million surplus as a non-profit, you kinda need to look around and ask yourself 'what's going on?'" he said. "If a school wants to bring in this many students, that's fine as long as the teachers, staff and students are all supported enough and not just left to deal with their decisions."