Educational Services

 

From one company school in 1849...

The first school in BC was started by the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Victoria in 1849, when James Douglas invited the Reverend Robert Staines to open a school where the children of company officers could be educated. Shortly afterwards, a school was established for the children of Roman Catholic parents. The first government-funded school was opened in 1852 and later, more schools were built as settlers with their families came to the colony. Most of these schools were run by religious orders. Parents paid fees to send their children to school, but not all of them could afford the charges or the cost of textbooks and supplies.

In the mid-1860s, newspapers in Victoria and New Westminster helped spearhead a campaign for free, non-denominational schools. Amor de Cosmos, who later became premier of the province, led the campaign in Victoria, using his position as editor of the British Colonist to make his views known.

The Common Schools Act was eventually passed by the legislature in 1865. It provided for free schooling and authorized the governor to appoint schoolmasters, a Superintendent and a General Board of Education. The governor was also given the power to appoint local school boards to serve in an advisory capacity. By 1867, there were two common schools in Victoria, and a number of other publicly funded schools were located in other parts of the colony.

After the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were united in 1866, the Act was repealed. However, the principle of publicly-funded (though not necessarily free) education was entrenched in new legislation, which set provincial support at $500 per year per teacher.

In the early days, many schools had one room and a single teacher who taught students of all ages basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. The minimum requirement for opening a school was that there had to be at least eight students who would attend. The province’s first public high school, Victoria High, was opened in 1876. It is the oldest high school west of Winnipeg, and north of San Francisco.

...to a public school system and world-class universities

The need for a provincial university was recognized by legislators and an act to establish the University of British Columbia (UBC) was passed in 1890. Plans for the new university ran into a roadblock when its senate couldn’t agree on whether the institution should be located in Victoria or on the Mainland. The plans would not be resurrected until nearly 20 years later.

Following the university stalemate, Vancouver College was opened in 1899 and Victoria College began teaching students in 1903. Both were affiliated with McGill University, offering first and second year programs to students who then travelled to Montreal to complete their degrees. A second University Act was eventually passed in 1908, and Point Grey in Vancouver was chosen as the location where the new university would be built two years later.

One hundred and forty-four years after the first school act was passed in BC, publicly funded, free, and non-religious primary and secondary education is available to all children in the province. The four largest publicly funded universities are UBC, the University of Victoria (1963), Simon Fraser University (1965) and the University of Northern BC, which officially opened in 1994.

More recent additions include Royal Roads University (1995, formerly one of three military colleges in Canada); and a number of newly-designated universities. These include Capilano University, Emily Carr University of Art & Design (which has been teaching fine arts students since 1925); Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Thompson Rivers University; Vancouver Island University; and the University of the Fraser Valley. There are also some private institutions, including Trinity Western University and University Canada West, which offers accelerated degree programs at campuses in Vancouver and Victoria.

A number of colleges—many of which came into being in the 1960s and 1970s—offer university transfer and other types of programs in most regions of the province. The BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) has been providing technical training to students since 1964.

The baby boom, bust and echo has come and gone...

During the baby boom years, which occurred from about 1945 to the mid-1960s, families with four or more children were quite common. The population was relatively young, and it was growing quickly. In the 1970s, the growth spurt in the population stalled as people began having fewer children. That period is called the baby bust. The “baby echo” occurred when baby boomers started having children of their own. Most of them did not have big families, but with a lot of boomers having children, the population of young people increased significantly.

The baby boom, bust and echo has had a big effect on the education industry. When the population was young and growing, and there were a lot of children, the need for teachers increased. New schools were built, teachers were in short supply, and universities began training more people.

During the baby bust, the demand for teachers fell at the same time that the workforce of available teachers was expanding. That’s one of the reasons why it was hard for new teachers to find work. The baby echo has only partly reversed this effect.

At one time, teachers didn’t have to pay into unemployment insurance because it was assumed that they would never be out of work. Teaching was a fairly safe career choice. Times have changed. Having a teacher’s certificate no longer means that you can find a job almost anywhere you want to go.

...but migration continues to boost the demand for education services

The current trend is still toward smaller families, but the decline in “natural increase” (the difference between births and deaths) has been offset by another source of population growth, which has contributed to an ongoing need for schools and teachers, especially in some parts of the province.

British Columbia not only attracts migrants who come to the province from other parts of Canada, it is also a popular destination for immigrants. There was a large influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in the years leading up to 1997, as uncertainties about changes that might be implemented following the handover of the former British colony to China caused some residents to leave. Some of these emigrants have since returned home, but the province remains an attractive destination for immigrants from all over the world, especially those coming from Asia.

The province’s dependence on immigrants as a source of population growth has likely kept the percentage of school-aged children and youth higher than it would otherwise be, since there is some evidence that immigrant families tend to have more children than those who are native-born.

What's included in the educational services?

Primary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions account for the bulk of the activities in this industry, but it also includes various types of less formal training provided by the private sector. Establishments in the industry include language and business schools; apprenticeship training facilities; computer, driving or flight training centres; facilities offering ski, music, dance, or acting lessons; barber, beauty and cosmetology schools; and various other types of training. (Day cares and nursery schools are not included in this industry; they are part of the health & social assistance industry).

What's happened since 1990?

About 5% of the province’s GDP originates in the educational services industry, a proportion that has remained relatively constant since 1990. The industry’s share of total employment has been increasing, rising from just under 6% to 7% during the period from 1990 to 2008. However, job growth during this period has not always been in sync with the rest of the economy, which is why the industry’s share of total employment has fluctuated during this period.

The education industry accounts for about 5% of the province’s total GDP and a slightly higher share of its workforce

Part-time employment is becoming more common

One reason for the faster-than-average job growth in this industry is that the incidence of part-time employment has been climbing. The number of part-time workers in the industry has more than doubled since 1990. This compares to a 70% increase in full-time employment during the same period.

Part-time employment in the industry has doubled since 1990

Why is this important? In an industry where there are a lot of part-time workers, or where part-time employment is growing faster than the number of full-time jobs, the size of the workforce could rise even if the demand for labour isn’t increasing. For example, a teaching position that is shared by two part-time teachers counts as two jobs. If it was filled by a full-time worker, there would only be one job counted. This means that if the incidence of part-time work is rising, as it has in the education industry, some of the industry’s job growth will simply be due to changing work arrangements rather than an increase in the amount of labour that is used.

Part-time employment isn’t the only reason for the strong job growth in this industry since 1990. The 70% increase in full-time employment is also well above job growth in the economy as a whole (48%).

The biggest employment gains have been in services that are usually provided by the private sector

More people are employed in non-academic education services, such as language schools or driver training...

What are some other factors that have contributed to the strong job growth in this industry? While total employment in the industry rose 82% between 1990 and 2008, the strongest job growth was in education services that are usually provided by the private sector. The number of jobs in these industries has nearly tripled since 1990.

We can only speculate on the reasons why this has occurred, but it’s likely that the proliferation of English language schools and similar types of businesses has played a role. British Columbia is a popular destination for students from Asia and other parts of the world who come here for short periods to study English. As well, an influx of immigrants has likely boosted the demand for these services.

Tougher licencing requirements for new drivers were introduced a few years ago and these may also have contributed to employment growth in this industry. Young drivers who take lessons from professional instructors are able to obtain a full licence more quickly than those who learn their road skills from a parent or family member, so there is some incentive to get formal training.

There are likely many other factors that have contributed to the growth in various types of non-academic education services during the period since 1990.

...and the number of jobs at schools, colleges and universities is also increasing

Employment at BC’s universities and other post-secondary institutions has doubled since 1990. The opening of the University of Northern BC in 1994 contributed to this job growth, but it is not the only reason for the increase. Population growth has also been a factor driving the increase in the number of people working in the province’s schools and post-secondary institutions, as the need for these services has grown with the population.

The number of people working at primary and secondary schools rose rapidly during the early 1990s, a period when the province had the fastest-growing population in the country.

This was also a time when there was less public concern about government spending and deficits, and funding for educational institutions reflected that. Job growth at schools slowed in the mid-1990s, and declined during the early part of this decade, but has been increasing in recent years. The long-term trend shows continued job growth at BC schools. In fact, employment at primary & secondary schools has risen 60% since 1990, easily outpacing the average (48%) for all industries in the province.

What are the most common occupations?

Teachers, university professors, librarians, theologians, archaeologists, secretaries, plumbers, janitors, driving instructors, hairstylists, cooks, ballet dancers and musicians are among the many occupations included in this industry.

Most of the workers in this industry are educators, mainly teachers and professors