Certificates and Degrees Lead to Employment

Certificate and Degree Completors Are More Employable Than Noncompleters

Data from the NCES report Beginning Subbaccalaureate Students’ Labor Market Experiences: Six Years Later compare those who successfully completed certificate and associate degree programs in 2009 with those who became noncompleters.

In spring 2009, certificate completers, compared to noncompleters (most of whom were postsecondary CTE students), were:

1. less likely to have unemployment spells.
2. more likely to be in the labor force and to be employed.
3. more likely to: be in career jobs, see education as having helped advance their careers, be in jobs with occupational credentialing, and be employed in health careers (and less likely to be employed in business careers).
4. more likely to be employed full-time.
5. equally likely to have basic job benefits (e.g., medical, life, retirement).
6. more satisfied with the opportunities in their jobs to use their education and receive future training.
7. equally likely to be satisfied with the importance and challenge of their jobs and to have overall job satisfaction.
8. equal in earnings, types of employers, and satisfaction with pay, fringe benefits, job security, and opportunities for promotion.

Associate degree completers, compared to noncompleters (some of whom are postsecondary CTE students), were:

1. more likely to be in the labor force, employed, employed full-time, and earning more; to be in career jobs; to see their education as having helped advance their careers; and to be satisfied with the opportunities in their jobs to use their educations and receive future training.
2. equally likely to be satisfied with the importance and challenge of their jobs; their overall job satisfaction; their satisfaction with pay, fringe benefits, job security, or opportunities for promotion; and their basic benefits (e.g., medical, life, retirement).
3. more likely to work for a nonprofit organization or in health and to be in jobs that require occupational credentials.
4. less likely to have unemployment spells.
5. less likely to work in business, personal services, or sales.

excerpted from OVAE Connmection # 86