3.0

Summary

Chapter three first deals with 5 major topics (finance, current employment, completion, current education and subjective ratings) using latest information (i.e. from the most recent survey for a student), reported in terms of time stayed in the ABE / College Prep program. As discussed in Chapter One, these groups are brief-stay (0-3 months), short-stay (4-6 months) and long-stay (7-13+ months). In the summaries that follow some approximations across stay-groups are made and the reader is referred to the chapter contents for more detail.

The chapter then moves on to compare the stay groups in terms of their Point of Entry profiles and concludes by looking at factors which influence the completion rates in the three groups. Again the summaries that follow are brief and the reader is referred to the chapter contents and also to the Stay-group profiles appendix at the end of this chapter, For details on how to interpret these appendices see P. 1 and P. 10.

Finance (§3.1)

More of the long-stay group were funded than in the brief-stay or short-stay groups (55% versus 36% and 33%), with MSS, ABESAP and Canada Student Loan being the major funders. Funding was seen as adequate by approximately two-thirds of the students.

Current employment and future plans (§3.2)

Less of the long-stay group were currently employed. The hours per week worked by students decreased as they became involved in ABE / College Prep study Between 50% and 60% classified their jobs permanent, with slightly less than half doing shiftwork.

Of those employed, the largest proportion intended to return to school - more so with increasing ABE / College Prep study. Students who were employed rated verbal skills and self confidence as most important for their work.