Saskatchewan Polytechnic is reporting their enrolment levels for the 2024 fall term are at an all-time high. Dr. Larry Rosia is the President and CEO of Saskatchewan Polytechnic, said that the growing enrolment numbers show a national and global movement towards, and need for polytechnic education.
“Industry seems to want our graduates in a big way right now, and that reflection is positive for us in enrollment. Our enrollments for the 2024 fall term reached an all-time high with a three per cent increase from the previous year,” said Rosia.
“The increase in enrollments just reflects our commitment to leading the rise of polytechnic education.”
That three per cent increase brings the total enrollments across the province to 11,849, and Rosia noted that it’s not just enrolment numbers that are seeing an increase year over year.
“Saskatchewan Polytechnic has experienced growth across all training levels, including a notable nine per cent increase in our certificate, diploma and degree programs.”
“Another piece of good news is our Indigenous student enrolment has increased by four per cent to 1,170 indigenous students.”
He goes on to explain that within the enrolment numbers for Indigenous students, they are currently seeing a five-year high in regard to their certificate, diploma, and degree programs, increasing by 22 per cent.
International student enrolment is also on the rise, increasing five per cent compared to last year, with approximately 3,361 international students currently studying at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
The Moose Jaw campus is also seeing increases in line with those throughout the province, growing to a total of 1889 students enrolled, of which 830 are domestic, 102 are Indigenous and 1,059 are international students.
Rosia spoke about the programs that are seeing the highest levels of student interest at the Moose Jaw campus.
“Our business programs are seeing a lot of growth. We're seeing increased growth in our Bachelor of Science and Nursing degrees and our Early Childhood Education Diploma program, but I would say in Moose Jaw, one of the biggest growth areas is in our School of Business.”
According to Rosia the continued increase in enrolment numbers is tied to the employment outcomes experienced by graduates from Saskatchewan Polytechnic programs.
“Our graduates are recognized for their strong work ethic for applied learning and the problem of solving abilities that they learn, and their focus on practical hands-on training.
“Our graduates are able to contribute to the one to the job on day one so their workforce ready and because of that, we can boast that 96 per cent of our graduates find employment within six months of graduation, our indigenous graduation employment rate is 94 per cent. When we surveyed our employers, 91 per cent of our employers were very satisfied with our graduates and said that they would hire them again.”