Graduate Employment Survey

Our Graduate Employment survey is conducted annually with the most recent class of SAIT grads.

We conduct this survey to ensure our programs are relevant to industry and our grads are finding success. We also want to help prospective students make informed decisions about their career paths.

2022/23 results

Consistent with the 2022 Graduate Employment study, almost all 2023 graduates (98%) were in the labour force (either employed or looking for work). Of these respondents, the majority (91%) were employed or had worked for three or more months before completing the survey. 

More than eight-in-ten (83%) graduates secured training-related jobs, constituting a four percentage point increase from 2022.

The following indicators have also experienced changes over the last year’s results:

• The median salary for full-time training-related employment has increased by $4,000 to $54,000;
• 90% of graduates in training-related jobs have found full-time employment, an increase of three percentage points.
• Most graduates (90%) remained in the province for employment, an increase of three percentage points.
• 12% of graduates are pursuing further education, constituting a one-percentage-point decrease over the last year. 

Almost all (99%) pre-employment graduates found employment between nine and twelve months of graduation. This constitutes a seven-percentage point increase from the previous year. Of those employed, 86% have secured jobs related to their fields of study, 97% found full-time employment, and the same proportion (97%) are working within Alberta. 

Detailed results

2023 Graduate Employment Survey methodology

Purpose

To determine the extent to which graduates from SAIT programs find employment, the type of employment and the level of starting salaries. 

Timing

A survey of 2022/23 graduates was conducted between January 31 and April 30, 2023. Information was obtained from 2,793 credit program graduates (out of 4,722 credit graduate records), constituting a 59% response rate. In addition, the survey was conducted with 145 pre-employment graduates (out of 250 pre-employment graduate records), resulting in a 58% response rate. 

Database

A list of 2022/23 graduates from SAIT programs was generated from Banner. The graduate's name, information on program finished, contact telephone number and email address was provided. Overall, the database included records on 4,972 graduates. 

Conduct

To compile the 2023 employment statistics, SAIT retained the services of Leger, an independent market research company. Academic Chairs notified graduates to expect the survey one week prior to the survey launch. The survey was conducted online and by phone. Results were collected online for the first two weeks of the study. Following this period, non-respondents were contacted via telephone to maximize response rate. The two modes were conducted simultaneously for the remainder of the study, with 48% being collected by phone and the remaining 52% collected online. 

The margin of error overall is equal to  1.15 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, finite population correction factor applied. A total of 70,918 contacts were made via phone call (32,015) or email (38,903) to graduated students. The maximum number of initial call attempts was 38. Additionally, graduates were emailed a total of 14 times including reminders, during the course of the study. 

Analysis

The data were input into a database and analyzed. Survey results of those who responded to the survey were subsequently extrapolated to the entire population of graduates/completers. Caution should be used when examining results by programs with fewer than 30 graduates. With smaller base sizes, the percentages may offer a distorted picture when one respondent represents more than 3% of the total respondent base.

Definitions used

In Labour Force: graduates who are employed or unemployed but looking for work.

Employed: graduates employed at the time of the survey, or had been employed prior to the survey for three or more months. 

Employment rate: the number of employed graduates as a percentage of all those graduates who responded to the survey and were in labour force.

Full-time employment: 30 or more hours of work per week.

Permanent employment: the number of graduates employed in permanent jobs.

Annualized salary: graduates were given a choice to provide salary information as annual or monthly income, daily or weekly earnings or hourly wages. If the student provided this information in a unit other than the annual salary, the following calculations were used to derive respondents’ annualized salaries in full-time jobs:

• Hourly wage X (hours worked per week) X 52
• Daily wage X 5 (days a week) X 52
• Weekly salary X 52
• Bi-weekly salary X 26
• Monthly salary X 12

_{Note 1: All salaries above $100,000 per year and below $15,000 per year were double-verified with the respondent.}

_{Note 2: Training-related salaries are not reported for programs with 5 or less responses.}