University graduates with degrees in humanities may be overqualified for the workforce, according to a Statistics Canada study released April 2.
The study surveyed young Canadians aged 25 to 34 between 1991 and 2011, looking at the overqualification of young workers in Canada. It found that about one-third of working men and women with a university degree in humanities were overqualified by 2011.
The measure of overqualification used is the “proportion of individuals with a university degree who work in occupations requiring a high school education,” excluding those working in management occupations, according to the study.
A total of 18 per cent of graduates were overqualified for their jobs in 2011, a figure that changed little since 1991.
Bonnie Patterson, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities, said she questioned the study.
“It’s not clear to us that the positions the study identifies as not requiring a university degree do not in fact require a university degree,” Patterson said via email. “In some cases, the category is too broad and there are many positions within that category that would be considered professional, and therefore require a university degree.”
Patterson said humanities programs are still valuable.
“Humanities students shouldn’t be discouraged,” she said. “There are lots of good jobs for them and they’ve developed many skills through their studies that can be translated into particular organizational needs.”
University-educated immigrants without a degree from Canada or the United States had a higher rate of overqualification.
About 43 per cent of women and 35 per cent of men from this group worked in jobs requiring a high school education in 2011, the study stated. These rates varied between 15 and 20 per cent among men and women born in Canada and immigrants with a university degree from Canada or the United States.
Workers in fields such as engineering, education, architecture, and health were only found to be overqualified less than 15 per cent of the time.
The study also found that from 1991 to 2011, young people were becoming increasingly educated, and more likely to work in professional jobs, those requiring a university education.
