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Part
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GIS Certificate: Deterrents
The major deterrents preventing Canadian students from pursuing a GIS certification after high school include limited opportunities for entry-level jobs in GIS and the preference companies have for seasoned professionals. There was, however, no information available in the public domain on the most popular places that high school students used to get information about their college options.
Below is an overview of the information that was available.
REASONS ONTARIO STUDENTS DO NOT PURSUE A GIS CERTIFICATION:
- The internship or summer student positions and entry-level positions for GIS-certified individual have limited opportunities.
- Many companies often want to avoid risks and prefer a seasoned professional over an inexperienced young worker.
- The GIS positions that are available, especially for professionals with less experience, are short-term contracts or part-time only.
- Currently, few jobs list GIS certification as a requirement.
GENERAL REASONS WHY ONTARIO STUDENTS ARE NOT PURSUING AN UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATE
- Geography: Students from more remote areas often have to migrate over a great distance in order to attend college or university. The distance they have to travel affects the cost for relocating and commuting, thus, the farther they live the higher the costs.
- Socioeconomic status of parents: Low income also prevents students from attending post-secondary education. On average parents in the northern parts of Canada earn less than those in the southern parts. This impacts students' decision to pursue a GIS certificate or any other certification, as tuition and other costs of further education are high and continuously increasing.
- Family attitudes and traditions with regard to education prospects: Children from parents who have pursued a post-secondary education are likely to attend a college or university. In the past, young men would traditionally get a job in the mining, forestry or agriculture industry (northern Ontario's mainstay industries) and young women would stay at home.
Research Strategy
To provide an overview of the most popular places that high school students use to get information about their college options, we first we searched for articles and blogs on the subject matter. However, we were unable to find information on the topic for both Ontario or Canada. Next, we searched for scholarly articles, case studies, and statistics. Yet this yielded no results. Afterward, we searched through social media sites (such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube) to locate public posts on where students search for information on their college options. We observed if any posts on the subject matter were popular or went viral. While some posts were relevant to the subject matter, they were posted by specific schools, programs, events, or foundations targeting incoming/prospective college students. This, however, did not provide insight on which was the popular source where students get their information from.
Next, we searched for tools that could have been used to find a college. Technical websites (such as G2 Crowd and Capterra) provide articles and reviews on tools that can be used. Although there are numerous software and apps available that provide college updates and information, not enough data is available to compare them and determines the most popular source of information. In addition, some are committed to or focused on specific countries only, like that of Collegedisha.com.
In short, the results found only gave relevant information for new applicants to college. Government and high school websites also provided only information on things like their offerings, the requirements, and procedures for incoming college students. None provide information on the most popular places that high school students used to get information on their college options.