Study shows majority of post-secondary grads from New Brunswick stay here

For many years, the perception was that New Brunswick was losing many of its young, educated citizens after they graduated from post-secondary education.

But the author of a recent report on college and university retention in the province says that's now a misconception.

Ted McDonald, the director of the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training, said the majority of graduates are staying in the province.

In fact, McDonald said almost 90 per cent of New Brunswickers who study in the province are still here within a year of graduation.

McDonald believed that place matters, but he was surprised at how much it matters.

That compares with 30 per cent for out-of-province graduates, and 34 per cent for out-of-country graduates.

As the report states, "New Brunswick invests substantially in educating post-secondary students. When qualified graduates leave the province, much of that investment is lost, as they take their human capital (and potential earnings) with them when they relocate."

Understanding who's staying can help the government develop policies to encourage graduates to stay, McDonald told Information Morning Saint John.

In fact, he said it was an inquiry from the province about that very thing that provided the impetus for the research.

McDonald said there was also "a fair bit of variation" by program.

"This is probably good news for New Brunswick that nursing and allied health services have the higher retention rates and they've actually increased over the last couple of years."

But fields like engineering and IT specialists have lower retention rates.

Grass not necessarily greener

Anecdotally, McDonald said the impression has always been that a lot of graduates "go off to greener pastures in other provinces."

"And so I think the biggest surprise we found when we did this project is that where you're from when you enrol in those universities or community colleges matters a lot."

Almost 90 per cent of those who are from New Brunswick, are still here a year after graduation.

"That kind of flies in the face of that kind of conventional wisdom that we're just not keeping our young people after they graduate."

The study didn't, however, look at the reasons they stayed. Researchers didn't talk to students, they simply used administrative data to follow where the students went after graduation.

Opportunity, family, community

Sean McCullum believes there are three main reasons at play.

"Contrary to a certain self-defeating belief among New Brunswickers, there's a tonne of opportunity here, especially for recent grads," said McCullum, who grew up in Quispamsis and graduated from St. Thomas University in 2016.

A second consideration is being able to remain close to family, said McCullum.

And the third motivation "is something that happens at universities, specifically small universities," he said.

"As a graduate of St. Thomas University, it was a small school, very tight knit … So those are really strong connections. So one of the reasons absolutely that I stay in the province, aside from the opportunities, the family I have … is that community of people that I've met and grown to know in the area."

McDonald hopes to continue the study and look at how many graduates are still in New Brunswick over a longer period of time.

He wonders if there is "a critical mass that if we can keep you long enough, and you've invested in the place, you bought the house, your kids are in school that you're more likely to stay for the long term."

Understanding who's staying and why will help the province better target policies to keep those with "the skills necessary to keep our province going into the future."

The same approach could also help retain graduates from other parts of Canada and abroad.

"Are we training enough people in the fields that we need and are we able to keep them? And so it ties into this much bigger picture about provincial renewal," said McDonald.