Education graduates might have to look for alternatives in the fall

LETHBRIDGE -- The promise of a better life through obtaining an education, working hard, and eventually getting a good job might be at a bit of a standstill for education students about to graduate from university in southern Alberta.

“It’s not looking great, to be completely blunt,” said Ben Beland, who will graduate from the University of Lethbridge’s education program in the fall.

Numerous employers made their way to the University of Lethbridge’s job fair to show prospective students what is out there. The job market for teachers might not look overly promising after the UCP provincial government announced it would be freezing K-12 education funding at  $8.2 billion.

“(You) get a lot of 'we’re looking for substitutes', or 'can you can start as an E.A?' (education assistant) with all the cuts,” said Kendra Nadeau, who also graduates from U of L’s education program in the spring.

“We see Calgary Catholic and the CBE getting these massive cuts of  $30 million and Lethbridge area one million dollars and everything like that, so it is hard to see how there will be jobs,” added Beland.

The future for soon-to-be university education graduates might look a little dark at the moment, but there are opportunities within the province, since not all schools rely on provincial funding.

“We’re a federal school, and we're consistently recruiting teachers for our K-9 school,” said Amber Hester, the assistant superintendent of human resources at Bigstone Education Authority.

Federal schools like Oski Pasikoniwew Kamik ( Bigstone Community School) under Bigstone Education Authority don’t depend on provincial dollars. The school is situated in Wabasca, approximately 300 kilometres north of Edmonton. The location may not be Calgary, Edmonton or Lethbridge, where a good chunk of teachers obtain their degrees but it could be an opportunity for recent grads to put their expensive piece of parchment to good use.

“We're trying to recruit different teachers to come up to Bigstone Education Authority which is up near Wabasca,” said Hester.

Another option is Kids U, a childhood education program for kids zero to six-years-old, operating out of Calgary.          

 “We are a viable option right now," said Celeste Mcilhargey an organizer for Kids U. "The other boards might not be hiring but we absolutely are."