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Program Review

Computer Systems Technician (CSTN) MTCU Code 50505 (Ontario College Diploma)

June 2010

Table of Contents Table  of  Contents   1.0  Competitive  Landscape     1.1  Programming     1.2  Competitive  Summary       1.3  Catchment  Drain     1.4  Georgian’s  Intake  from  Other  Catchment  Areas   2.0  Employment  Profile  and  Prospects     2.1  Employment  Outcomes  (Six-­‐Month  Graduate)     2.2  Earnings  (Six-­‐Month  Graduate,  Full-­‐Time  Positions)     2.3  The  Current  Labour  Market     2.4  Industry  Outlook   3.0  Key  Performance  Indicators  (KPIs)     Computer  Service  Technician  –  CSTN  (Co-­‐op)       4.0  Program  Costing   5.0  Curriculum  Proposal   6.0  Promotional  Plan  (Marketing)   Appendix  

2   3   3   3   8   8   9   9   9   10   11   13   13   15   16   17   18  

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1.0 Competitive Landscape – the Ontario CAATs 1.1 Programming The Computer Systems Technician college diploma program is offered at 9 Ontario English Colleges, including Georgian College and 1 Ontario French speaking College, La Cite Collegiale. These CAAT programs were selected to complete a competitive analysis.

Georgian’s Computer Systems Technician program (CSTN) is offered at the Barrie campus. There are currently, roughly 125 MTCU-registered private career college programs / courses in Ontario related to Computer Service Technicians. These institutions are found throughout and the province and include: Academy of Learning Career & Business College; Everest College of Business, Technology, & Health Care; Toronto Business College; Trillium College; and Willis College of Business, Health, & Technology, amongst others. Tuition for these private colleges ranges between $2,480 and $10,000.

1.2 Competitive Summary All Colleges Combined From 2002 to 2006, applications across the province were in decline for the Computer Service Technician program. The same was true for enrolment, confirmations and registration. However, numbers have been increasing for three consecutive years. From 2006 to 2009 there was nearly a 50% increase in applications.

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The recent college-wide application increase can be mainly attributed to the three colleges: Algonquin, Mohawk and George Brown, although most experienced some kind of increase in 2009.

From 2005 to 2009, there had been a fairly steady increase in applications for this program at Georgian. In fact there has been a 131% increase in applications over this time period.

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Registration Over the past eight years Mohawk has experienced the most dramatic decrease in registrations, although more recently figures have been more positive. Since 2004, Algonquin has had the most registrants in the Computer Service Technician program. In 2009, Georgian had the third most registrants for this program, despite having the least in 2002.

The past three years have been the most successful in terms of registrant numbers for the CSTN program at Georgian. From 2006 to 2009 there has been a 183% increase in

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registrants. The following graph displays the frequency of registrants between 2002 and 2009 in Georgian’s CSTN program.

Market Share (Enrolment) The following pie chart displays the market share of students CSTN programs at Ontario Colleges in 2009. Market share is based on enrollment statistics and account for the frequency of all years of a program.

In 2009, Algonquin held a third of enrolment numbers, and Georgian and Mohawk each hold 13% of this market.

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Registration to Application Ratio The graph below displays the application-registration ratio for Georgian’s CSTN program. The program ratio peaked in 2008 with 41% of applicants becoming registrants. Since 2005 this ratio has not dipped below 25%.

Applicant Types (Direct, Non-Direct) by Application and Registration Data Applicants and Registrants numbers can be further broken down by applicant types (Direct applicants from high school or Non-Direct applicants). The following table shows the proportion of direct applicants and registrants for the Computer Service Technician program at Georgian. Over the past 8 years, Georgian has had more non-direct applicants and registrants than direct. In the past 3 years there have been far more non-direct registrants than direct.

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1.3 Catchment Drain Between the years 2002 and 2009, there were 66 first year registrants from Georgian’s catchment area enrolled in Computer Systems Technician programs at other CAAT institutions. During the same time period, 284 Georgian catchment first year registrants attended Georgian College. The drain from our catchment area has been decreasing in proportion since 2002, where 58% of Computer Systems Technician students were leaving the catchment, in 2009 only 8% went to another college. Over this timeframe more than half of first year registrants leaving our catchment have registered at: Canadore (21) and Fanshawe (13). Other colleges include: Algonquin (8) and Mohawk (8).

1.4 Georgian’s Intake from Other Catchment Areas Between the years 2002 and 2009, there were 65 first year registrants from Georgian’s catchment area enrolled in CSTN – Computer Systems Technician. During the same time period, there were 65 first year registrants (which represents roughly 19% of first year registrants) from outside Georgian’s catchment area enrolled in the Computer Systems Technician program. Seneca is the catchment that has provided the highest number of first year registrants into this program with 28.

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2.0 Employment Profile and Prospects 2.1 Employment Outcomes (Six-Month Graduate) The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, in a document titled Employment Profile, reports the employment outcomes for graduates of the various college programs six months from their graduation dates. Note that the Employment Profile report reflects the employment outcomes of only those who respond to the Ministry’s survey. It is important to note that the category labeled “Unemployed/Not in Labour Force” does not necessarily mean that graduates are unable to find any type of job. Graduates who have gone on to pursue other types of educational programs are counted within this category. The Ministry is currently moving to include a category to reflect the numbers pursuing additional education after graduation in future reports. In the Employment Profile, graduates of the Computer Service Technician program experience moderate program-related employment. Between 2003 and 2008, 35% to 50% of graduates from this program obtained full-time employment in a related field.

2.2 Earnings (Six-Month Graduate, Full-Time Positions) The average annual salary of graduates from the Computer Service Technician program was $37,210 for full-time employment in their field or related field in 2007/2008. Displayed in the graph below are full-time earnings of graduates within this program. The graph displays a gradual increase in salary over the five year span.

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Federal and Provincial labour market reports place this profession in a category titled Computer Network Technician – NOC 2281. Nationally, the average wages for workers in this occupation are above the average wage for all occupations combined. Nationally, established workers in this category tend to earn an average wage of $22.94 per hour (versus $18.07 for all occupations). This would translate to approximately $45,880. Provincially, data from the Ontario Job Futures website places workers in this occupation slightly above the provincial average annual wage for all occupations combined: $58,165 for Computer and Network Operators and Web Technicians versus $56,033 for all occupations; note, however, that the available provincial data for this NOC dates back to 2005. At the local level, 2009 data is available for this NOC; the average wage was $24.40 per hour (which translates to approximately $48,800 annual salary), ranging from a low of $16.00 per hour to a high of $35.15 per hour.

2.3 The Current Labour Market As identified by Service Canada, Computer Network Technicians perform some or all of the following duties: • •

“Conduct tests and perform security and quality controls Control and monitor e-mail use, Web navigation, and installed softwares

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• • • • • • • • • •

Perform shell scripting or other basic scripting tasks May supervise other workers in this group Maintain, troubleshoot and administer the use of local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), mainframe networks, computer workstations, connections to the Internet and peripheral equipment Evaluate and install computer hardware, networking software, operating system software and software applications Operate master consoles to monitor the performance of computer systems and networks and to co-ordinate access and use of computer networks Provide problem-solving services to network users Install, maintain, troubleshoot and upgrade Web-server hardware and software Implement network traffic and security monitoring software, and optimize server performance Perform routine network start up and close down and maintain control records Perform data backups and disaster recovery operations”.1

The following employment requirements must be met in order to work in this field: • • •

“Completion of a college or other program in computer science, network administration, Web technology or a related field is usually required. Certification or training provided by software vendors may be required by some employers. Most recent entrants have a community college diploma”.2

This occupation is heavily populated by male workers (71%), and 94% work full time as opposed to part time (6%).

2.4 Industry Outlook In Canada, the employment prospect up to 2009 (and prior to the economic slowdown) for Computer Service Technician is rated as ‘fair’ by Job Futures. This rating was based on the following points: •

• •

“Enrolment in the fields of study related to this occupation has increased considerably. This will likely result in a very significant number of graduates over the next few years and could lead to a decrease in employment opportunities. The employment growth rate will likely be about average The retirement rate will likely be below average, and the number of retiring workers should not contribute significantly to job openings. The number of job seekers will likely exceed the number of job openings”.3

In Ontario, the prospect for the years leading up to 2009 (and prior to the economic slowdown) for this profession was rated at ‘average’. Ontario Futures reports that: 1

http://www.jobfutures.ca/noc/print/1431.html Ibid 3 Ibid 2

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“Opportunities for employment in this occupation are expected to be average over the period from 2009 to 2013. Most medium and large workplaces have computer network and websites leading to a large number of potential employers. However, information technology is maturing and becoming more standardized allowing businesses to manage their networks and websites more efficiently. Although the demand for information technology will create new opportunities, the supply of new graduates should meet industry needs. Workers in this field are expected to perform a variety of functions not typically covered by a single work description. Experienced computer and network operators and web technicians, who keep upto-date with new and changing technologies, will face the best prospects in securing employment in this field. Certification may be required by some employers. Co-op courses and internships can provide the industry and business knowledge and experience that employers want. According to a recent study by the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), employers are most in need of workers needs with a combination of technical, business and interpersonal skills, including: • core technical skills; • experience with specific applications and platforms; • experience with specific business processes to which ICT is a solution; • communications skills; and • team work skills”.4 Employer placements in 2008 occurred in Borden, Toronto, and London. This cohort graduated with an average entry-level salary of $33,000. The CO-OP department reports field placements with: • • • •

Bank of Montreal Department of National Defense IBM Canada Teletech

CSTN Term

# of students enrolled in CO-OP

# of students Actively Seeking Placements

# of students in Secured Placements

% of students at Work

Summer 2009 Fall 2009 Winter 2010

33 18 55

21 12 44

21 11 44

100 92 100

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http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/ojf/pdf/1431_e.pdf

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3.0 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): CSTN Student Academic Delivery

Student Facility and Resources

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Graduate Satisfaction

Employment Rate

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4.0 Program Costing Enter program costing here including space utilization.

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5.0 Curriculum Proposal Enter curriculum proposal here.

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6.0 Promotional Plan (Marketing) Enter Key Messages, Objective, Strategies, and Target Audiences. Timeline and Tools and Tactics entered on critical path (next page)    

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Appendix 1: Promotional Plan’s Critical Path Chart CRITICAL PATH (e.g., outlines, individually, tools and tactics, target audience, who will undertake the project, cost of project, and specific dates and times for roll-out.)   TOOL AND TACTIC

TARGET AUDIENCE

RESPONSIBILITY

COST

TIMELINE

Print advertising in local catchment area newspapers Posting on community event calendar (towns and regions in catchment area) Feature stories under Georgian College News and Events site Posters, handouts and flyers and/or flyer wraps News release to newspaper in catchment areas and targeted media list Memorandums and letters Information sessions at schools and community halls in rural catchment areas Road sign outside Georgian College campuses in rural catchment areas Google AdWords (see page 9 for details on campaign proposal) Rotating banner ads on Georgian College website Social networking (RSS feeds, “share this story” widget, “find us on Facebook”)

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Landing page that incorporates interactive elements such as slide shows, testimonials, pictures etc. Direct mail campaign through Canada Post “Day in the Life” workshops Focus groups with internal staff, faculty member, current students and alumni

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