Study: Language used at work by graduates of English, French or bilingual postsecondary institutions

Released: 2022-04-05

According to a new study, The language of the postsecondary institution that graduates attended may be associated with the language they then use in the workplace.

In Quebec, postsecondary graduates who attended an English-language institution are more likely to use English in the workplace following their studies. This trend is particularly pronounced among graduates with an "other" mother tongue, i.e., a language other than English or French.

In the rest of Canada, postsecondary graduates who attended a French-language institution are more likely to use French in the workplace following their studies. This propensity varies by workplace location.

These findings come from a study entitled "Language used at work by graduates of English, French or bilingual postsecondary institutions," which was published today.

This study uses data from the 2016 Census of Population and the Postsecondary Student Information System. It examines the relationship between the language of instruction at the postsecondary institution attended by graduates and the language used predominantly at work after graduation.

In Quebec, the association between the language of instruction of the postsecondary institution and the use of English at work is more pronounced among graduates whose mother tongue is neither English nor French

In 2016, in Quebec, graduates of an English-language institution were more likely than graduates of a French-language or bilingual institution to predominantly use English at work after graduation. For example, nearly half (48%) of graduates of an English-language institution who were working in Quebec used English predominantly at work, compared with 4% of those whose most recent degree was from a French-language institution. However, this association varied according to the mother tongue of graduates.

About one-quarter (23%) of graduates with a French mother tongue used English primarily at work when their most recent degree was from an English-language institution. This proportion was lower when the most recent degree was from a bilingual (9%) or a French-language (4%) institution.

In comparison, about half (46%) of other-mother-tongue graduates primarily used English at work when they had studied at an English-language institution, compared with 7% of those who completed their studies at a French-language institution.

Finally, a majority (65%) of graduates whose mother tongue was English used English at work when their degree came from an English-language educational institution. Use of English was lower when the graduates had attended a French-language institution (26%).

In Quebec, other factors, notably workplace location, were associated with the predominant use of English at work by graduates. In particular, graduates working on Montréal Island and in Gatineau were more likely to use predominantly English at work.

The field of postsecondary education, the level of education of the diploma or degree, the province of graduation, and the category of worker (employed or self-employed) were other factors related to the language used at work by graduates.

However, even after controlling for these factors, the language and workplace of the postsecondary institution and workplace remained strongly associated with the likelihood of using English predominantly at work.

Chart 1 
Proportion of graduates who used English predominantly at work, by mother tongue and language of instruction of the postsecondary institution where the most recent degree was earned, Quebec only, 2016

The language of instruction of the institution chosen by postsecondary graduates is strongly associated with mother tongue

Although in Quebec, attending an English-language institution is associated with the use of English as the main language at work, a minority of graduates with French or another language as their mother tongue attend English-language institutions.

In 2016, in Quebec, 93% of French-mother-tongue graduates had earned their most recent degree from a French-language institution, compared with 3% who earned it from a bilingual institution and 5% who earned it from an English-language institution. Graduates with an "other" mother tongue were also more likely to have graduated from a French-language institution (61%) than from an English-language institution (33%), but to a lesser extent. Lastly, the majority (82%) of graduates whose mother tongue was English had earned their most recent degree from an English-language institution.

In Canada outside Quebec, there is a link between the language of instruction of the postsecondary institution and the use of French at work

In Canada outside Quebec, the vast majority of postsecondary graduates earn their degree from an English-language institution and go on to use predominantly English at work.

The majority (88%) of graduates whose mother tongue was English or another language had earned their most recent degree from an English-language institution, and less than 1% had earned it from a French-language institution. Also, more than half (58%) of French-mother-tongue graduates had earned their most recent degree from an English (35%) or bilingual (23%) educational institution.

In this context, the study instead examined, in Canada outside Quebec, the extent to which graduates of French-language institutions tended to use French at work after graduation. This question is of interest since many of these graduates work in regions and environments where French is a minority language.

The results show that in general, the predominant use of French at work was related to the language of postsecondary education. For example, the proportion of graduates with French as their mother tongue who used French predominantly at work was more than three times higher when their most recent degree was from a French-language institution (48%) than when it was from an English-language institution (14%).

Moreover, 20% of graduates whose mother tongue was English or another language used French predominantly at work when they had earned their most recent degree from a French-language institution, compared with 1% when the degree came from an English-language institution and 2% when it came from a bilingual institution.

Chart 2 
Proportion of graduates who used French predominantly at work, by mother tongue and language of instruction of the postsecondary institution where the most recent degree was earned, Canada outside Quebec, 2016

In Canada outside Quebec, graduates working in New Brunswick or in educational services are more likely to work in French

In Canada outside Quebec, the province or territory of work of graduates of French-language or bilingual institutions was strongly associated with the likelihood to use French at work. For example, graduates used French at work more in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

In New Brunswick, the proportion of graduates of French-language or bilingual institutions who could conduct a conversation in French, and who worked primarily in French, was 71% among graduates with French as their mother tongue and 44% among those with an English or another mother tongue.

A significant proportion of graduates of French-language or bilingual institutions whose mother tongue was French were also working primarily in French in Saskatchewan (53%) and Manitoba (50%). In contrast, Alberta (22%) and British Columbia (26%) had the lowest proportions.

In Canada outside Quebec, graduates who could conduct a conversation in French, and who worked in the educational services sector, were also more likely to work in French.

Information from the 2021 Census of Population and the 2022 Survey on the Official Language Minority Population will help to provide a more up-to-date picture of the different language profiles in Canada. It will also shed more light on the education continuum, from the preschool to the postsecondary level, and up to the labour market.

Products

The article entitled "Language used at work by graduates of English, French or bilingual postsecondary institutions" is now available in Insights on Canadian Society (Catalogue number75-006-X).

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).