Our Graduate Employment survey is conducted annually with the most recent class of SAIT grads.
We conduct this survey to ensure our programs are relevant to industry and our graduates are finding success. We also want to help prospective students make informed decisions about their career paths.
2023 results
Consistent with the 2022 Graduate Employment study, almost all 2022/23 graduates (98%) were in the labour force (either employed or looking for work). Of these respondents, the majority (89%) were employed or had worked for three or more months before completing the survey.
More than eight in ten graduates (81%) secured training-related jobs, constituting a two percentage point decrease from 2022.
The following indicators have also experienced changes over the last year’s results:
- The annual median salary for full-time training-related employment has increased by $1,000 to $55,000.
- 87% of graduates in training-related jobs have found full-time employment, a decrease of three percentage points.
- The majority of graduates (93%) remained in the province for employment, an increase of three percentage points.
- 11% of graduates are pursuing further education, constituting a one-percentage-point decrease over last year.
More than nine in ten pre-employment graduates (92%) found employment between nine and twelve months following graduation. This constitutes a seven percentage point decrease from the previous year. Of those employed, 86% have secured jobs related to their fields of study, 95% found full-time employment, and 94% were working within Alberta.
2023 overall employment results by academic school
Survey response
| Academic school | Number of graduates | Number responding |
|---|---|---|
| School of Advanced Digital Technology | 1,006 | 605 |
| School of Business | 1,560 | 908 |
| School of Construction | 490 | 336 |
| MacPhail School of Energy | 383 | 236 |
| School of Health and Public Safety | 849 | 567 |
| School of Hospitality and Tourism | 347 | 209 |
| School of Manufacturing and Automation | 281 | 186 |
| School of Transportation | 334 | 202 |
| Overall | 5,250 | 3,249 |
Employment rates
| Academic school | In labour force | Employment rate | Total employed | Employed | Not employed | Pursuing education | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training related | Non-training related | Seeking employment | Not seeking employment | |||||
| School of Advanced Digital Technology | 585 | 75% | 436 | 273 | 163 | 149 | 20 | 47 |
| School of Business | 892 | 91% | 813 | 647 | 166 | 79 | 16 | 153 |
| School of Construction | 330 | 92% | 302 | 262 | 40 | 28 | 6 | 18 |
| MacPhail School of Energy | 230 | 87% | 201 | 172 | 29 | 29 | 6 | 19 |
| School of Health and Public Safety | 551 | 95% | 522 | 470 | 52 | 29 | 16 | 69 |
| School of Hospitality and Tourism | 205 | 97% | 199 | 181 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 14 |
| School of Manufacturing and Automation | 181 | 88% | 159 | 122 | 37 | 22 | 5 | 28 |
| School of Transportation | 197 | 91% | 180 | 155 | 25 | 17 | 5 | 10 |
| Overall | 3,171 | 89% | 2,812 | 2,282 | 530 | 359 | 78 | 358 |
Salary statistics
| Academic school | Mean annual salary | Median annual salary | Minimum annual salary | Maximum annual salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School of Advanced Digital Technology | $58,148 | $55,500 | $23,400 | $125,000 |
| School of Business | $57,871 | $53,000 | $24,000 | $250,000 |
| School of Construction | $60,627 | $60,000 | $33,000 | $118,250 |
| MacPhail School of Energy | $70,233 | $65,000 | $31,200 | $240,000 |
| School of Health and Public Safety | $59,064 | $57,000 | $23,400 | $149,000 |
| School of Hospitality and Tourism | $42,273 | $39,000 | $23,000 | $104,000 |
| School of Manufacturing and Automation | $69,749 | $62,000 | $30,000 | $230,000 |
| School of Transportation | $53,704 | $49,960 | $23,400 | $130,000 |
| Overall | $59,053 | $55,000 | $23,000 | $250,000 |
Additional statistics
| Employment pattern | |
| Employed | 89% |
| Not employed | 11% |
| Total employed | |
| Training related | 81% |
| Non-training related | 19% |
| Training-related employment | |
| Full-time employment | 87% |
| Part-time employment | 13% |
| Location of training-related employment | |
| Calgary | 79% |
| Within Alberta | 14% |
| Outside Alberta | 7% |
Results by academic school and program
MacPhail School of Energy resultsSurvey methodology
Purpose
The study was conducted to:
- Determine the extent to which graduates from SAIT programs find employment, the type of employment and the level of starting salaries.
- Assess the benefits and impact of participating in the Work Integrated Learning on future employment opportunities.
- Gauge the satisfaction levels with various aspects of the educational experience at SAIT.
Database
A list of 2022/23 graduates from SAIT programs was generated from Banner.
The graduate's name, information on program completed, contact information (telephone numbers and preferred email address) was provided.
Overall, the database included records on 5,477 graduates.
Timing and response rates
The survey was conducted between January 22 and May 6, 2024.
Responses were received from 3,249 credit program graduates (out of 5,250 credit graduate records), constituting a 62% response rate.
In addition, the survey was conducted with 135 pre-employment graduates (out of 227 pre-employment graduate records), resulting in a 59% response rate.
The margin of error overall is equal to +/- 1.04 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, with a finite population correction factor applied.
Conduct
To compile the 2023 employment statistics, SAIT retained the services of Insightrix Research, an independent market research company. Academic Chairs notified graduates to expect the survey prior to the survey launch.
The survey was conducted online and by phone. Results were collected online for the first two weeks of the study. After that, non-respondents were contacted via telephone and/or SMS to maximize the response rate.
Respondents contacted via SMS were sent a link to complete the survey online. The three modes were conducted simultaneously for the remainder of the study. Overall, 21% of responses were collected by phone and the remaining 79% were collected via online methods.
A total of 129,072 contacts were made to graduated students via phone calls (39,152), email (61,660), or SMS (28,260). The maximum number of call attempts was 27. Additionally, graduates were emailed a total of 16 times, including reminders, during the course of the study.
Analysis
The data were input into a database and analyzed. Survey results of those who responded to the survey were subsequently extrapolated to the entire population of graduates/completers.
Caution should be used when examining results by programs with fewer than 30 graduates. With smaller base sizes, the percentages may offer a distorted picture when one respondent represents more than 3% of the total respondent base.
Definitions used
- In labour force: graduates who are employed or unemployed but looking for work.
- Employed: graduates employed at the time of the survey, or had been employed prior to the survey for three or more months.
- Employment rate: the number of employed graduates as a percentage of all those graduates who responded to the survey and were in labour force.
- Training-related employment rate: the number of graduates employed in training-related jobs as a percentage of employed graduates.
- Full-time employment: 30 or more hours of work per week.
- Annualized salary: graduates were given a choice to provide salary information as annual or monthly income, daily or weekly earnings or hourly wages. If the response was provided in a unit other than the annual salary, the following calculations were used to derive respondents’ annualized salaries in full-time jobs.
- Hourly wage X (hours worked per week) X 52
- Daily wage X 5 (days a week) X 52
- Weekly salary X 52
- Bi-weekly salary X 26
- Monthly salary X 12
Last updated June 2024
Our Organization
Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.
SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.