The Post-Secondary Pathways

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What is a Post-Secondary Pathway?

A post-secondary pathway is an intentional and goal-oriented plan to continue your education or training after secondary school to help you become career ready. It is the next steps you take directly after secondary school to further your education. There are five possible pathways to follow - apprenticeship, college, community, university and work.

You will see references to your ‘initial post-secondary destination’ several times through this guide. That’s because it is very common for people to pursue more than one pathway over the course of their educational career, and for different pathways to naturally intersect as you work toward a particular career goal. You will learn more about the intersectionality of pathways later in this guide.

Overview of the Post-Secondary Pathways

Apprenticeship

The apprenticeship pathway invites students with a clear goal of entering a career in the skilled trades to ‘earn while they learn.’ The apprenticeship pathway typically takes students between three and five years to complete and can begin in high school with their participation in an Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) and/or a concentrated co-op program.

Learn More About Apprenticeship Pathway

To learn more about the Apprenticeship pathway, check out:

College

College programs provide an effective combination of real life skills with quality education. Consider college if you find success in hands-on/applied curriculum, if you enjoy smaller classes and the personal approach to instruction or if you are interested in developing technical and occupational skills required for your chosen career area. Colleges offer one year certificates, two to three year diploma programs and three to four year applied degrees.

Learn More About College Pathway

To learn more about the College pathway, check out:

Community

This post-secondary pathway is often followed by our Community Pathway Program (CPP) graduates. This pathway offers real-world work experience, volunteer experience and access to supportive college programs.

Learn More About Community Pathway

Learn more about the Community Pathway:

University

University offers students the opportunity to explore an academic area of interest in-depth with an emphasis on theory, research, analysis and some practical applications. There are specific careers that require a university education in order to pursue them.

Universities offer three to five year undergraduate or bachelor’s degree programs which students can enter directly from secondary school. Universities also offer professional and graduate degree programs that can be pursued upon completion of a bachelor’s degree.

Learn More About University Pathway

Learn more about Ontario’s Universities:

Work

Students can choose to go directly to the workforce to gain experiential learning, complete meaningful workplace training, develop transferable skills and save money. Choosing this post-secondary pathway can help you to gain valuable experience that can often help you to determine your career path.

Learn More About Work Pathway

Learn more about the work pathway

Remember that myBlueprint.ca/halton provides Canada-wide information on all of the post-secondary pathways! It’s a great place to start your research! View Exploring Post-Secondary Pathway Options for more information about the post-secondary pathways.