Bachelor of Commerce (Digital Marketing) - Postsecondary ...

University (7%), and Western University (6%). Part‐time enrollment of college graduates is highest at
Ryerson (34%) and York (11%) Universities. 5
Interestingly, 19% of those who graduated from a college in Business Administration (3‐year), 21% in
Business Administration‐ Accounting (3‐year), and 15% in Business Administration ‐ Human Resources
(3‐year) enrolled in university within six months of graduation (2006‐2007). 6 Looking at the data from
another point of view but with similar results, 20% of students in the program area of
Commerce/Business/Administration in university were college graduates, the highest proportion of any
program in university. 7
The Demand Side of the Equation: Labour Market Trends in Southwestern Ontario
According to the landmark 2009 report Ontario in the Creative Age, Ontario’s capacity to compete and
prosper in a period of global economic transformation will depend on its ability to harness the creative
talents of its people, and enable innovation and economic growth in the businesses and industries of the
future. The report describes the shift from a routine‐oriented economy that relies on physical skills and
repetitive tasks, to a creativity‐oriented economy that values creativity, analytical and social intelligence
skills. The shift is evident in the trend away from goods‐producing to service industries – with nearly
80% of the Ontario workforce now employed in service occupations in financial institutions, retail, law
firms, schools, and hospitals – and in the emergence of an urban mega‐region stretching from Windsor
to Ottawa.
In the centre of this urban mega‐region, London is a mid‐sized city situated midway between Detroit and
Toronto. As Canada’s tenth largest market area, London also serves as a regional hub for urban and rural
surrounding communities in Southwestern Ontario. With a population of over 464,000, the London CMA
represents about one‐third of the total population of Southwestern Ontario.
Although manufacturing continues to be the dominant sector in the regional economy, the region has
experienced a long‐term shift away from manufacturing to a service‐based economy, in the face of a
reduction in export competitiveness caused by the rising Canadian dollar, intensified competition from
Asian imports, the downturn in the US economy, and overdependence on the auto sector. More
recently, the city is slowly recovering from the devastating shock of the 2009 global recession, which
saw a 15.2% decline in manufacturing output and a 4.6% decline in construction output, with
corresponding impacts on service sector industries such as transportation and warehousing (6.7%
decline) and wholesale and retail trade (6.9% decline). 8
5 Ibid., p.8.
6 Ibid., p.9
7 Ibid.
8 Conference Board of Canada, 2011. Economic Insights into 27 Canadian Metropolitan Economies. Ottawa:
Conference Board of Canada.
LKSB Degree Program Feasibility Study • 2011
8