EMSI/CCbenefits study demonstrates benefits of B.C. colleges
VICTORIA, Sept. 19 /CNW/ - The B.C. economy creates $7.7 billion in income each year due to BC colleges and their past students, an amount that equals over four per cent of the provincial economy.
A government-sponsored study conducted for BC colleges by CCbenefits Inc. reported these findings today in the largest analysis of its kind in British Columbia.
The analysis of 13 colleges and institutes located in more than 50 campuses throughout BC concludes that BC colleges and institutes are engines of economic growth for the province, returning 14 per cent on taxpayers’ investments in the colleges.
“This study confirms the importance of BC colleges and institutes in contributing to a skilled workforce and to the vitality of both the local and provincial economies,” said Jim Reed, President of the BC College Presidents.
“The results show that rural colleges as well as urban colleges contribute a significant financial return to governments, students and communities,” said Lou Dryden, Chair of the BC College Presidents and president of North Island College in Campbell River.
CCbenefits Inc. reports a benefit/cost ratio of 3.8, meaning that every dollar of taxpayer money invested in BC colleges returns $3.80 to the provincial and local governments.
