Rhode Island Job Outlook Bright for CCRI Grads
Despite the current state of the economy, the Rhode Island job outlook has potential for graduates of the Community College of Rhode Island.
Every year the college conducts a survey of its past graduates within six to nine months after graduation, according to an article by The Providence Journal. The most recent results proved that more than 40 percent of students had found jobs, but the current trend of the economy could weigh on the next graduating class.“It’s going to be a tough, tough year in fields outside of health care,” President Ray Di Pasquale said in the article.
Of the 1,320 2007 graduates, about 80 percent responded to the survey. Of those surveyed, 47 percent had found full-time jobs, down from 53 percent in 2006. About 29.4 percent are pursuing education full-time, while 6.5 percent were pursuing education part-time. Only 5.4 percent responded that they were unemployed and looking for work, up from 3.2 percent in 2006.
Many students are finding jobs in healthcare and education. Graduates with an associates degree in nursing had a full-time employment rate of 73.8 percent, with only 1.2 percent reporting they are looking for work. Graduates of the physical therapist program had a full–time employment rate of 85.7 percent, while respiratory therapists had an employment rate of 73.7 percent.
On the other hand, graduates from the liberal arts program had an employment rate of 19.6 percent, while 70.7 percent are continuing their education.
Many students from CCRI transfer to other schools, usually the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. In 2006, 1,006 students transfered as part of a joint admissions program that allows students to go from one school to the other without having to reapply, and makes students eligible for tuition reductions of 10 percent to 30 percent depending on their grade point average.
Most graduates choose to stay in Rhode Island, with 87.8 percent of 2007 graduates continuing their education in-state and 83 percent working in-state.
“We are a community college, and we want to keep people in Rhode Island . . . we want to make sure we’re training people in the skill sets that companies here are looking for,” Pasquale added. “We want to be a solution helping the state get through a difficult time,” he said.