Canada’s Talent Advantage: PhD graduates in increasing demand from industry

Photo by Matthew Volpe

The University of Toronto is Canada’s primary engine of advanced talent creation.

With approximately 1,000 PhD graduates every year, U of T trains one in seven of the country’s doctoral degree holders. These graduates power the country’s research and teaching enterprise. A growing share of the university’s PhD alumni are working in the private sector, in industries such as life sciences, artificial intelligence, fintech and computing, according to a new analysis of their career outcomes completed by the university’s School of Graduate Studies. The highly qualified personnel (HQP) graduating from U of T play an important role in solving the country’s economic challenges.

This report identifies the industries in which U of T’s PhD graduates are working, and summarizes the career outcomes of 16,014 PhD students who graduated between 2000 and 2021. The analysis finds that graduates’ skills are in high demand in knowledge-intensive economic sectors. It adds to evidence that Canadian companies are increasingly leveraging the advanced skills and competencies of PhD grads to drive economic success. Investment in talent with specialized knowledge is a critical element in raising productivity, as noted in Canada’s 2017 Fundamental Science Review. Indeed, with almost 43 per cent of all science and technology graduates now working in the private sector, the career outcomes of PhD grads in Canada are comparable of those of peers in the United States, where 47 per cent work in industry.

Read more by downloading the report: Canada’s Talent Advantage: PhD graduates in increasing demand from industry (PDF)