Former International Students In STEM With Canadian Degrees Outperform Peers In Job Match

International students who become permanent residents are now a major part of the skilled workforce. A new joint study using the 2021 Census followed 260,730 immigrants who once held study permits and looked at how their field of study lines up with their jobs after immigration. For anyone choosing programs, NOC codes and PR strategy, the numbers are a clear signal: what and where you study strongly shapes how easily you move into qualifying skilled work.

What the data says about former students education paths

The study groups fields into STEM, health care, business and administration, and all other fields, and then looks at three education levels: below bachelor, bachelor, and above bachelor.

Across all landing cohorts and groups in the detailed table, total counts ranged from 61,800 to 590,250 individuals, depending on immigrant type and where the highest education was obtained. Within these groups:

• For former students who became permanent residents from 2016 to 2021 and obtained their highest education in the host country, about 39% studied STEM, 33% studied business and administration and under 5% were in health fields.
• By comparison, STEM shares were 35% for former students whose highest education was outside and 30% for immigrants who were not former students, while health shares were 11% and 12% for those two latter groups.
• Among former students with highest education in the host country, 41% had a credential above bachelor level (46,585 of 113,440), 29% had a bachelor, and 30% were below bachelor.
• Among former students whose highest education was outside, 59% had a bachelor and 28% had education above bachelor level.

Within these education levels, field choices shift:

• For former students with highest education in the host country and below bachelor level, about 26% were in STEM, 39% in business and 7% in health.
• At bachelor level, the STEM share rose to 34% and business fell to about 34%, with health around 3%.
• For those above bachelor, STEM reached 51%, business was about 28%, and health about 3 to 4%.

The full distribution tables show STEM shares across all combinations ranging roughly from 18.8% to 51.4%, business from 21.6% to 38.9%, health from 2.5% to 20.1%, and “other” fields from about 18.0% to 40.4%. These patterns matter for immigration because many economic programs and provincial streams explicitly target STEM and health backgrounds while business and general programs below bachelor level are more common at colleges but less tightly linked to specific high skill jobs.

Alignment between study and work – and why it matters for PR

The core question for immigration is simple: after becoming permanent residents, are former students actually working in occupations that match their field of study and sit in eligible TEER categories?

Across all former international students:

• In STEM fields, 43.0% worked in STEM occupations, with another 4.8% in STEM related roles.
• In health care fields, the field of study alignment rate was 56.7%.
• In business and administration, only 35.2% worked in related occupations (excluding low skill business jobs), and nearly 50% worked in other occupations, including 21% in low skill roles.
• Between 4.1% and 8.8% of graduates in the main fields did not work at all in 2020 or 2021.

By education level, alignment rates for former students were:

• STEM: 21.9% below bachelor, 39.6% at bachelor, 53.1% above bachelor.
• Business and administration: 19.3% below bachelor, 38.4% at bachelor, 44.6% above bachelor.
• Health: 53.8% below bachelor, 62.1% at bachelor, 51.6% above bachelor.

At the same time, shares in low skill TEER 4 and 5 occupations among former students ranged from about 10.5% to 31.0%, depending on field and level, and were highest for business below bachelor level (30.9% to 31.0%). For immigration purposes, that means a substantial portion of graduates, especially from sub bachelor business programs, are not in TEER 0 to 3 jobs that count as skilled experience.

Within STEM subfields:

• Overall alignment rates were 47.3% for engineering and engineering technology, 47.9% for mathematics and computer and information science, and 23.9% to 24% for science and science technology.
• Science graduates were more likely to work in health occupations (8%), in other high skill jobs (20%, including 12% in education services), and in low skill roles (14%, including about 8% in sales and service).

Compared with other immigrants who were not former students:

• Overall STEM alignment for former students was 43.0%, versus 30.1% for other immigrants and 31.9% for Canadian born graduates.
• Health alignment for former students was 56.7%, versus 56.0% for other immigrants and 65.8% for Canadian born graduates.
• Business alignment for former students was 35.2%, compared with 25.2% for other immigrants and 44.8% for Canadian born graduates.

Where the highest education was obtained makes a big difference:

• In STEM at all levels, former students with highest education in the host country had alignment of 47.9%, compared with 31.7% for those whose highest education was outside and 30.1% for immigrants without study experience.
• For health, alignment among former students with highest education in the host country was 57.5%, compared with 49.3% for those whose highest education was outside.
• For business, alignment among former students with highest education in the host country was 37.6%, compared with 29.0% for those whose highest education was outside and 25.2% for other immigrants.

At specific levels:

• In STEM at bachelor level, alignment for former students with highest education in the host country was 46%, compared with 33% for those whose highest level was abroad and 31% for other immigrants.
• For STEM above bachelor level, alignment was 57% for former students with highest education in the host country, 34% for those with foreign programs, and 40% for other immigrants.
• In health at bachelor level, alignment was 66% for former students with highest education in the host country and 80% for Canadian born.
• In business at bachelor level, alignment was 45% for former students with highest education in the host country and 54% for Canadian born; above bachelor, 48% versus 61%; below bachelor, 20% versus 34%.

Overall, former students were also less likely not to work at all: non employment rates of 5% to 8% among former students were roughly one third to half those of immigrants without study experience.

From an immigration consulting point of view, this evidence suggests:

• Completing the highest credential in the host country, especially in STEM at or above bachelor level, substantially improves the chances of landing in a truly related, skilled occupation that can support permanent residence.
• Health programs can lead to strong alignment, but former students still face more barriers than Canadian born graduates at bachelor level and above.
• Business and administration programs, especially below bachelor level at colleges, are the weakest choice for alignment: low field match (19% to 38%) and high low skill employment (up to 31%), which often does not qualify under economic immigration.

In practice, many applicants who combine a domestic STEM or health credential, at least at bachelor level, with post graduation experience in a matching TEER 0 to 3 job are in a stronger position for skilled worker pathways and provincial nomination, while business diploma graduates often need extra time or a change of role to build qualifying experience.

Using these findings to plan study, work and PR strategy

For current or future students planning both education and immigration, the data points toward several practical strategies:

• Prioritize fields with higher alignment
• STEM, particularly engineering and computer related programs
• Health programs with clear regulated occupations
• Aim for at least bachelor level, and if possible above bachelor level, especially in STEM and business
• Wherever possible, complete the highest credential in the host country, not only a short add on program
• Target roles that clearly sit in TEER 0 to 3 after graduation, and avoid staying long term in TEER 4 to 5 roles, which remain common for business and sub bachelor pathways

These alignment challenges are being felt directly by many former students who expected a smooth transition from study permits and postgraduate work permits into permanent residence, but now find themselves in unrelated or low skill jobs despite significant tuition and effort. Difficulty choosing the right program, uncertainty around NOC codes and TEER levels, and pressure to secure any job for status rather than a strategic role all add to the stress. Our immigration consultant team can help interpret this kind of labour market evidence for your specific field, map your study and work choices to the right economic immigration programs, and support you in preparing, advising and representation the immigration applications from immigration consultant.