Find programs and schools

Explore careers

What people do for a living is a big part of who they are, and when people love their work, it shows: they are satisfied, confident and motivated. What is the first stop on the way to that dream career? Start by listing what jobs you like to do and what you can expect to be paid to do them.

Job Bank's Explore Occupation tool lets you check out hundreds of possible jobs and careers in Canada. Knowing what a job is all about is one of the first steps to narrowing down your choices of future careers.

Explore education and training needed

Do you have a career goal in sight? It is time to figure out what education you need to get you there.

• Get your high-school diploma or GED
  If you did not finish high school but want to go on to post-secondary education, you can explore adult learning options or see if taking a high school equivalency program can help you reach your goals

• Get a Prior Learning Assessment
  Skills you have learned at work might also count for an equivalency in a post-secondary educational training or learning program through Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

• Explore the labour market
  Job Bank's Explore the market by education program tool describes lines of work and what education you need to do them. It also gives you a list of schools across Canada that offers the program or training

• Explore careers based by education level
  Searching this way can tell you what occupations you could apply for with the schooling you have now, or what careers you could strive for if you went back to school. The National Occupational Classification (NOC) System can lead you to those answers. The NOC is a 4-digit job classification system used by many agencies and employers to classify all jobs in Canada

Choose a program and school

Here are some things to think about when choosing a school:

• course content
• programs that are available
• prerequisites needed
• size of the school
• location of the school
• cost;
• distance from home
• housing
• sports
• student life, and
• scholarships and financial assistance

With that in mind, there are a number of online tools available to help you:

• CEGEPs, colleges and universities search tool
  Explore post-secondary education options in Canada. Browse detailed information about Canadian CEGEPs, colleges and universities to find the school that best matches your needs

• Program search tool
  Provides detailed information for programs of study at Canadian schools

• Master designation List
  The Master Designation List is a regularly updated list that contains all the educational institutions where students are eligible to receive Canada Student Loans. You may also use the funds from your Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) at schools which are designated by the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program

• Master certification List
  Provides current information on certified schools across Canada where a student may use the funds from their RESP to help cover the costs of their education. Certification of an educational institution also allows students 16 years of age or older to qualify for tuition and education tax and credits