Similarly, we have experienced a 93% participation rate in our communities and an increase in participation in post-secondary school, which has risen from 20% to 80%.
Beyond the performance of these students, the Boston Consulting Group has taken an analysis of our program. They concluded that for every dollar invested in it, a minimum of $25 was returned back to society in reduced social assistance costs and increased tax revenues. They calculated that the program would have a $400,000 cumulative lifetime value to each graduate--in other words, a 9.4% internal rate of return. So the $20 million being proposed under this act would in fact lead to a $500 million return to Canadians in the future.
This investment will enable Pathways to Education to expand its program from being a regional program to being a national one, helping us expand to fifteen to twenty locations, to seven to eight provinces, and serving over 10,000 students.
Thank you for considering this.