They are all very good programs; we're rather excited about them because they are innovative and they do contribute to the economy in both the short term and the long term, we believe.
The off-campus work program has been very well received. Last year we had over 11,000 post-secondary students take advantage of it. It's a great program. It helps the students earn some money to help pay their way, but more importantly it provides two things. One is that it gives them Canadian work experience. It lets them learn about Canadian work ethics and how to find a job in Canada, because it's often different in the countries they come from. It gives them references. It lets them learn how to adapt to Canada.
That's really good for them; it's good for us as well, because in the long term, when they go to graduate--and I know this from some work I did a few years ago with the evaluation of the post-secondary system in Ontario--80% of university and college students want to stay in the town where they graduated. So if we can encourage these students to stay through the Canadian experience class, we're getting people who have already become familiar with and created ties to that community but who have also learned how to work in Canada. They have the experience. They're much more likely to get a job there. Then we get the benefit of these newcomers, which we need. It's a terrific program.
I'm glad to see that the pilot projects are going along well in terms of extending it to private institutions. I'll be interested to see the results of those programs. Over the long term, as we fully launch the Canadian experience class, we're going to see the country and employers and newcomers benefit from temporary foreign workers being allowed, for the first time, to apply for permanent residence from within this country. We're not going to give them all that experience, get them trained and get them used to living here, and then send them back home to wait for three to five years; we're going to keep them here with the skills.
The employers are investing in them now, people get to stay, and it's good for everybody.