Hi,
Honestly it means... that most Canadians either pursue lower level trade certificates/diplomas OR practical career oriented diplomas in recognized Canadian colleges or directly pursue Bachelors or higher education in universities. rarely...do Canadians actually pursue these PG certificate course in Canadian colleges (especially these Ontario colleges and some other like the B.C colleges of NIC & Northern lights where they have recently started post degree diplomas in Business to attract international students) which are run keeping international students in mind. There are very few PG certificate/diploma colleges programs..which Canadians actually pursue. This trend started, when colleges found international students, are either overqualified for practical trades/diploma programs or underqualified for Master degrees/ higher education in good public universities..and thus to fill the gap, most probably such college programs started. These programs are heavily promoted by the educational consultants/agents in countries like India, where they get a lump-sum commission to send every student to these kind of PG programs. That being said... there is no set rule either, that an international student is bound to fail/i.e not get skilled professional job after these PG certificates/diplomas (although there r few programs which are quiet good).. .as in really, at the end...it all depends on individual capabilities and circumstances, skills, academic performance, networking abilities & communication skills etc... it's just that... pursuing trades/ practical diplomas/Master's (from good public universities) increases the odds of getting a skilled job substantially....
Only a 3 years PGWP, gives you TIME... i.e extra time to pursue immigration... nothing else. 3 years PGWP doesn't mean guaranteed PR. If tomorrow rules change or easy immigration policies like that of Saskatchewan shut down, majority of desi students who pursue these kind of quick entry PG certificate programs (especially business field programs) will be in limbo, when they will either have to find a skilled job or pay huge sums to not so trustworthy agents, in hope they help them get skilled jobs that may assist in overall immigration process. I'm sorry to be brutally honest..but even though today we have easier immigration polices such as those of Sask. and Manitoba PNPs, there's no guarantee these will not shut down tomorrow, and if that happens.. finding a skilled job will be the only way to immigrate. Reality is... even having a practical skilled trade/diploma from colleges or Master's from universities gives no guarantee of a good professional job, and finding a skilled job and getting PR is not a cakewalk like most desis seem to have that false sense of hope/ idea... especially if they rely ONLY on these PG certificates of colleges. As truth is, even native born Canadians often struggle face fierce competition to find those "skilled" jobs.
And for moving to PHd you need valid Master's degree from a Canadian public university.. not one of these PG cert./diplomas.
Others may agree or oppose with my views, and are welcome to discuss/debate.
Hope it's clear.