Calgary program connects post-secondary institutions and employers to provide much-needed skill development
Amid the high unemployment levels among Canadian youth, one way to help young people prepare for employment is work-integrated learning (WIL), according to an expert.
“Work-integrated learning is so important,” says D’Andre Wilson, executive director, TalentED YYC, in talking with Canadian HR Reporter.
“It does allow these students and these young people to get some of that experience so that they can find careers that are better suited for them.”
The overall unemployment rate for youth (aged 15 to 24) rose 0.9 percentage points to 13.5 per cent in June, according to a report from Statistics Canada (StatCan). That number was the highest rate since September 2014, outside of 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, according to the report.
Another problem among Canadian youth is underemployment, says Wilson.
“We see a lot of young people, even after they get degrees, working in food service, things that are roughly aligned with where their passion areas are and where their skill sets should be. So, allowing them to get some of this exposure earlier will really help to mitigate that.”
The TalentED YYC platform
TalentED YYC is providing a platform for WIL.
Calgary Work Integrated Learning (Calgary WIL) introduced TalentED YYC in 2023. It is a collaborative initiative that brings together seven post-secondary institutions in Calgary, along with the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, and has been championed by Calgary economic development.
“We work alongside our partners and work alongside these small business owners and nonprofit leaders to help them understand which of our post-secondary institution partners have programs that would be the best fit for them to find students,” says Wilson.
The organization has a virtual portal where employers can post job opportunities and allows it to be sent on to the post-secondary partners.
“Our team works hand-in-hand with them to refer them to wage subsidy providers to help them pay the students, as well as [provide them with] different resources that could help them as they onboard support their students for internships, projects and any other work-integrated learning opportunities.”
WIL opportunities provide students with program-relevant experiences that develop their professional skills. These opportunities include:
- internships
- co-ops
- practicums
- community service learning
- field placements, and projects.
“For students, this is really a great opportunity for them to get hands-on work experience while they're still in their degree programs,” says Wilson.
“We have seen that participating in different work-integrated learning opportunities – whether it's internships or projects or field placements – allows them to develop those key skills that they need to be successful in their future careers. And so this is also really important for HR professionals and hiring managers because they want to make sure that when they're building their talent pipeline, they're getting talent that has those skills or can develop those skills over time.”
From February 2023 to June 2024, nearly 1,000 employers connected with the TalenED YYC, and it has generated over 1,900 WIL opportunities.
Here’s why work-integrated learning is key to building the future workforce.
Student’s experience with work-integrated learning
Students are loving TalentED YYC’s work.
“This is actually my third internship. I have worked in marketing and communications. I'm a public relations student, and I have just found that my experience with work-integrated learning has really helped me to grow my skills in the classroom and professionally,” says Maddie Murch, one of the students taking advantage of the program.
“Each summer that I've had an internship, I've really seen myself grow and improve. And I feel a lot more comfortable getting ready to head into a career post-graduation because of these experiences.”
The pilot project is set to run until Spring 2025. In this time, TalentED YYC will continue to evolve with more programs and services for employers and students to expand WIL opportunities in Calgary.
Calgary WIL’s partners include Ambrose University, AU Arts, Bow Valley College, Mount Royal University, SAIT, St. Mary’s University, the University of Calgary, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, and Calgary Economic Development as the project champion. Through these partnerships, TalentED YYC will support the growth of Calgary’s highly skilled talent pool.
Canadian employers are increasingly hiring “underqualified” staff, according to a previous Robert Walters report.
