
Working Students, Building Futures
Improving and expanding work-integrated learning.
To stay competitive in the wake of COVID-19, Canadian businesses will need talent with practical experience and future-relevant skills.
One of the most promising ways to build that talent is by expanding access to work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities:
- internships
- co-ops
- apprenticeships
- bootcamps and hackathons
- incubators and accelerators
- mandatory professional practices
- applied research programs
- service learning
- field experience
In partnership with:


Who Attended?
We spoke to 620 WIL stakeholders from across Canada. Through 44 group consultations, 23 individual consultations, and a series of 14 virtual stakeholder meetings, we engaged business owners, senior executives, and supervisors in the private, public, not-for-profit, and academic sectors.
Sector Breakdown on Virtual Stakeholder Meetings
(per cent)
Regional Participation in Virtual Stakeholder Meetings
(per cent)
Industry Participation in Virtual Stakeholder Meetings
(per cent)
What We Heard
During the summer of 2020, we spoke to industry and education stakeholders from across Canada to better understand the barriers that employers and students face in creating or accessing work-integrated learning, particularly in the wake of COVID-19. We were looking for ways to increase the number and quality of WIL placement opportunities. This is what we heard.
Work-integrated learning in the post COVID-19 World
July 30, 2020 • Virtual event
Atlantic Canada
June 25, 2020 • Virtual event
British Columbia
July 22, 2020 • Virtual event
Central Canada
July 15 (ON) and July 29 (QC), 2020 • Virtual event
Prairies
July 14, 2020 • Virtual event
Territories
July 28, 2020 • Virtual event

The Impact
Thanks to input from our stakeholders, the Business + Higher Education Roundtable will be able to expand WIL opportunities and ensure that Canada’s businesses are creating quality experiences for students across the country.
Convening Partners
We would like to thank our 13 convening partners for their hard work engaging WIL stakeholders in their networks and regions.













In Partnership With



