Employer & Community Partner Resources

What is WIL?

Before diving into the various types of WIL, you can take a step back and learn more about What WIL is in the video below! What it means, who’s involved, and what it means for you, as an industry and WIL partner.

You can learn more about the various types of WIL by clicking on the Employer Toolkit link below.

To access our Into the WILderness podcast, click here!

What can students do for you?

Emily, a Physics and Astronomy Co-op student at the University of Waterloo, wrote and completed a data analysis pipeline for a rapid-imaging astronomical experiment, earning her national and provincial awards.

Olivia, a third-year Co-op student of Biology at the University of Ottawa, worked for a Crown corporation to monitor water quality, inventory bat populations, and conduct wildlife surveys.

Chloe, a Co-op student of Biology at the University of Victoria, tracked and researched snakes and surveyed water with an ecological research company.

Absaar, a Co-op student at the University of Victoria, worked as a quality control engineer, assisting his company’s electrical and civil management team with scheduling, quality and safety maintenance, and construction.

Amanda, a third-year experiential learning student in Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies at the University of Waterloo, worked at the front desk of the university residences as the first point of contact, triaging students to help them find campus and community resources.

Mireta, a Resource and Environmental Management Co-op student at Simon Fraser University, shown here on the left with a colleague, Annelise, worked for a non-profit environmental organization to maintain and sustain urban forest health, conduct local outreach on forest stewardship, and support data collection and mapping of specimen trees.

Jin, a Co-op student of Tourism & Hospitality Management at Mount Saint Vincent University, worked at a marine tourist attraction as a tour guide, in addition to managing safety practices and serving as a guest liaison.

Breeanna, a Co-op student of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University, worked as a research analyst. Breeanna prepared briefing notes, responded to public and stakeholder inquiries, and led a research study which identified gaps in housing services and made recommendations to improve service delivery for youth.

Vincent, a Co-op student of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, managed all software and hardware launches across Canada for devices produced by a major telecommunications company, earning him an engineering award.

Devin, a Co-op student of Public Relations at Mount Saint Vincent University, worked in communications for a charitable organization, coordinating a media launch, events, graphic design, and news releases.

STUDENT WORK PLACEMENT PROGRAM - SWPP

The Student Work Placement program gives post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and business programs across Canada paid work experience related to their field of study. Over 11,500 paid student work placements will be created by this program through 2021. ESDC works with Employer Delivery Partners. Employer Delivery Partners are a group of recognized associations and organizations that represent the interests of employers in industries.

They work with businesses and post-secondary education institutions to:

Provide wage subsidies to employers that offer quality student work placements; and
Create partnerships with colleges, universities, polytechnics and CEGEPs to recruit students for these placements.

Click here to learn more about SWPP

Remote Working Resources

Benefits of Hiring a Work-Integrated Learning Student

Students bring new ideas, fresh perspectives, and enthusiasm to the workplace.
WIL programs offer access to diversely talented and highly motivated students and sometimes aid in vetting students before the hiring process begins, which reduces recruiting costs.
WIL students are short-term employees, which can be helpful to businesses in temporary times of need.
WIL terms may be an opportunity to evaluate a potential long-term employee before committing: many employers choose to hire co-op students after graduation.
WIL students can work on a wide range of assignments, from specific projects to general support.

Employer & Community Partner Tool Kit

Students can make a strong addition to your workplace: they’re driven, offer a fresh perspective, and have up-to-the-minute skills.

Most importantly, students are committed to learning and gaining experience and are eager to support your organization in its goals.

Students can work for you in research, writing, finance, technology, marketing, field and lab work, data analysis, health, and more.

CEWIL Canada is your resource for information about hiring and mentoring students to support your organization in a work-integrated learning program.

CEWIL thanks post-secondary institutions across Canada for their contributions to our resources.
We encourage you to visit institutional websites for even more information to support your organization.

Access Tool Kit

Other Useful Resources

Leading

WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING

in Canada