Calgary Regional WIL Secretariate and Portal 

Work-integrated learning (WIL) gives people the chance to apply the skills they have learned in the classroom while gaining on-the-job experience and pathways to meaningful careers in  emerging, high-demand sectors. 

Evaluation Report:
Work Integrated Learning Evaluation Report

Through FSC’s $2.9 million investment, Calgary Economic Development (CED) is developing a one-stop, online portal for WIL opportunities in the region. These paid work placements focus on gaining hands-on experience from industry experts over the course of a student’s academic studies. Placements can be co-ops, internships, applied research projects or field placements.

This innovative model and central platform will support economic growth and inclusion through WIL for post-secondary students, and will benefit jobseekers, employers and the Alberta economy.This initiative will also make WIL more accessible to non-traditional participants such as mature learners, youth, and organizations not typically connected to post-secondary institutions. 

CED and multiple local stakeholders have come together to form a consortium with technology partners Magnet and Orbis Communications, in order to demonstrate the viability of deploying a regional WIL model and to identify and address issues around broader applicability for communities and regions across Canada. 

This work is immediately contributing to Calgary’s economic transformation, while also providing insights for a more systematic way for employers to collaborate with post-secondary institutions. 

Featured Projects

Research

Mapping Youth Pathways from Education to Employment: What We Know and How to Strengthen Supports Across Canada

• April 2026
• Blueprint ADE

This brief is part of a broader effort to strengthen Canada’s understanding of how best to support youth in their journey from school to work.

• Inclusive Economy
• Pathways to Jobs

1 Related Reports

• Full research reportPDF
  Mapping Youth Pathways-Blueprint-2025

Research

Participation in skills training: A report from the Survey on Employment and Skills

• November 2023
• Diversity Institute, Environics Institute

The latest wave of the Survey on Employment and Skills, conducted in March 2023, revisits the issue of access to skills training. Three years after the onset of the pandemic, it finds that more workers are participating in work-related training to improve their skills, while training is becoming less focused on the management of the pandemic. It also shows that the most common type of training is that which focuses on workplace health and safety. The survey finds that working from home does not appear to have posed a barrier to skills training to date, as those who have switched to working from home are more likely than those who continue to work in their regular workplace to access training to improve their skills.

• Pathways to Jobs

1 Related Reports

• Full research reportPDF
  Participation in Skills Training

Project

Fisheries for Economic and Environmental Development in the North (FEED the North)

• September 2024
• Ocean Wise Conservation Association

The FEED the North project, spearheaded by the Ocean Wise Conservation Association, targeted economic and environmental challenges in Nunavut, which were intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and by climate change. This initiative aimed to merge traditional Inuit knowledge with Western science, enhancing sustainability in local fisheries and bridging Indigenous and Western environmental conservation methods.

• Inclusive Economy
• Sustainable Jobs

2 Related Reports

• Evaluation ReportPDF
  Fisheries for Environmental and Economic Development in the North Project
• Insights ReportPDF
  Download Insights Report

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