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. 

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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.

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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

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Project

Analysis of Programs for Welcoming Talented Immigrants

This research project led by Concordia University investigated a range of onboarding strategies, focusing on the integration of immigrants with technical or trade skills into manufacturing SMEs.
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Project

ArtWorksTO

In an effort to more accurately reflect the diversity of the population, there is a great demand for equity-deserving artists across the arts and culture sector. However, careers in arts and culture most often involve non-traditional employment, with professionals taking up multiple employment opportunities, including self-employment, entrepreneurship and contract jobs within a range of organizations.
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Research

Tech-Driven Skill Shifts in Canada’s Mining and Oil and Gas Industries

In this research, we examine how emerging technologies are reshaping work in the mining and oil and gas industries by tracking changes in technology skills and tool and equipment skills over time.
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