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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Research

Learning From One Another: Skill Gaps in Labour Markets in Northern Ontario, Yukon, and Nunavut

Northern Ontario, Yukon, and Nunavut share similar challenges to workforce development related to their shared Northern, rural, and remote contexts. Current challenges will only grow as sectors increasingly require more digital, leadership, business and administrative, and soft skills. 
Project

Beyond hours: Piloting an alternative to tracking and understanding apprentice competency in Canada

The persistence of labour and skill shortages within the trades is exacerbated by challenges with on-the-job training and skills recognition. The prevailing methods to document and formally recognize the skills that apprentices acquire through workplace learning are outdated.
Project

Micro-credentialing for the Canadian Aviation and Aerospace Industry

The Canadian aviation and aerospace industry currently faces challenges recruiting, training and retaining a qualified workforce. To address this issue, the Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace (CCAA) developed and tested a digital learning resource and a stackable micro-credential framework.
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