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. 

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Jobs and skills in the transition to a net-zero economy: A foresight exercise

This report presents a foresight exercise that models the jobs and skills that would be required in a net-zero economy across a set of distinct futures.
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Enhancing a National Recruitment System for the Unionized Construction Industry

This project’s overall goal was to design and test virtual strategies to recruit more individuals, especially those from underrepresented groups (women, Indigenous Peoples, racialized people, newcomers and youth), to careers in the construction trades.
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Planning for sustainable jobs 101

This project examined what kinds of future skills and jobs will be needed, how the nature of the work is changing, what kinds of support and policies can aid businesses and workers alike, and how policymakers, educational institutions, and industry can both enable and smooth this transition. It studied three specific opportunities: zero-emission vehicles in Ontario, plant-based protein in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and mass timber in British Columbia.
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