Students prep for jobs with more work experience opportunities
December 5, 2021
Students throughout British Columbia will have access to as many as 3,000 new co-op and work integrated learning (WIL) opportunities in 2021-22, thanks to new funding and a focus on bolstering placements affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted youth employment prospects, including reducing the number of co-op and work integrated learning placements available to students. We are investing in these opportunities to help students access the hands-on experiences they need to launch their careers,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “Helping employers throughout the province offer co-op and work-integrated learning opportunities is good news for business and great news for students.”
The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training is investing $5.5 million in one-time funding to expand co-ops and WIL programs. In total, 46 projects at all 25 public post-secondary institutions in B.C. are being supported, including:
- UBC-Okanagan, University of Northern BC and Thompson Rivers University will build on work underway to support employers in Interior and northern communities to hire students for 130 WIL placements.
- Emily Carr University of Art + Design will create 30 WIL placements for students to work with employers in Vancouver’s False Creek Flats and Downtown Eastside.
- University of Victoria will create 60 or more co-op work terms for students with disabilities who face great challenges in finding and retaining placements.
- Coast Mountain College and College of New Caledonia will create more than 100 WIL placements in partnership with local chambers of commerce to create the Connecting the North: Northern WIL Hub Project.
