Vocational education and training - VET

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is playing an increasing role in preparing students with the skills and experience needed for the job market. Not all students experience WIL equally and many encounter barriers at different points in the process. A new data brief from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) finds that women, those with disabilities and immigrants have significant disparities in their experience with WIL. System-wide administrative data on WIL in Ontario is currently unavailable but would allow policymakers and researchers to further investigate the differences between demographic groups and develop more inclusive and responsive programs.

The mentorship strategies guide provides employers with step-by-step best-practices to help create positive mentorship relationships in WIL placements

Remote WIL offered a range of benefits to all groups surveyed, particularly flexibility. Students who participated in remote WIL appreciated that they were not limited by travel cost or distance to placements. Employers and administrators noted that remote and hybrid WIL options meant they could recruit from a larger group of students from a wider geographic area, and that technological platforms helped streamline the hiring process.

Students and employers in remote and hybrid WIL reported challenges related to professional development. For students, “remote networking and making connections” was the most significant challenge while employers cited difficulty with communication and connection, particularly related to mentorship and training.

A key goal of WIL is to provide students with meaningful, relevant work experience that facilitates skill development and supports the individual’s transition to the labour market. This is only possible when the WIL is of high quality as specified in Ontario’s guiding principles for experiential learning. To ensure that remote and hybrid WIL experiences help students develop essential skills and competencies, HEQCO offers the following recommendations to employers, institutions and students:

Employers should expand their onboarding activities for WIL students and encourage the development of professional and interpersonal skills through mentorship and/or routine performance check-ins.
Institutions can build upon existing orientation materials to ensure WIL students are prepared to be successful.
Students should work with WIL employers to set learning goals for themselves, monitor progress and take advantage of networking and mentorship opportunities in order to maximize the benefit of their WIL experiences.
The benefits of WIL are shared by all parties — institutions, employers and students — so it is incumbent upon all of them to ensure that the system is best positioned to adapt to changing work environments and serve all students equally, regardless of how they participate.