Innovative Work-Integrated Learning (I-WIL) Initiative
Under the Student Work Placement Program, the Innovative Work-Integrated Learning (I-WIL) Initiative provides $150 million over four years (from Budget 2019) to establish partnerships with businesses to create more than 55,000 new innovative Work-Integrated Learning opportunities for post-secondary students, related to their studies.
These opportunities provide new and emerging types of experiential learning for students to apply their skills in a work-related context, focusing on short and intensive activities that use technology, such as micro-placements, hackathons, virtual internships, and business and community-based classroom projects.
The eight organizations that deliver I-WIL are:
Organization: Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL)
Project title: CEWIL Innovation Hub
Description: Create, promote and evaluate new and emerging I-WIL experiences and best practices. Through the establishment of a new CEWIL Innovation Hub, these placements will support regional innovation with an emphasis on key labour market sectors that leverage technology.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $52,934,788
Target number of placements: 26,155
Organization: Riipen Networks Inc.
Project title: Work Integrated Learning – Innovative Experiences and Student Training (WILIEST)
Description: Through the Riipen platform, deliver part-time paid remote/online I-WIL placements to underserved students across all academic disciplines in Canada.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $48,885,000
Target number of placements: 24,443
Organization: Colleges and Institutes Canada
Project title: Expanding Access to WIL Virtual Simulation Opportunities for Health Care Students
Description: Create new and innovative virtual ways of providing the competencies necessary for students in nursing, medical laboratory sciences and paramedicine to continue to engage with and learn from employers despite the pandemic.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: 13,929,528
Target number of placements: 7,000
Organization: The Governors of the University of Calgary
Project title: I-WIL Ventures, Fostering Entrepreneurial Thinking for the 21st Century Economy
Description: Create I-WIL placements for students across Canada using an entrepreneurial lens so students can build transferrable in-demand skills. In collaboration with I-WIL Ventures innovation hub partners, students will benefit from a variety of experiential learning engagements in local innovation hubs.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $12,450,000
Target number of placements: 6,295
Organization: Venture for Canada
Project title: Catalyzing Transferable Skills in Students through Project-Based Learning at Innovative SMEs
Description: This project will create new I-WIL opportunities that will allow post-secondary students to apply and develop skills in a real world setting while receiving feedback from employers. Students will develop transferable skills, enhance their employer networks, obtain career clarity and build confidence in their workplace skills that will help them integrate more rapidly into the workforce.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $ 10,372,930
Target number of placements: 5,297
Organization: Canadian Institute for Exponential Growth
Project title: Wavemakers
Description: Help post-secondary students gain experience and connections to employers using an immersive and engaging artificial reality platform. Students will test and scale a new WIL model designed to provide them with the skills they will need to transition successfully into the work, workplace and workforce of the future.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $4,994,226
Target number of placements: 1,800
Organization: Canadian Mobility and Aerospace Institute
Project title: Creating 500 paid micro-internships in the mobility sector
Description: Through this project, businesses will be able to obtain funding for 500 new on-the-job learning activities in the form of micro-internships. The funding will also help businesses carry out more of their activity ideas that might not otherwise have been possible.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $3,982,751
Target number of placements: 4,664
Organization: Actua
Project title: Actua’s Future-Ready Work Integrated Learning Project
Description: Engage post-secondary students, including Indigenous and racialized youth, youth facing poverty, youth with disabilities and LGBTQ youth, in short-term paid work experience as an Actua instructor. These WIL experiences will include comprehensive skills training in a virtual and/or physical classroom setting to gain foundational, job-ready skills including communication, networking, collaboration, emotional intelligence and cultural competencies.
Region: all Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $1,752,291
Target number of placements: 876
Youth Employment and Skills Strategy
The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) is a Government of Canada initiative delivered in collaboration with 12 federal departments and agencies, including Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Through the YESS, the Government of Canada helps young people, particularly those facing barriers to employment, get the information and gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition into the labour market. ESDC’s YESS program supports organizations that provide job placements and skills development services to young people, as well as a broad range of supports such as job coaching, mental health support, clothes for job interviews, day care services for parents and subsidized Internet access to help with job searches.
The Government of Canada is investing up to $11.6 million through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy toward innovative job training which will help serve up to 1000 youth. These opportunities are allowing young people to gain experience and skills for in-demand jobs in the fields of virtual reality and information technologies.
Organization: Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth
Project title: URBAN MAMMOTH: Indigenous Youth Employment Project
Description: With this funding, 400 youth aged 15 to 30 will be engaged to test and provide feedback on a toolkit that is being developed within this project. Throughout the first three phases of the project, the toolkit will be continually tested by at least 400 Indigenous youth between the ages of 15 to 30, who will provide feedback on game functionalities, content and ideas for improvement. Another 15 Indigenous youth will participate in testing during the implementation phase. Apart from their role as testers, these youth will not be offered employment interventions or services during the project life cycle. However, they will be offered honorariums for the short time they spend in the project.
Region: Calgary, Alberta
Funding amount: $3,738,415
Number of youth engaged: 400 youth will be engaged to test and provide feedback on the toolkit that is being developed through this project.
Organization: 360ºkids
Project title: Base 4 Success
Description: Over 132 weeks, 360° Kids Support Services will deliver employment skills training and quality employment opportunity interventions to assist 225 youth facing barriers, including 11 Indigenous youth, 135 visible minority youth and 67 youth with disabilities. These interventions and supports will enable them to develop their skills and employability to prepare them to obtain and keep employment.
Region: Markham, Ontario
Funding amount: $2,799,997
Number of placements: 225 youth
Organization: Victoria County Career Services (VCCS)
Project title: VCCS – Youth Success Through Employment Practice (YSTEP)
Description: Over a period of 156 weeks, Victoria County Career Service Inc. will deliver employment skills training, employment services and quality employment opportunities to assist 84 youth facing barriers, including 20 youth with disabilities and 42 youth from rural communities. The interventions and supports will enable them to develop their skills and employability to prepare them to obtain and keep employment.
Region: Lindsay, Ontario
Funding amount: $1,921,631
Number of placements: 84 youth
Organization: CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals
Project title: From Neet to EET 2.0
Description: With this funding the Centre will help Black youth that are furthest from the labour market by offering them hard skills training, job placement and career coaching. The project and its skills training suite will help create over 165 job placements for Black youth.
Region: Toronto, Ontario
Funding amount:$1,718,675
Number of placements: 165
Organization: Living Rock Ministries
Project title: TRI-Rock
Description: Over 156 weeks, Living Rock Ministries will deliver employment skills training, followed by quality employment opportunity interventions, to assist 125 youth facing barriers, including 120 youth with disabilities, 13 Indigenous youth and 13 visible minority youth, giving them the opportunity to benefit from the interventions and supports that will enable them to develop their skills and employability to prepare them to obtain and keep employment
Region: Hamilton, Ontario
Funding amount: $1,500,000
Number of placements: 125 youth