Career pathways programs enjoy broad, bipartisan support as a way to give more young people the skills they need to thrive in today's workforce. But getting these programs off the ground can be difficult. Quickly scaling them to reach a critical mass of students and sustaining those efforts over nearly 10 years is almost unheard of -- except in…

Exploring Summer Youth Employment Programs: Increasing Access Through Career Pathways builds the case and provides actionable recommendations for state-led support in the intentional alignment of summer youth employment programs (SYEP) with career pathways and the work-based learning continuum, including through Career Technical Education (CTE).…

Are some graduates going on to do non-graduate jobs? Evidence collected from interviews with universities careers services shows many have in fact seen an improvement in graduate employment -- specifically, in more graduates entering 'high skilled professions' and unemployment rates going down. Many universities have implemented a mandatory work…

The notion of what constitutes a high-quality work-integrated learning experience has received increasing attention in the literature, particularly over the past decade. To date, the definitions of high-quality work-integrated learning have been broad and there remains a need to understand how elements of quality can be operationalized,…

A long-standing concern in teacher education is the variability in the quality of practicum experiences afforded to preservice teachers. Although some variability is due to their personal attributes, preservice teachers often find it difficult to connect theoretical insights to teachers' classroom practices. These challenges can be exacerbated…

This paper explores ways to support the wellbeing of neurodivergent individuals participating in co-operative education (co-op). The authors propose a theoretical model for supporting neurodivergent student wellbeing in co-op, based on the current understanding of wellbeing in WIL and interventions for neurodivergent individuals at work and in…

Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is perceived as important by universities and industry for equipping students with employability skills. This study contributes to the literature by using a methodological approach that visualises the sustained underinvestment in WIL by both universities and industry, which leaves professional staff who administer…

The Interdisciplinary Social Media Fellowship is a two-semester program in which students gain internship credit by learning about social media marketing through a client-based experiential learning program. A faculty member created and ran a program in which five students from multiple disciplines followed a framework that defined their roles and…

The key to success for many programs depends on effective partnership and collaboration. Indeed, in work-based learning (WBL) partnerships are not only encouraged -- they're mandatory. WBL by definition involves a partnership between business and education, with these two entities comprising the "work" and "learning." However,…

Research supervisors and their higher degree research (HDR) candidates -- including Master, Professional Doctorate, and PhD candidates -- make critical contributions to research and innovation. In addition to providing research training, research supervisors have traditionally also acted as the graduate employability practitioner for their HDR…

Fresh approaches to trades training are essential for decolonizing educational access and success for Indigenous people. Holistic approaches to supporting student success are needed for the unique learning needs and contexts of Indigenous learners. Community-based training presents opportunities for this type of innovation. Using a Canadian case…

Despite the expectation that work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences will provide a safe and inclusive learning environment for healthcare students this is often not the reality for sexually and gender diverse students. Heteronormativity and microaggressions experienced by sexually and gender diverse healthcare students, are rarely considered…

Teacher apprenticeship programs are a new and exciting structure that help strengthen and diversify the educator workforce by offering an alternative approach to teacher licensure. Often providing financial assistance, mentorship, and classroom experience, these programs help pave the way for high-quality candidates, benefitting schools, students,…

When instructing and supporting Business Degree students through work-integrated learning (WIL) courses, instructors noted high technical skill competence, but less preparedness pertaining to interpersonal and professional interactions. The inability to effectively navigate relationships and workplace contexts could impact the perceived competence…

In the context of the "Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021" (HES Framework), work-integrated learning (WIL) encompasses any arrangement where students undertake learning in a work context as part of their course requirements. WIL can be undertaken as part of coursework or research training. The nature and…