Money will enhance job opportunities for students
Provincial government funding will allow Vancouver Island University (VIU) to add two additional resources that will focus on getting more employers to hire students, and helping students become more successful in work experience placements.
The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training is investing $5.5 million in one-time funding to expand co-ops and work-integrated learning (WIL) programs. In total, 46 projects at all 25 public post-secondary institutions in BC are being supported.
VIU is receiving $175,000 to hire an Employer and Student Engagement Officer and a Career Service Officer. The funding will also help continue development of the Vancouver Island Work-Integrated Learning (VIWIL) project, which the ministry initially funded in 2019. VIWIL is a collaborative partnership between VIU and North Island College to enhance opportunities for work-integrated learning by connecting employers with students on Vancouver Island north of the Malahat.
“The Employer and Student Engagement Officer and the Career Service Officer will both be key in continuing the work on the VIWIL project, expanding student engagement with work-integrated learning opportunities as well as the number of employers actively hiring our students, and implementing certain career service initiatives, such as collaborative events and further enhancing our social media and website presence,” says Danielle Johnsrude, Director of the Centre for Experiential Learning. “Having a resource dedicated to building our career services is crucial to our next steps as a department.”
The new Employer and Student Engagement Officer is tasked with recruiting employers in central and north Vancouver Island to enhance and build new work-integrated learning placements for students.
“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, in a BC Government news release. “Helping employers throughout the province offer co-op and work-integrated learning opportunities is good news for business and great news for students.”
To read the full release, please visit BC Government News.
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