Your partner in work-integrated learning
As faculty and staff, you talk with students every day and play an important role in shaping their experience at VIU. If a student asks you about work-integrated learning (WIL) or you need support with tools to manage your student work placements more efficiently, we’re here to help.
At the Career Studio, we know you have a lot to manage. We want to make sure you have the right tools and support to help students get high quality, real-world work experience so they’re ready for the future.
In-class workshops or events
We’d love to visit your class and share what we know about careers and job trends. We can run workshops on things like
- writing resumes
- getting ready for interviews,
- searching for jobs,
- using LinkedIn
- WIL health and safety.
We can also set up industry roundtables and panels with alumni and industry experts.
You can book a presentation by filling out our consultation form.
WIL checklist for faculty and staff
If you oversee a work experience, internship, field placement, practicum, clinical placement, community and industry project, co-op or other WIL course, these important steps will help you meet quality standards in BC and across Canada.
- Get support. Fill out the Career Studio Consultation Form to get help when starting a new WIL program or making changes to an existing one.
- Check quality. Use the PEAR Quality Indicators for WIL to help guide meaningful student learning experiences.
- Track experiences. Work with the Centre for Experiential Learning to set up a workflow in Experience Hub to track WIL placements and records.
- Provide oversight. Make sure a faculty or staff member is assigned to supervise WIL placements, support students and employers and grade learning.
- Know insurance rules. Be familiar with WorkSafeBC and UCIPP insurance policies, including what’s covered and when extra insurance may be needed.
- Use agreements. Have the student, employer and faculty or staff member sign a work term or non-disclosure agreement for every WIL experience. Recent templates developed with legal counsel are available at Contract Services.
- Plan for health and safety. Know your role in keeping students safe. Use the WIL Health and Safety Checklist and book an in-class safety workshop for students.
- Prepare employers. Share the VIU Employer Toolkit and ACE-WIL BC Employer Resources to prepare employers to mentor students.
- For research projects with partners. If students are doing research or projects with a community partner, check in with VIU’s Student Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity team.
- Work permits for international students. Ensure international students are compliant with government regulations. All WIL (paid and unpaid) requires a co-op work permit. Talk with an immigration advisor at VIU International for support.
- Career support. Send students to the Career Studio for help with job search and career planning. You can also request in-class career development workshops.
- WIL outside of B.C. but within Canada. If students are doing WIL in another province, ensure they complete the work readiness out-of-province planning workflow in Experience Hub.
- WIL abroad. If students plan to go abroad for WIL (even to their home country), ensure they follow all VIU-mandated pre-departure steps. Contact the International Mobility team for help.
- Remote or hybrid WIL. If students are working remotely, have them complete the VIU Remote Work Safety Guidelines and Checklist.
- Set learning goals. Have students create learning goals for their WIL experience, working together with their employer.
- Check in with students and employers. Make sure to check in at least once during the placement. This can be done by phone, Teams, or in person.
- Embed reflection. Add activities or assignments that help students reflect on what they’re learning while they’re on their WIL placement.
- Get employer feedback. Ask the employer to fill out an evaluation of the student’s performance during the WIL placement (use templates on Experience Hub).
- Final reflection. Have students complete a reflection assignment to help them look back on their experience and connect it to what they’ve learned.
For a downloadable pdf version of this checklist, click here.
Faculty and staff resources
To help make it easier to manage WIL placements and keep track of data, we’re asking faculty and staff to use Experience Hub for their records.
Why use Experience Hub?
- It’s a simple, easy-to-use system where you can keep track of student placements and employer partners all in one place.
- It helps us understand how placements are going across VIU, so we can keep improving our WIL programs and meet our goals.
We’re Here to Support You
Reach out to the Centre for Experiential Learning at cel@viu.ca to see if Experience Hub is right for your WIL programs.
Life is getting harder for students and many struggle to afford to take unpaid time off to complete WIL. Where possible, we want to encourage paid opportunities for students. Thankfully, there are many funding opportunities to make this happen.
Funding for Workplaces:
- ACE-WIL BC list of federal and provincial funding to hire WIL students
- Student Work Placement Program Letter for students to bring to employers
Funding for Institutions:
- CEWIL ihub: Find out how to secure cash bursaries of up to $2,000 per student for unpaid WIL programs
Community of Practice
The WIL Community of Practice brings together faculty members, instructors, and staff from across VIU who are involved in the development and delivery of work-integrated learning opportunities for students.
- Connect with colleagues across VIU who are involved in WIL to share experiences, insights, and strategies.
- Co-create and access shared resources, including templates, tools, and best practices, all designed to support and enhance WIL efforts.
- Participate in workshops, webinars, and peer-learning opportunities to further develop your WIL expertise.