The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) is pleased to announce nine new work-integrated learning (WIL) partnerships with leading Canadian employers and post-secondary institutions, in partnership with the Government of Canada.

Econext, Fanshawe College, Calgary Economic Development, Royal Roads University, United College (Green Youth), Queen’s University, Trent University, U-Links, and The PIER join BHER’s growing community of partners. They will create nearly 6,300 WIL experiences for students over the next two years and help Canada develop the highly-skilled net-zero workforce it needs. 

The partnerships announced today will support: 

• Workforce transformations in energy-intensive regions, with a focus on strengthening talent pipelines for rapidly growing clean energy sectors in the Prairies and Atlantic Canada;
• Green talent attraction and development in priority sectors, such as manufacturing and utilities, construction, transportation, clean energy, and carbon capture, usage, and storage;
• Entrepreneurship programming to support students in launching their own climate ventures and to support the green talent needs of entrepreneurs and small/medium-sized businesses;
• Green talent development in small and medium-sized municipalities and within the community sector; and
• Cross-institutional collaboration at Canadian post-secondary institutions to support students across faculties with the development of foundational green skills. 

“Our government is dedicated to making Canada a world leader in the green economy. Working with BHER to help connect young talent with industry is a key part of that goal. Better assisting students to find placements in companies working on some of the most cutting-edge technologies in the world will ensure Canada has the talent it needs to achieve our net-zero objectives,” said The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

Over the next decade, as many as 400,000 new jobs will be added in fields that require  green skills. The importance of WIL-based talent pipeline development to help meet this demand cannot be overstated,”  said Dr. Valerie Walker, Chief Executive Officer at BHER. “We’re proud to work with partners from across Canada on this goal, and to support students as they apply their skills and curiosity to the complex challenges involved in decarbonization across the Canadian economy.”

In the long term, BHER hopes to build additional relationships between post-secondary institutions and employers navigating the transition to net-zero. To date, BHER’s WIL program has delivered nearly 46,000 WIL opportunities in partnership with 75 organizations and post-secondary institutions across the country, using WIL-based solutions to strengthen talent pipelines for Canadian employers.

Val Walker, CEO, BHER is available for media interviews. To schedule an interview, please contact, Nina Lewis, Manager of Communications:nina.lewis@bher.ca

Background:
In Budget 2022, the Government of Canada renewed BHER’s funding with a new investment of $17.1 million over three years to create and scale more work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students and to strengthen the WIL ecosystem. The investment builds on BHER’s success in 2019-2022 during which BHER created nearly 40,000 WIL opportunities through 42 partnerships, with support from a network of over 150 employers and post-secondary institutions across Canada.

Connect with our new partners:
Learn more about all of our partners at: www.bher.ca/wil-partnerships

Econext
Media Contact:
Alex Rumbolt
@email
(709) 979-0407

Fanshawe College
Media Contact:
Kyle Rooks
@email

Calgary Economic Development
Media Contact:
Sarah Ferguson
Media Coordinator
@email

Royal Roads University
Media Contact:
Natasha Dilay
Manager, Career Learning and Development, Student Service
@email
(250) 391-2600 ext.445

United College (Green Youth)
Media Contact:
Rebecca Wagner
Director of External Relations
@email
(519) 885-1460 x25223

Queen’s University
Media Contact:
Brenda Paul
AVP, Integrated Communications
@email

Trent University
Media Contact:
Celia Grimbly
@email
(705) 748-1011 x6180

U-Links
Media Contact:
Daniela Pagliaro
Administration & Logistics Coordinator
admin@ulinks.ca
(705) 286-2411, cell: (647) 569-3442

The Pier
Media Contact:
Emma Ross
Communications Coordinator
@email
(902) 210-3965