Internships, field placements, co-op and other forms of postsecondary work-integrated learning (WIL) help college and university students clarify their career interests and get jobs relevant to their education and career ambitions. In the third and final phase of a multi-year study of WIL, [this study] followed up with WIL and non-WIL students 18 months after graduation to examine their educational and employment outcomes. The same group of students - from 13 Ontario colleges and universities participating in the previous WIL studies - had also been surveyed at graduation in spring 2012....  [+] Show more

Internships, field placements, co-op and other forms of postsecondary work-integrated learning (WIL) help college and university students clarify their career interests and get jobs relevant to their education and career ambitions. In the third and final phase of a multi-year study of WIL, [this study] followed up with WIL and non-WIL students 18 months after graduation to examine their educational and employment outcomes. The same group of students - from 13 Ontario colleges and universities participating in the previous WIL studies - had also been surveyed at graduation in spring 2012. A total of 3,340 respondents completed the follow-up survey in fall 2013, which explored how WIL graduates differ from non-WIL graduates in further postsecondary education and labour market entry, status, experience and outcomes. Analysis included institution type (college and university), program area, credential and type of WIL activity.

While WIL appears to help both college and university students get a better sense of their career goals and pursue relevant employment, not all graduates of all program areas benefited to the same extent from WIL participation, according to the study. Arts and humanities and social sciences university graduates had the lowest levels of WIL participation and even those who participated in WIL experienced fewer labour market benefits. College graduates experienced fewer benefits to WIL participation than university graduates, although the authors note that this could be a reflection of the fact that college education is generally more career-focused and relatively few students graduate without some kind of WIL experience. There were no noteworthy differences in time to employment between college WIL and non-WIL participants. Among university respondents, WIL participants were more likely than non-WIL participants to have had a new job arranged before finishing school, whereas non-WIL participants were more likely to have continued working in a position they held while they were a student. Many WIL graduates contacted previous WIL employers as part of their job search process.

For both college and university respondents, employed graduates who participated in WIL were more likely to feel that they were appropriately qualified for their job, that their job was related to their longterm career goals and that their job was related to their studies. The study found that the mean annual income of employed college graduates was $31,402, which did not differ significantly by WIL participation. University graduates who participated in WIL did, however, see an earnings premium. The average annual income of WIL participants was significantly higher than that of non-WIL participants ($45,646 versus $36,813). This earnings premium held for graduates of business, science and engineering, and health sciences and social services programs but not for social sciences and arts and humanities graduates. The study also found that debt levels did not differ substantially by WIL participation for college or university graduates.

The report recommends additional research to understand the barriers to WIL participation of first-generation students and to evaluate the effectiveness of wage subsidies that would enable more employers to compensate WIL students. Among changes that could strengthen WIL delivery: institutions should provide clear information to students about the requirements of WIL participation and the institutional supports available, and provide greater flexibility in academic scheduling to accommodate WIL programming. Scholarships or other forms of financial assistance should be considered to support student participation in WIL programs, particularly at the college level. Universities should strengthen institutional services such as offering professional development and support to faculty interested in offering WIL programs.

Excerpts from publisher's website.