Surveys show that many employers believe in the value of work-integrated learning but hesitate to take on a student employee. Their concerns are strikingly similar — and valid. Here we take a look at potential stumbling blocks, and the available supports and resources to conquer them.
I don’t have time to set this up. #
It takes time to set up a student placement, and time and resources to train, supervise, and mentor a new employee.
The first student you hire will require the greatest input of time. After that, logistics become easier to manage as you establish processes for hiring, on-boarding, and assessment. On that front, your first work-term student could be tasked to write training manuals for future hires. He or she could also be involved in hiring the next work-term student.
Consider hiring two students instead of one. Having a peer as a partner and a sounding board can reduce the time required for supervision.
There’s no room in the budget. #
Costs associated with work terms include student wages and the human resources used in training, on-boarding, and supervision.
Canada’s Federal and Provincial Governments offer a variety of funding programs to subsidize the wages of your student hire — enough to give many employers financial breathing room. A student wage is much less than you would pay to bring in later-career workers.
If you hire a student to work 35 hours a week at $17.00/hour for 12 weeks, normally, your total cost for wages will be $7,140.
But with SWPP, your total cost would be $1,785.
Work-integrated learning is an investment. But with careful planning and implementation, we’re confident you’ll see a remarkable return on that investment.
Read more about funding options
I don’t have any work for a student to do. #
Students expect to participate in meaningful work, relevant to their studies and valuable to their employer.
Think of the tasks you don’t have the time to get to. Value-added projects on your wish list. Skills missing among your current staff. Could the right young employee fill those gaps?