PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Do you have a project or workload that requires additional staff resources to complete? Is your company looking for innovative and affordable ways to grow your talent pipeline and bridge knowledge gaps? If so, then a post-secondary student may be able to help! 

Student Talent Connect is a new initiative that assists Hamilton employers with accessing post-secondary student talent from McMaster University, Mohawk College, and Redeemer University. 

Whether you’ve hired students in the past, or are looking to learn more about local opportunities and how students can support your business growth, we’re here to support you. 

Student Talent Connect is a free program that does not require a membership to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce to access.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

  • Schedule Your Employer Consultation. Help us learn more about your business needs and how student talent can support you. To book your 30 minute consultation, please fill out the Contact Form. 
  • Receive Personalized Options. Following your consultation, we’ll provide you with a list of program options via our partner institutions for your review and consideration. 
  • Get Connected. Once you decide what option is right for you, we’ll facilitate the warm introduction with your selected school/program to accelerate your access to student talent. 
  • Onboard Your Student: Once you have connected with your selected school, our partner institutions will work with you to provide ongoing support and onboard a student that best fits your workplace.

Host Your Student(s). Our partner institutions will work with you directly and provide ongoing support as you onboard and work with your student(s).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Work-Integrated Learning, or WIL, is an umbrella term that describes opportunities businesses have to work with post-secondary students, such as internships, co-op and field placements. These structured placements prepare students for work while allowing employers to build their skill, talent, and innovation pipeline.  

Each term, McMaster University, Mohawk College, and Redeemer University are looking for employers to host talented post-secondary students through (WIL) opportunities. From paid work placements as part of a diploma or degree program, to more flexible unpaid co-curricular experiences, there are a variety of WIL opportunities available that vary in length, cost, and time commitment. 

To learn more about WIL, please see the following resources: 

Why Use WIL?

Utilizing WIL provides businesses a chance to expand their workplace capacity, while aiding students develop their employability skills: https://bher.ca/wil-hub/explore-wil/wil-101 

WIL Categories

Workplace integrated learning takes many approaches to ensure students are gaining valuable work experience. There are many emerging models of WIL that BHER supports: https://bher.ca/wil-hub/explore-wil/types-wil 

Employer Benefits

Employers are able to evolve through WIL by hiring innovative students, gain higher productivity in the workplace, and grow their business: https://bher.ca/wil-hub/explore-wil/employer-wil-benefits-a-glance

Success Stories

BHER’s initiative has lead to numerous success stories across Canada, through solving business problems, and building an innovative, resilient workforce: https://bher.ca/wil-hub/explore-wil/canadian-success-stories 

Your WIL Placement

BHER provides prospective employers with a self-assessment designed to help employers better understand their capacity and WIL category, based on their workplaces current capacity: https://bher.ca/wil-hub/explore-wil/find-your-wil

WIL student tasks range anywhere from taking on a specific project, or picking up the general workload in the office. While WIL students will look to work in their prospective field to enhance their skills and knowledge, students will take on various tasks based on your needs, as well as the nature of their placement. WIL students are highly motivated to learn and take on new challenges, and bring with them a valuable skillset. 

Through this project, employers can hire talented students from diverse pipelines and majors including: 

  • Business
  • HR
  • Advertising & Marketing
  • Journalism & Public Relations
  • Tourism
  • Engineering
  • Biotechnology
  • Kinesiology 

Student Talent Connect supports businesses in the Hamilton area. We encourage all interested SMEs from various industries and backgrounds to contact us and explore WIL opportunities. Together with our university and college partners, we’ll work to determine if there is a good fit for a student placement. If not, we’ll work to provide you with alternative options.

Employers may explore various funding opportunities and financial incentives to host a work-integrated learning student. Interested employers are encouraged to refer to the Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit, the Ontario Innovation Tax Credit, or the Student Work Placement Program to learn more about their eligibility.

CONTACT US

Book a free consultation to learn about WIL and how it can assist your business. Start your journey today.

Student Talent Connect is a Hamilton Chamber of Commerce program in partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable, and with support from the Government of Canada. Partners include McMaster University, Mohawk College, Redeemer University, and Workforce Planning Hamilton.