– Learning and work should be fully integrated
The Canadian researcher Anne-Marie Fannon studies the world's largest co-operative education program of its kind. She believes it's time to remove the last barriers between education and working life.
In today's job market, the competence gap between new graduates and experienced workers is often large. Canada has found a solution that shows promising results: deep work-integrated learning such as co-operative education programs. Here, academic studies are combined with paid work periods throughout the entire course of study – a model the University of Waterloo pioneered in Canada.
– Traditional education still has its place, but when theory is combined with practical experience, students graduate immediately ready for work but also prepared for lifelong careers, says Anne-Marie Fannon, director of the Work-Learn Institute at the University of Waterloo.
Fannon is participating in the WIL conference in Oslo September 22-24, where on the second day of the conference she will give the presentation "The Canadian ecosystem of WIL – government, institutions and worklife”. She will also explore key success factors for establishing successful WIL ecosystems with examples from around the world.
World's largest co-op program
At the University of Waterloo, Fannon and her colleagues support the world's largest co-operative education program, where over 26,000 students annually alternate between academic semesters and work periods in relevant companies.
– We see a clear difference when our graduates start working. They not only have theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience and the ability to apply knowledge in complex, real situations, explains Fannon.
The time when one completed an education at a young age and was "finished learning" for the rest of one's life is over.
Her research supports the understanding that students with work-integrated learning, especially employment types of WIL, have higher employment rates, better starting salaries, and faster career development compared to those who follow traditional educational paths.
Lifelong learning is the future
According to Fannon, the distinction between education and working life will gradually fade. Artificial intelligence, automation, and a rapidly changing job market require a new approach to learning.
– The time when one completed an education at a young age and was "finished learning" for the rest of one's life is over. Future workers will continuously alternate between formal learning and practical work, she says.
She believes work-integrated learning is well-equipped for this development precisely because it builds on the interplay between theory and practice. Work-integrated learning and the principles that allow it to succeed provide a promising blueprint for adapting how we think about work and education across our lifespans.
– In Canada, we have established an ecosystem where educational institutions and employers collaborate closely. Universities can no longer operate in a bubble, separated from working life – and employers cannot expect new employees to come fully trained, concludes Fannon.
