The Interior & Northern Work Integrated Learning Coalition, a partnership between Thompson Rivers University (TRU), the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), and University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), aims to direct connection between industry and institution, opening the door for employers to cost-effectively innovate, increase capacity, and contribute to a future skilled workforce. Helping employers engage with skilled student talent helps support the changing needs of small and medium sized organizations.
Situated within Northern and Interior of British Columbia, TRU, UBCO, and UNBC serve both urban and rural regions that are located in areas of the province that are predominantly populated by small and medium-sized enterprises and organizations. Pandemic notwithstanding, small and medium sized organizations face challenges in their business that large sized enterprises might not face, including staffing levels, resources, funding and more. These challenges, among many others, can become barriers for an organization when implementing a change or considering involvement in Co-op and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) programming.
As post-pandemic economic recovery planning is underway, the three institutions are partnering to ensure access to resources, funding, and student talent are available to those who could benefit from utilizing these resources as their organization plans for the future. INWIL has developed this website along with a resource hub to support and address some of the regional challenges faced by small and medium sized organizations.