By Ryan Tishcoff with contributions from The Dais and Medow Consulting
For many international students, securing work experience while in school isn’t just about polishing a resume or networking with the right people — it’s about navigating a maze of visa rules, cultural expectations and unfamiliar job markets. Despite the challenges, getting real-world work experience can be a transformative part of their academic journey, shaping not only their career paths but also their sense of belonging and confidence in a new country. Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a form of experiential education that integrates workplace experience into students’ academic curricula, often through co-op placements, internships or practicums (see HEQCO’s WIL Guide). A growing body of work highlights that WIL benefits students’ transition into the workforce; little is known, however, about international students’ experiences with WIL.
To explore this, The Dais at TMU and Medow Consulting conducted focus groups in 2024 with international students and recent graduates from the Greater Toronto Area. The goal was to better understand the benefits and challenges of WIL. This initiative was part of the 2023 HEQCO research consortium on international education, which invited Ontario’s postsecondary sector to consider how we can better support our international students and improve the quality of education they receive. The focus groups revealed themes that underscore WIL’s potential to strengthen job readiness and expand career pathways for international students.
WIL can benefit international students’ transition into the workforce.
Notably, this research took place in the context of significant changes to international education policy in Ontario and Canada. In addition to implementing an international student cap, the federal government reduced eligible off-campus work hours for international students to 24 hours per week, down from the temporary 40-hour limit introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This change allows students to focus on their studies while still giving them opportunities to gain the skills and experience they’ll need as they transition into their careers. Providing access to quality WIL experiences is an important part of ensuring international students are job-ready by the time they graduate.
Participants described several benefits from engaging in WIL. Some of these overlap with what we often hear from domestic students — that, for example, WIL placements help students gain industry-relevant skills and experience, and that students can leverage connections and networking opportunities to secure full-time jobs down the road. Similarly, researchers heard that WIL provided participants with opportunities to apply their academic knowledge as they developed teamwork, problem-solving and other transferable skills. In some cases, students were also able to earn money to help cover tuition and living expenses.
WIL provides opportunities to develop industry-relevant transferable skills.
Other benefits were more unique to the international student experience. Participants shared that WIL helped expose them to Canadian workplaces and increased their knowledge of different organizational cultures and professional dynamics. This provided insight into what their ideal workplace might look like, which helped guide their job searches and ease transitions into the labour market. In addition, participants with work experience prior to arriving in Canada often felt that WIL gave them opportunities to showcase and build upon their existing skills.
WIL exposes international students to Canadian organizational cultures and dynamics.
Focus group participants also identified barriers that sometimes made it difficult to access and benefit from WIL. Some struggled to find and secure paid placements, relying instead on volunteer roles to gain experience and fulfill program requirements. In some cases, they felt they had not received adequate support from their institutions in securing a placement, and that they had been left on their own to navigate confusing or incomplete information about available jobs and eligibility requirements.
Some international students felt they had been left on their own to navigate confusing information about jobs.
Participants reported navigating systemic barriers in their WIL experiences as well. Some shared that funding for certain jobs was limited to domestic students, and/or that they had been excluded from job opportunities because of their international student status. Other international students reported that employers had been hesitant to hire them, either because of a lack of Canadian work experience or assumptions that domestic students were more likely to remain with the organization long term.
Moving forward, Ontario’s postsecondary sector has an opportunity to build on the positive impact WIL has had for many international students. These experiences provide a strong foundation that help students establish their careers and, if they choose, pursue one of Canada’s immigration pathways. Removing systemic and institutional barriers would help us extend these benefits to more students and maximize WIL’s potential to support international education in Ontario. Recommended next steps that emerged in the research process included:
- standardizing and increasing transparency of WIL processes across institutions;
- improving international student access to WIL programs supported by the federal government;
- reducing work permit requirements for international students participating in WIL;
- aligning work-study opportunities with labour market needs; and
- ensuring targeted supports are available to international students to help them secure placements.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to deliver a high-quality WIL experience, be sure to explore our updated WIL guide. And for insights into the immigration and labour market outcomes of international students, check out our other international consortium projects!