In partnership with BHER, FutureForge brings students and local businesses together to create meaningful work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities at Bow Valley College.
Sarah White, Senior Partnerships Coordinator & Stakeholder Relations at BHER, attended a cross-sector roundtable in August hosted by Bow Valley College. Employers, students, post-secondary representatives, and community stakeholders came together to discuss workforce readiness, evolving employer needs, and how WIL and industry-education partnerships can better support Calgary’s economy.
The FutureForge model is a coordinated WIL approach where multi-disciplinary student teams deliver integrated business solutions to help local SMEs scale effectively. This model has already proven to be successful, with 24 students being hired permanently by eight participating employers within the first six months.
Bow Valley College, along with all of BHER’s WIL delivery partners across the country, are working to strengthen Canada’s national WIL infrastructure and build more resilient, demand-driven talent pipelines to meet the needs of today’s economy.