The changing professional development needs of the international work-integrated learning community

Abstract

The practice of work-integrated learning (WIL) continues to expand across the higher education sector, with many universities introducing or expanding their WIL offerings to align curriculum more closely to employability outcomes (Rowe & Zegwaard, 2017). Universities in Australia have rapidly developed WIL, with all universities offering WIL in almost all the disciplines (Universities Australia, 2019). In New Zealand, WIL has been given increasing attention with the Universities NZ, the peak body for NZ universities, DVCA’s Committee creating a WIL sub-committee to develop national strategy, and with the University of Waikato introducing compulsory WIL for all undergraduates degrees (Muller et al., 2021). The Canadian government recognised WIL as crucial to economic advancement and provided CAD$150 million to support work placement opportunities (Beaulne-Stuebing, 2019).