Where there’s a WIL, there’s a way: Collaborative approaches to upskilling, employability and assessment of Work Integrated Learning

As employers demand for work ready graduates has increase, so has the emphasis on providing work relevant learning and experience in the higher education sector, With mutually beneficial outcomes for industry, universities, and students alike, Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs have the potential to equip students with both transferable and discipline specific skills necessary for employability in a changing world. In STEM disciplines in particular, WIL is one of the key ways in increase student workplace preparedness in the face of a national skills shortage. In practice, however, incorporating the teaching and assessment of these skills meaningfully within a 12 week university semester can be challenging. This paper describes a collaboration between career practitioners, language and learning educators, curriculum developers and academic staff across three final year Maths WIL units, and highlights key learnings and recommendations for use in future collaborations