Langara College Launches Global Skills Development Project
More than 156 snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College students will be gaining global skills through the newly launched Langara College Global Skills Development Project (GSDP). This offering has been made possible through $500,000 in funding by the Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Opportunity program.
This valuable study opportunity will unlock students’ endless potential through life-changing global skills and experiences. Available to all students, program funding will prioritize support of low-income students, Indigenous students, and students with disabilities.
The program offers three supported pathways to increase global skills development by offering virtual and physical mobility options for students to build transferable work skills and intercultural competence. The three pathways include:
- Work Integrated Learning Global Virtual Internship (GVI): students will connect with one of four organizations supporting global virtual internships.
- Global Outbound Mobility: Collaborative Online Intercultural Learning-Virtual Exchange (COIL-VE) is well established with twelve Langara departments collaborating with international partners in nine countries.
- Global CO-OP: offered to students ready for a longer-term Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience which can be virtual but likely a physical mobility experience of 4 or 8 months.
For example, Langara students in a COIL course would learn and exchange information virtually throughout the academic term. With the Global Skills Development Project, funding is provided for Langara students to travel to select COIL partnership countries and deepen their relationships and intercultural experience for short term visits.
“One of the unexpected benefits of COIL-VE initiatives at Langara during COVID-19 is the engagement of faculty with virtual mobility partners and, in turn, strengthening relationships between institutions,” said Heather Workman, Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Abilities Coordinator at Langara. “As restrictions on travel are lifted, we will continue developing and maintaining these partnerships. Our aim through these partnerships is to deepen relationships leading to multiple opportunities including virtual and physical mobility.”
Compared to similar countries, fewer Canadian students – only about 11% of university undergraduates and 3% of college students – participate in work or study abroad experiences during their studies. The new program stands to change that. By empowering post-secondary institutions to implement innovative solutions to barriers to participation, Global Skills Opportunity will expand the horizons of Canadian students from coast to coast and improve Canada’s competitiveness on the world stage.