1. IDEATE!
Problem statement: Employers need a way to communicate their perspectives & suggestions to educators
because both students & employers would benefit from students being better prepared for integration into the
workforce.
BRAINSTORMING!
1) Employers design educational content & courses in tandem with educators
2) Every class has a portion taught by industry
3) Employers must hire students part-time while they are in school
4) Employers can suggest new programs/topics to be added to curriculum
5) Employers have to “Approve” all course materials/programs and technology being taught
6) “Partner” every educator with an employer partner “buddy
7) Job shadowing – students to job shadow employees
8) Online chat forums for educators and employer
9) New employees should have the chance to participate in some sort of social activities with their new co-
workers to better acclimatize.
10) Regular in person meetings/forums between all educators and related employers
11) Funding from schools for businesses to hire
12) Smartphone app that allows educators to ask employers questions any time and get a response
13) Every student gets a work integrated learning experience as part of their program
14) Teach some classes within businesses in the community – borrow/rent their boardrooms
15) Instead of traditional campuses, built mini satellite campuses in the midst of corporate areas so students
are always integrated in a work environment
16) “Take a student to work day” – where students get to shadow employees
17) Formal classes to teach students about the “work environment”
18) Lunch and learns for students hosted by employers to introduce them to their environments
19) “Role play” in the classroom to prepare students
20) Educators to job shadow employers- to ensure they aren’t out of touch
21) While a student is an co-op/placement employee, the educator and employer should have regular
meetings to discuss their progress
22) Every student gets a co-op placement
23) Every student gets a summer job in the workplace
24) Employers must audit classes at local institutions
25) Instead of going straight to post-secondary school, all students will work between high school and
university for at least a year.
26) All employees should go back to school once a year to get the other perspective, that of students, the
programs of study from which they recruit their employees
27) Mail/share course books to employers so they can stay up to date on what’s going on in schools, with a
letter asking them for their input (perhaps an online forum)
28) Bring 3rd
party into the conversations – i.e. software developers – to bridge a link between the industry
and educators. Maybe they develop products that meet everyone’s needs!
29) Annual Industry/Educator Conference
30) Educators put out questionnaire for industry to respond to
31) Allow for courses to be taken while working – online learning/education will facilitate this.
32) Assigning a mentor to every student entering the workforce
33) Incentive based salaries for students and the employer

2. 34) Entrance and exit interviews for students going into organizations to ensure expectations from both
parties are clear
35) Regular job fairs so students can meet employers and ask questions
36) Assignments/secondments for educators into organizations so they can understand the culture
37) Get involved! New employees should get involved in the culture and the industry – volunteer for
professional associations and committees etc. Immerse yourself
38) “Put yourself in my shoes” – Have current employees meet new employees for coffee/lunch to share their
own experiences about when they started their careers
39) In each program of study, have employers/industry share real facts – average salaries, length of work
days, and the realities!
40) Employers to develop student/new employee handbooks to help guide them
41) Government to mandate the role employers/industry should have in program development to ensure
academic programs are being developed to meet the needs of the employment market
42) More co-operative degrees between universities/colleges to ensure students get exposure to practical
tasks and skills.
43) Video blogs (v-logs) tours showing students what an average day in the workplace looks like – these can
be shown in schools.
44) Create a volunteer program where anyone who wants to help can go into schools to talk about their
careers and the paths they took to get there and the realities
45) High level executives of companies should have a relationship with college /university leaders
46) Give students credit on their record for activities outside the classroom (jobs/co-ops etc). This would offer
more incentive for students to get work related roles and for employers to have students in their
organizations. Everyone wins.
47) Pay for courses for employees to go back to school!! More learning = more understanding of what is
going on in schools, leading to a better ability to suggest change and innovations.
48) Industry to offer free childcare, free services (grocery shopping, car pooling etc) to help students adjust
to working full time and adjusting their lives to a work schedule.
49) Develop a ‘skills-match’ search engine, where educators input all the skills learned in their offered
programs, and employers put in the skills needed for their jobs, and educators, employers students can
search for matches.
50) Develop financial incentive/funding model for educational institutions & employers – reward given on
successful integration of student to workforce. Incentive for all parties to work harder.
51) Involve parents! They can help prepare their students with realistic representations of what their
experiences are in the workforce
52) Instead of a traditional guidance counselor/student success specialist role, this role should be tag-teamed
with an industry volunteer who can give the industry perspective
Step 2 - Idea Selection: Out of all the ideas you generated, select three ideas according to the following criteria:
i. the most practical idea (one that could be easily implemented)
Every class has a portion taught by industry; This may be a challenge for schools located in smaller cities, but
in large cities that have an abundance of industries, inviting volunteers from throughout the organizations to
“guest” participate in one class each year. This would not have to be a mid or high level employee, but any
employee who can give the other perspective. This would give students the opportunity to ask questions and
hear about real-life experience.

3. ii. the most disruptive idea
Instead of traditional campuses, build mini satellite campuses in the midst of corporate/work areas so
students are always integrated in a work environment. For example, students studying to be trades
people could have a trailer situated on a job site.
This would allow students the opportunity to be surrounded by the environment in which they are aspiring
to work in. They would get a real look at the environment they have chosen, the interactions with people,
and the ability to participate in job shadowing/volunteer placements very easily.
iii. your favorite idea (one idea that you are excited about for whatever reason... you don’t
have to justify why)
Industry to offer an onsite service centre that offers: free childcare, free services (grocery shopping, car pooling,
on-site gym, social clubs etc, free seminars (i.e. how to dress for the workforce) to help students adjust to working
full time and adjusting their lives to a work schedule.
After 20 + years of being in the education sector, moving to a job is a real adjustment. Offering services to help
ease the transition would allow new employees to develop balance and be able to develop relationships with
other co-workers/other new employees.