WIL - work integrated learning

In a job market that is becoming increasingly more competitive, experience in the workplace is an invaluable asset to graduates. That's why all USQ Springfield undergraduate programs offer students the opportunity to experience Work Integrated Learning (WIL).

• What is WIL? 
• Types of WIL at USQ Springfield
  • Type 1 (Professional practicum) and Type 2 (Work placement)
  • Type 3 (Industry and community projects)
  • Type 4 (Work samples and training)
  • Type 5 (Related work experience)
  • Career development learning
• Examples of WIL experiences
• What does WIL involve?
• Media Releases

What is WIL?

WIL is a range of work-related activities and experiences built into your study program. The WIL you'll do in your program is designed to:

• help you develop a better understanding of your future career path, personal and professional direction
• help you extend your knowledge of the world-of-work and range of employment opportunities awaiting you upon graduation
• give you opportunities to apply the theory you learn in class in the workplace
• promote within you greater levels of professional competence, confidence and more realistic expectations.

Types of WIL at USQ Springfield

WIL activities are integrated across a number of the courses/subjects you will study. You will do different types of activities at different points in your program.

There are four main types of activities that might be included in your courses:

Type 1 (Professional practicum) and Type 2 (Work placement)

When you are doing Type 1 or Type 2 WIL you generally spend time based in a workplace in an industry related to your degree. Things you might do include:

• spending time working with clients (e.g. classes of students or individual counselling clients) while under guidance of a supervisor
• shadowing a professional in the workplace
• participate in a team of professionals on projects
• contribute to client work with an industry partner or
• explore a particular theoretical issue in an applied setting.

When you undertake these types of experiences you are usually working independently of the university.

Type 3 (Industry and community projects)

When you undertake Type 3 WIL you will be working on community or industry focused projects working for a client and being guided and supported by university staff within a particular course. You might go on client visits and collect data in the community, spend time meeting with your clients to work out their needs, and then spend time at university working with your lecturer on designing and completing your project.

Type 4 (Work samples and training)

You will most likely do Type 4 activities throughout most of your degree. These are small career and work-related tasks and events designed, delivered and supervised by the university. The purpose of these is to help you understand how to use the tools of the trade. Typical things you might do include:

• site and field visits to observe professional settings
• sessions with people from industry demonstrating how to use a range of tools used in industry and coaching you in how to incorporate these tools into your own professional practice
• guest speakers from areas of industry you might not have known about or considered as a possible career path.

Type 5 (Related work experience)

This type of WIL recognises the learning you have previously or are currently undertaking in the workplace. If your knowledge and skills clearly align with specific courses, you may gain credit for that course. Talk to the faculty offering your program about whether this option is available to you during your studies.

Career development learning

As part of your type 4 WIL you will also complete a number of activities designed to help you explore your future career path and employment options. They can be grouped into three different areas:

• Personal management activities: This area relates to having the skills and self-knowledge to understand 'you', the types of work most suited to your abilities, skills, talents and personal attributes, your ability to communicate effectively, and being motivated to develop and maintain a learning focus throughout your life.
  
• Learning and work exploration activities: Knowing how to locate, interpret, evaluate and use career information and having knowledge of the world of work, society and the economy and understanding the interplay between each of these factors.
  
• Career building activities: Being able to identify work opportunities, secure/create and maintain a position in the workforce, having the ability to consider external factors into your decision-making process and improve career prospects, being able to balance work and personal life, and managing your career to achieve specific goals while recognising and overcoming stereotypes in the workplace and fluctuations in the work system.

The exact activities you'll complete depend on what degree program you are enrolled in and when you are enrolled in that particular course WIL experiences are designed to optimally suit the structure of your program and the needs of the associated industry. Given that each discipline of study requires a different range of skills, knowledge and experience, the types of WIL you'll undertake may vary slightly from this diagram.

What does WIL involve?

This depends on your study program. Below are some examples of how WIL may apply to your study area.

Media Releases