Integrating Mentorship in Workplace-Integrated Learning Curriculum

Abstract

When instructing and supporting Business Degree students through work-integrated learning (WIL) courses, instructors noted high technical skill competence, but less preparedness pertaining to interpersonal and professional interactions. The inability to effectively navigate relationships and workplace contexts could impact the perceived competence of the student/employee. In increasingly dynamic and challenging workplaces, a graduate’s breadth of skills within both interpersonal and technical competencies are critically important. In this paper, we describe experiences and conditions related to the re-design and implementation of the Practicum and Capstone courses. Both utilize the integration of mentorship in curriculum to increase the learning, development, and experience of soon-to-be graduates. This approach may be an effective method to support students through the transition from post-secondary to the workplace more successfully. This paper considers the effectiveness of the re-design and the future of the related work.