Employers

• Tap into our community of over 35,000 students
• Discover new talent before your competitors
• Advance students to become work ready graduates
• Provide leadership, mentorship and professional development opportunities to your staff
• Recruitment pathway providing the opportunity to trial potential employees without obligation
• Gain fresh ideas and approaches

• Promote your place of employment to our student body as a great place to work
• Promote your industry or profession as one that offers career satisfaction
• Be part of La Trobe University networks
• Harness the experience of our WIL staff and careers advisers
• Take advantage of a cost-effective way of gaining innovative solutions
• Collaborate with us on innovative and community engagement projects
• Contribute to the quality of teacher education in a joint and collaborative venture
• Have a positive impact on student learning in the classroom
• Be supported by our staff and have access to professional development opportunities
• Partner with our academics to ensure our courses are consistent with school curriculum approaches and directly link theory with practice

There are many ways you can partner with La Trobe University to engage and work with our students and graduates:

• Offer a professional experience placement or internship
• Offer a work placement (clinical or fieldwork)
• Propose an industry project
• Be a guest speaker or lecturer
• Employ a current student or graduate via La Trobe University’s Career Hub
• Stay connected with our Alumni
• Engage our Researchers on a research focus area or project

Learn more about WIL from questions asked by our industry partners.

Which industries are covered by WIL programs?

Most industries can benefit from participating in WIL. While some professional fields such as nursing, teaching and engineering have a long history of structured work integrated learning associated with professional accreditation requirements, WIL is increasingly becoming a feature of higher education courses across all fields of study.

How will it help my organisation?

The mentoring you give to a student can help you in many ways. The extra pair of hands will immediately help with resourcing a project, your employees who mentor the student learn valuable management skills and, you are helping to improve the quality of graduates available to your industry.

How much time do I need to commit to WIL?

Typically, La Trobe University students work 100 to 200 hours in host organisations depending on subject requirements. This may range from 1 to 2 days per week during a standard semester (Semester 1 February-July, Semester 2 July-October) or full time for 3 to 4 weeks during the Summer Semester or Summer Semester. We can customise WIL to your requirements.  Your staff's involvement will vary depending on the student's project whilst undertaking the internship or professional placement experience.  There will be some supervising and mentoring requirements which we'll discuss with you before we place students within your organisation. We will work with you to create a work plan for the student.

Am I expected to remunerate students for their services?

The majority of WIL experiences are unpaid.  Should you wish to remunerate students for their expenses, please contact us for more information.

Does La Trobe University provide insurance for students undertaking WIL?

Yes. We provide insurance for students undertaking WIL as part of their studies provided we have approved the experience.

What do I have to provide the student?

You should provide a rewarding workplace experience for the student which includes the tools they need to do their best work. This would include a safe workspace, suitable equipment and appropriate mentoring and supervision.  If you cannot provide a regular office space, please contact us to discuss possible alternatives.

When can students undertake WIL?

Most WIL opportunities are scheduled at particular times of the year to fit annual course structures. Student availability can be discussed and agreed with the partner university.

If the placement is part of their course, students usually complete it within the academic calendar:

• Summer Semester: late November – mid February
• Semester 1: late February – early June
• Winter Semester: July
• Semester 2: late July – late October

However, we may be able to accommodate WIL outside these times.

Who determines the students' WIL duties?

The host organisation determines the WIL student duties.  The scope of the role and project will need to be approved by the student's Subject Coordinator, to ensure that it fits with the overall academic expectations of the placement. Any work allocated needs to be at a level usually undertaken by a graduate in the field.

School of Education

The Teaching School Model in action (Secondary)

Discover the benefits of La Trobe’s Paired Placement Model which enables different teaching styles to better engage students.

The Teaching School Model in action (Primary)

Gain professional experience that is collaborative and pupil-focused that enables you to run your own classroom.

Organisations we have partnered with:

La Trobe Business School

• ALTEC
• The Gertrude Traders Association
• Football Federation Victoria

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

• Channel 31
• The Herald and Weekly Times
• Australian Industry Group Defence Council

College of Science, Health and Engineering (SHE)

The SHE College WIL team has recently launched a Work Integrated Learning newsletter for industry partners. The purpose of this newsletter is to share news and updates relating to the work that is being done at La Trobe University in the Work Integrated Learning space. If you would like to subscribe, please contact SHEWorkIntegratedLearning@latrobe.edu.au and ask to be added to our mailing list.

Articles:

• La Trobe University Partnership with Carlton FC
• La Trobe University Careers & Employability Partnership with NORTH Link
• Partner with La Trobe through Graduate Research
• In2Science: Getting school students engaged in STEM

So that we may best assist you, please contact the discipline area relating to the work placement opportunity: