Local businesses and Georgian College students will collaborate in a brand-new initiative to prepare employers for a future-focused workforce and provide students with valuable work-integrated
learning experiences.
Georgian is partnering with the Barrie Chamber of Commerce for this initiative that is free to businesses. It is one of nine recently announced work-integrated learning projects funded by the Business
+ Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), with support from the Government of Canada.
Georgian and the chamber are looking for several small- to medium-sized businesses to take part in COLABORATORY. As Georgian is the only designated changemaker college in Canada, committed
to helping students develop progressive skills to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, COLABORATORY also offers a Changemaker Workplace designation.
“COLABORATORY is a unique opportunity for employers to be connected with their future workforce, helping them to attract talent that’s looking for shared social and environmental values,” said
Nicole Norris, director, social innovation at Georgian College. “We’re thrilled to partner with the Barrie Chamber of Commerce and their members to help introduce them to student changemakers
who will be their future employees.”
Working with Georgian’s research, innovation and entrepreneurship department, participating businesses will learn about emerging technology and social trends to help them stay innovative and
relevant while learning how to support the expectations of a social- and environmental-conscious future workforce. Participating students, who are working to complete the changemaker micro-certificate,
will have the opportunity to network with companies that care about the same values and skills they do.
