Post -secondary education: Who cares about length of study – what about work experience? - Alyshah Hasham, Toronto Star

Shorter undergraduate degrees, online classes and year-round studying could help students get into the workplace faster and with less debt according to an unpublished government paper on reforming the post-secondary education system. But, if businesses could get a say in improving the system, what would they want to see in their future employees? The most valuable reform would be more work experience, say Rowan O’Grady, president of recruiting firm Hays Canada. Internships and co-op placements make people more employable when they graduate, he said. “It’s one thing to learn a topic and understand it theoretically and nearly always different to work in the industry.” With youth unemployment at about 14 per cent in Canada – double the national average – giving graduates the skill they need to get hired is a pressing concern.