Are you keeping up with employers’ changing expectations?
Employers’ requirements and their relationships to campuses are evolving.
The changing labour market; new technologies; the hybrid workplace; the expansion of internship, co-op and other experiential programs; and, expanded efforts towards diversity recruitment are all having a significant impact on the work of employer relations professionals.
Become better equipped to engage employers on your campus.
Register Now
Improve employer engagement
Become an invaluable resource for your employer partners
Earn your employer engagement certification
Are you responsible for attracting employers to your campus, developing opportunities for your students or strengthening relations with external partners?
The Employer Engagement Academy is designed for professionals working in post-secondary offices that partner with employers: career services, cooperative education, work-integrated learning, experiential learning, and others.
Register Now
4 live and interactive workshops
Collaborative group work and discussions
12 hours of active learning
A supportive network of peers
Dedicated web portal with discussion board
Online educational materials (video recordings, slides, articles, worksheets)
Earn Your Employer Engagement Academy Micro-Credential
Upon successful completion of this program, graduates will be able to:
- Identify employers’ top challenges and share various tactics to support them in addressing these challenges
- Discuss and develop concrete methods career offices can apply to better support employers’ diversity recruitment efforts
- Acquire the tools to help employer partners build a solid business case for student hiring
Program & Schedule
(All times based on Eastern time zone)
The Employer Engagement Academy features four, 3-hour sessions that include workshops, presentations and panel discussions that will be presented live online over a span of 4 weeks. Weekly sessions will include opportunities for participants to reflect on their learning, take part in small and large group discussions, meet with their peers, and complete self-guided learning and research assignments.
In addition to the 3-hour sessions, it is expected that participants will complete 1-2 hours of homework each week. Homework will consist of posting and commenting on discussion board topics, connecting with co-participants, watching video recordings, and/or completing quizzes.
With intended learning outcomes, participants will be supported via a dedicated web portal to access educational materials, connect with peers, post and comment on coursework, discuss topics of interest, and share best practices and information over the course of the program.
All 3-hour sessions will be recorded and made available for review for 6 months after the completion of the program.
Week 1
Tuesday, April 16
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Eastern)
- What Is the Role of the Employer Relations Professional?
- Employers' Top Challenges: How Schools Solve Problems for Their Employer Partners
- Employer Relations Pro Panel: Focus on Sourcing Leads & Business Development Skills
Week 2
Tuesday, April 23
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
- Campus Recruitment Outlook: Key Trends and Strategies in Campus Recruitment that Impact ER
- Employer Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: The Role of Schools in the DEI Challenge
- Evaluating your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities with the Employer Relations Scorecard
Week 3
Tuesday, April 30
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
- Pro Panel: How Campus Recruiting Works: The Employers’ Perspective
- Creating High Impact Employer Events
- And Action! What Consultative Conversations Look Like – Role Play
Week 4
Tuesday, May 7
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
- Helping Your Employer Partners Build a Solid Case to Increase Student Hiring
- Key Cohort Roundtables: Collaborative Group Work on Common Challenges
- Building Employer Relations for the Long Term: Creating Client Ecstasy
- Next Steps: Turning Learnings into Action Plans
All details are subject to change.
Spring 2024 Panelists & Facilitators
Additional panelists to be announced soon.
Raj Dam
Assistant Director - Partnerships and External Relations,
University of Toronto Scarborough
Graham Donald
President,
Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
Jia Jia
Manager, Employer Relations, Career Centre,
University of Alberta
Stéphanie Joseph
Senior TA Consultant, University Relations,
Marsh, Canada, US & Bermuda
Ana Kulis
Talent Acquisition Partner, Human Resources,
TMX Group
Kristin Robinson
Industry Liaison Associate, Engineering Corporate Relations,
Queen's University
Nolan Roth
Talent Acquisition Specialist, Campus Strategy,
Loblaw Companies Limited
Spencer Sanders
Senior Manager, Talent Attraction (Campus) People & Culture,
Grant Thornton LLP
Matt Wheatley
Manager External Engagement and Partnerships, Co-op and Career Centre,
Algonquin College
Tenzin Zongdho
Senior Manager, Early Talent Acquisition,
RBC
Dedicated Support
Julie Rahmer
Learning Success Manager,
Employer Engagement Academy
Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.
As the Employer Engagement Academy’s dedicated program support person, I’m committed to ensuring that participants and presenters get the most out of their experiences. I am happy to answer questions and provide information and updates to ensure that you are well equipped for this unique learning opportunity.
If you work directly with the employers that hire your students, then the Employer Engagement Academy is designed for you.
Testimonials
I highly recommend this program to anyone in the employer relations field, who is interested in learning, sharing best practices, hearing from employer panels, joining in on lively discussions, and building their network, not to mention, receiving a micro-credential once completed! This program was informative, engaging, and probably the best PD I have ever been a part of, and it continues to be, with access to the dashboard, resources, network, and discussion board for six months after the program! Money well spent.
Kelleen Schonfeldt
Partnership Coordinator (Allied Health Sciences), Career Centre, Cambrian College
Participating in this year's Employer Engagement Academy was an extraordinary journey. The opportunity to connect and engage in stimulating discussions with like-minded employer engagement specialists from esteemed post-secondary institutions nationwide proved to be an invaluable asset for my professional growth. The insights and knowledge acquired will greatly contribute to my efforts in engaging employers interested in hiring student talent, as well as providing positive support to those hosting our exceptional students in internships and future co-op opportunities.
Kazi Kabir
External Relations Officer, Arts & Science Co-op, University of Toronto Scarborough
I'm excited to put what I've learned into practice, and in turn strengthen relationships between Dalhousie University's employer partners, students, and alumni! This has been a wonderful professional development experience!
Nia MacFarlane
Coordinator, Employer Engagement & Events Career Services Dalhousie University
The Employer Engagement Academy gave me more clarity on all the streams concerning employer relations. Hearing the fantastic experiences of panelists and my classmates has provided a wide variety of ideas I can propose and execute inside the institution I work for. I am grateful for receiving the opportunity to participate in this program.
Carlos Davalos
Corporate Relations Liaison, Business Development, Douglas College
The Employer Engagement Academy was an amazing opportunity, professional and down-to-earth. Speakers were informative and engaging on relevant topics. Group activities were thought provoking and provided great insight on what is happening coast to coast with post-secondary employer relations!
Julie Stuart
Employer Relations Consultant, Career Services, Niagara College Canada
This was a great program and I have many takeaways for my "idea" whiteboard in my office. As employer developers, we often attend events and conferences for the main purpose of building and fostering new relationships with PD being an additional bonus. This was a great opportunity to give relationship builders their own PD exclusively focused on learning, growing and planning for the future. I would highly recommend!
Venessa Magny
Talent Partnership Consultant, Goodman School of Business, Brock University
The Employer Engagement Academy was a very engaging and insightful course that helped me better understand employers’ changing recruitment needs when it comes to hiring students and how I can better support them while navigating the evolving labor market. It was also a great avenue for meeting many other colleagues from various universities across Canada! I am looking forward to implementing some of the takeaways from this course.
Nadira Al-Nasleh, M.Ed.
Employer Engagement and Events Coordinator, Bissett Student Success Centre, Dalhousie University
As a new person working in this field, the Employer Engagement Academy provided important insights into current issues. I picked up terminology and concepts from discussions, awareness of current employer and student trends. Thanks to this course, and the willingness of experienced participants, I can carry on intelligent discussions with folks at my institute and have meaningful info to share. This program brought me up to speed quickly. The format allowed me to meet others in the industry personally. Through this class, I've forged many new contacts in the field- I feel like I've entered a national cooperative process, and that's pretty exciting!
Sandy MacKay
Work-Integrated Learning Coordinator, Office of Experiential Education, University of New Brunswick
FAQs
What will I learn during this program?
In addition to practicing professional skills such as communication, managing/processing information, problem-solving, time-management, and teamwork/collaboration, after completing the Employer Engagement Academy program, you'll achieve a number of learning outcomes.
What is the schedule and time commitment?
The core of the program is four, 3-hour sessions held over 4 weeks. In addition to the 3-hour sessions, it is expected that participants will complete 1-2 hours of homework each week consisting of posting and commenting on discussion board topics, connecting with co-participants, watching video recordings, and/or completing quizzes.
All sessions will be recorded so that participants can access any sessions that conflict with their personal schedules.
Will there be recordings available?
Yes, all sessions will be recorded and available exclusively to program participants on the dedicated web portal for 6 months after the completion of the program.
What happens if I miss a session?
There’s a good chance that a session or two may conflict with your other commitments. Recordings of sessions will be posted on the web portal along with educational materials within 24 hours of each workshop, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to catch up.
Who should participate?
If you work directly with the employers that hire your students, then the Employer Engagement Academy is designed for you.
Can you help me convince my boss to invest in this?
Absolutely. Please send an email to Julie Rahmer at julie@brainstorm.ca and I will send you an email template.
