Work Learn

Please see below for the Winter 2025 (Sept '25 – April '26) timelines:

• Call for proposals opens: Monday, May 26, 2025
• Call for proposals closed: Monday, June 16, 2025 by 11:59PM PST
  • Submit a proposal on Careers Online (please note we do not accept or review applications outside of the application window)
• Review of Work Learn proposals: Mid-June to end-July 
• Funding announcements: July 21 – 25, 2025
• Jobs posted on CareersOnline: July 28 – August 18, 2025
• Student recruitment / hiring: Mid / Late-August (hiring can extend through September)
• Deadline to submit student appointments:
  • Thursday, August 21 (start dates between September 1 – September 8);
  • Thursday, September 4 (start dates between September 9 – September 23);
  • Friday, September 19 (start dates between Septmber 24 – October 8);
  • Monday, October 6: Final Deadline to declare INTENT or submit ALL Winter appointments
• Work Learn placements: September 1, 2025 – April 30, 2026
• Site Visits: October / November and February / March
• End of Term Survey: Early April

If you need support developing/updating your Work Learn proposal, connect with the Work Learn team at work.learn@ubc.ca.

Please see below for the Summer 2025 (May – August '25) timelines:

• Call for proposals opens: Monday, January 6, 2025
• Call for proposals closed: Monday, January 27, 2025 by 11:59PM PST
  • Submit a proposal on Careers Online (please note we do not accept or review applications outside of the application window)
• Work Learn proposal review: Late-January/ Mid-February
• Funding announcement: March 3 – March 7, 2025
• Jobs posted on CareersOnline: March 10 – March 26, 2025
• Student recruitment: Mid-March to Late April 2025
• Deadline to submit student appointments:
  • Tuesday, April 22 (start dates between May 1 – May 8);
  • Tuesday, May 6 (start dates between May 9 – May 23);
  • Thursday, May 22 (start dates between May 24 – June 8);
  • Monday, June 2: Final Deadline to declare INTENT or submit ALL Summer appointments
• Work Learn placements: May 1, 2025 – August 31, 2025
• Site Visits: June/July
• Work Learn reimbursement: October 

* Review the Proposal Submission Guide. Whether you are a new or seasoned Work Learn supervisor, ensure your proposal addresses key criteria including a) job description, b) contribution to the university community, and c) student learning components.

Work Learn receives thousands of proposals for funding every cycle and as such, funding is not guaranteed from cycle-to-cycle, or from year-to-year. To increase your chances of receiving funding, it is a good idea to review and revise your proposal every cycle, even if you have received funding in the past.

Important considerations when submitting a Work Learn proposal for funding:

• All funding decisions are final.
• Late proposals are not accepted. 
• Work Learn publishes the Submission Guide and hosts webinars during each “Call for Proposals” period  to help supervisors and administrators submit strong proposals (check the ‘Workshops and Webinars’ tab below for more information).
• If you have questions, connect with us at work.learn@ubc.ca well before the submission deadline.

If you have not submitted an application on Careers Online before, set up an account as soon as possible. This process can take 1-2 business days, so initiate the process well before the application deadline.

If your proposal indicates that a candidate has already been identified for the position, the position will not be posted on CareersOnline and you will not receive any student applications. If you’d like to learn how to manage your applications and student communications or generate an applicant viewbook, please contact our office at work.learn@ubc.ca. Please see the ‘Timelines’ section above for when funding announcements are made each cycle.

Proposals submitted for the Work Learn Program serve two purposes:

• To provide a clear and detailed job posting to communicate the work and learning opportunity to students.
• To apply for funding through the Work Learn program’s hourly subsidy.

Please review the Work Learn Terms and Conditions

• Review the Submission Guide, which has a series of guiding questions you will need to address when submitting your proposal through the CareersOnline submission form. 
• Determine the job category for each role you are submitting a proposal for, see the Position Classification Guide Winter | Summer for the different types of positions and corresponding wage rates. These classifications are set and updated by UBC Human Resources. 
• If your proposal indicates that a candidate has already been identified for the position, the position will not be posted on CareersOnline and you will not receive any student applications

• Review the Step-by-step guide on the elements you need to include in your proposal.. 
• Log into your CareersOnline account to submit your proposal.
  • If you have not submitted an application before, set up an account on CareersOnline as soon as possible.
  • Please note: this process can take 1-2 business days, so initiate the process well before the application deadline.
• Follow the prompting questions in CareersOnline 

• Attend a webinar/workshop: see ‘Webinars and Workshops’ section on this page for upcoming offerings to support the development of a quality Work Learn proposal. 
• Equitable Hiring Guide: a digital resource highlighting  tips for creating more inclusive job descriptions.
• CACUSS also has an extensive guide for Equitable Practices for Hiring Student Staff 
• ACE-WIL has put together the Indigenous WIL Resource Hub

Examples of Successful Proposals

Need an example of a good proposal to get you started? A few of our successful employers have agreed to share theirs with you. (*Please note that these proposals have not yet been updated to include the 'Contribution to the University' section. Please refer to the Submission Guide for exact guidelines):

• Project Worker (Project Worker – lab position)
• Usher/Front of House for Concerts (non-lab position)
• Laboratory Research Assistant - Neuroscience/Biochem (Project Assistant – lab position)*
• Career Peer Advisor (Project Assistant – non-lab position)*
• Canaccord Learning Commons Student Assistant (Office/Library Worker)*
• LokoLab Research Assistant (Researcher/Professional - research position)
• More-than-Human Legal Rights & Duties Researcher (Researcher/Professional - research position)*

Review our Appointing a Student in Work Day Guide for full instructions.

It is important to have students appointed in their positions prior to starting work. Please note that Direct Hire BPs are not routed to Payroll anymore for approval of hiring employees; however, in order for approvals to be made in time for pay period cut-offs, appointments would need to be approved by the 8th or 9th of each month to make the 15th payday and 23rd or 24th of each month to make the end of the month payday.

In order to accept our funding offer, please follow these steps:

1. You must first ‘Create Position’ business process (BP) in Workday. This process creates the Work Learn position you want to appoint a student into using the job details provided to you in your funding announcement email, you will use the Create Position BP. Enter details into Workday by the deadlines highlighted below. For any questions about Workday or to get training on the process, please do not hesitate to contact the IRP Team.

The full terms and conditions for receiving the Work Learn subsidy are set on your Work Learn funding announcement email. Employers are expected to pay the student’s full hourly wage as the student incurs hours. The Work Learn subsidy is currently $9 per hour.

Work Learn Reimbursement Schedule (see the 2025 UBC Payroll Calendar)

Winter Cycle (September 1 to April 30)

**Hours approved on Workday after this deadline, will NOT be eligible for Winter cycle reimbursement.

Summer Cycle (May 1 to August 31)

**Hours approved on Workday after this deadline, will NOT be eligible for Summer cycle reimbursement. 

Terms and Conditions

- Work Learn operates on two sessions; Summer (May 1 – August 31) and Winter (September 1 – April 30). Summer reimbursements are processed in October. Winter reimbursements are processed (December, March, June).

- Work Learn will not reimburse hours outside of the set reimbursement dates. See chart above for session deadlines or review the 2025 UBC Payroll Calendar (opens as PDF). 

- Work Learn manually processes reimbursements based on the hours worked submitted by each student, and approved by the supervisor in Workday (see full details here). Supervisor must ensure each Work Learn appointment has ONE costing allocation associated in Workday.

- In Workday, you will see the Work Learn reimbursement reflected in the ledger account “Salaries | Student Work Learn Subsidy” in the ledger of the Worktag used to pay the Work Learn student. 

- Each pay period supervisors (or appropriate designate) are accountable for approving their student’s hours by the deadlines established by UBC Payroll to ensure their students are paid in a timely manner. The banking of Work Learn hours is not permitted. Supervisors must also ensure that students holding multiple appointments report their work learn hours correctly. Any discrepancies must be reported and fixed prior to the deadlines.

Related Workday Knowledge Base Articles for Hourly Employees

- Entering Time (Hourly Staff) (Students can only enter time for past dates if they fall within the current pay period)

- Entering Time (Manager) (Entering time on behalf of employees, for example if your student missed the payroll pay period deadline)

- FAQ: Entering or Correcting Time (includes: Can an employee enter hours retroactively? How do I track the hours worked by my Work Learn/Work Study student employee in Workday?)

For more Workday resources and help visit the Integrated Service Centre. 

Virtual Site Visits

Work Learn program staff conduct site visits midway through each Work Learn term. Site visits offer us a chance to meet with you and your student(s) to hear about student and supervisor experiences, as well as to review how the student learning objectives are being reached in your students’ roles. Site visits are consistently cited by students as a powerful reflection tool for them to articulate their learning experiences and transferrable skills. We will contact you directly if you have been selected for a site visit. Here are some examples of questions that we ask during site visits.

End-of-Term survey

Supervisors and their student employees must complete the WL End-of-Session Survey. Supervisors are expected to complete the survey before the end of the term, and ensure completion by their student employee(s). The feedback from the surveys is used to expand resources and program improvements.