To speak to some observations, at least in the world of work-integrated learning prepandemic, I think it's fair to say that co-ops, internships and work-integrated learning became very popular and were on a growth path across most post-secondary institutions, whether they be colleges, polytechnics or universities.
Many organizations, or at least many of the institutions, are looking for ways to balance the needs of students and learners with the identification of work experiences through our industry and employer partners. That's always a bit of a juggling act for post-secondary institutions. The demand from the student side is very high. There always needs to be enough employer opportunity for students to experience these incredible learning opportunities.
To answer your question about during the pandemic, obviously, with the economy and businesses unable to operate or have students in the workplace, we pivoted in a very similar way to many others. We advocated for employers to keep their co-op and WIL students as best they could and to leverage virtual work as a solution for that. We are thankful that many employers did respond and were able to, in some cases, salvage the education of students who would not have been able to graduate if they had been unable to have these working experiences, which were a part of their academic program. We're very thankful for that contribution.
Similarly, the funding through a range of federal programs, including the student work placement program as well as the Canada summer jobs program, is absolutely critical to inspiring our employers and industry partners to create enough opportunities to meet student needs across the spectrum of work-integrated learning.
Now that we have returned to a case of a bit more normal, I think we're going to continue to experience that supply-and-demand curve of students who need eligible, high-quality work experiences as part of their academic journey through post-secondary. Then there's also a cohort of students who may not be enrolled in post-secondary education who also require work experiences to enable them to develop the skills to pursue their career paths, even if it's not in the higher education direction.
It's our belief that wage subsidies in that environment do inspire employer participation, and that is required to support youth and our learners' needs.