Marketing's Missing Link Between Education and Employment

About this episode

Tom Elson discusses how work-based learning through Riipen is bridging the gap between education and employment.

Recorded live at SocialPacific 2025 in North Vancouver, Tom Elson , Employer Success Manager at Riipen , joins guest host Rachel Thexton to explore how work-based learning is closing the gap between graduation and meaningful employment. Riipen connects students, educators, and employers through real-world project work, giving students hands-on experience while giving organizations access to fresh talent and ideas, often with government-funded subsidies covering up to 50% of student stipends. Tom breaks down how Riipen works, what employers are actually looking for in junior talent, and why their new Future Path program might be the most flexible student engagement tool available to Canadian organizations right now. Because the talent gap is real — and the solution might already be in a classroom near you.

People in this episode

Host: Rachel Thexton

Guest: Tom Elson

Topics covered

• work-based learning
• education
• employment
• student engagement
• talent gap

Keywords

• work-based learning
• employment
• education
• Riipen
• student engagement
• Future Path program
• talent gap

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Riipen

Places: North Vancouver

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