Risk in work integrated learning : A stakeholder centric model for higher education

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) increases the ‘work readiness’ of university graduates but it is a complex undertaking and involves numerous risks for the stakeholders involved. A systematic review of the literature published between 2012 and 2017 reveals that the discourses related to risk and WIL are quite limited with the perspectives of key stakeholders receiving little attention. To address these shortcomings, a stakeholder centric model is proposed that conceptualises risk as a network of potentially fragile relationships and interactions, centred on the student, and involving all key WIL stakeholders. This Stakeholder Interaction (SI) model provides a framework for the analysis of risk from the perspectives of each stakeholder in turn and as such, has the potential to inform the management of risk in WIL more broadly and address some gaps in academic discourse and practice.