About
BHER is the only organization in Canada that brings together leaders from the country’s top companies and post-secondary institutions to build a better social and economic future. We collaborate with our members to tackle some of Canada’s biggest skills, talent, innovation, and productivity challenges.
Our Strategic Plan
From Halifax to Vancouver, Canada’s leaders are calling for bold reforms to unlock agility, alignment, accountability, and growth across Canada’s skills, talent, and innovation systems.
The need for cross-sector conversations and collaboration has never been greater.
With BHER's new Strategic Plan, we will build on the last decade of success, and:
- Deepen our work on skills, talent, productivity, and innovation — expanding beyond WIL to support lifelong learning, upskilling, and inclusive economic growth.
- Strengthen research and innovation partnerships to power productivity and prosperity.
- Amplify our national voice and influence to shape systems, inform policy, and unlock change.
- Invest in our internal capabilities so we can meet the moment with agility, creativity, and resolve.
Our History
The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) was created and incubated by the Business Council of Canada in 2015. Business leaders saw an opportunity to join forces with post-secondary leaders to tackle some of the toughest challenges Canada’s learners, workers, educators, and employers were facing, including better preparing entry-level talent for the workforce.
In 2019, BHER spun out as a standalone not-for-profit, with a federal mandate to help every post-secondary student get work experience through work-integrated learning (WIL). To date, we’ve created more than 70,000 WILs and counting and continue to build and change WIL ecosystems across Canada. Along the way, our members have driven us to take on new challenges. Learn more about our convening and events, areas of focus, and custom R&D by following the links above.
What we do for our business and higher education members
We convene members through biannual meetings, an annual summit, focused roundtables, network-building events, and other opportunities to connect with leaders and decision makers across different industries. Our members shape our priorities, from convening through to our research and program agendas. We build them into our projects as experts and collaborators, employers, program delivery partners, and participants.
Together, we leverage the collective power of our members to impact and inform decision-making at all levels of government.
Our Team
Board of Directors
BHER’s Board of Directors is elected by and from BHER’s membership. They represent both the business and post-secondary sectors with an industry Board Chair and two Vice-Chairs from post-secondary, one from universities and one from colleges/polytechnics.
Finance, Audit, and Risk Committee
BHER’s Board of Directors is elected by and from BHER’s membership. They represent both the business and post-secondary sectors with an industry Board Chair and two Vice-Chairs from post-secondary, one from universities and one from colleges/polytechnics.
Corporate Team
BHER’s team comes from diverse educational backgrounds and professional experiences. They are located across Canada and work in teams, including the Executive Team, Finance & Operations, Research & Development, Programs & Partnerships, Member Relations, Communications, and Events & Convening.
