At Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton, Covenant Health is taking a proactive approach to building the future health care workforce. By partnering with CAREERS, the organization is welcoming high school students into real hospital environments where they can explore career options, gain meaningful experience, and begin contributing to Alberta’s health care system. These early opportunities benefit both students and employers by creating a more informed, prepared, and motivated workforce.
Jayna Welch, Talent Acquisition Advisor at Covenant Health, understands the importance of reaching students early. For her, student engagement is not only about immediate staffing needs but about long-term sustainability across the health care system.
“We know that the youth of today are the healthcare workers of tomorrow.”
Jayna explains that many students enter high school with a limited understanding of health care careers. Their perceptions are often shaped by what they see online or on television, rather than by firsthand experience.
“Students come in with the idea of one profession in mind based on what they see in social media or on TV shows. They don’t know about all these different opportunities that exist in healthcare.”
Through CAREERS, Covenant Health is able to change that perspective by exposing students to a wide range of roles within the hospital setting. These experiences allow students to see how many different careers contribute to patient care and hospital operations.
“By having the support of CAREERS to expose more high school students to different healthcare careers, it ensures that we have quality healthcare workers for years to come.”
For students, this exposure can be transformative. River Komick, a student working as a health intern at Grey Nuns Hospital, entered the placement with an interest in medicine but gained a much deeper understanding of the hospital environment as a whole.
“Seeing the hospital environment has sort of concreted my decision to get a job in a hospital when I’m older.”
While River still plans to pursue a career as a physician, the placement expanded their awareness of the many interconnected areas that make up health care delivery.
“Seeing all of the different areas of medicine has really opened my eyes to the many units of the hospital.”
Beyond career exploration, River sees their placement as an opportunity to contribute to a larger issue affecting communities across Alberta.
“I’m excited to contribute to the health care shortage in Alberta, especially just because I’ve seen the effects that it has on lower income communities, because they don’t have as much access to the professionals. I’m excited to be a part of the solution.”
From Covenant Health’s perspective, CAREERS students consistently exceed expectations. Jayna notes that students arrive prepared, professional, and eager to learn.
“We were very fortunate this year to have seven students come through in this opportunity. Every single one has been respectful, mature, really interested, really eager, wanting to learn. They come with great questions and fantastic future outlooks.”
These qualities demonstrate the value of investing in students early. CAREERS supports students before they ever arrive on site, helping them understand workplace expectations and career possibilities. This preparation benefits employers by creating smoother onboarding experiences and stronger placements.
River’s experience with CAREERS highlights how accessible the process is for students.
“I found the process really easy with Careers Next gen. I sent them my resume, I sent them my cover letter, and they did the rest for me.”
By removing administrative barriers, CAREERS allows students to focus on learning and growth while employers can focus on mentorship and meaningful work experiences.
Jayna believes these early conversations are shaping a more informed generation of future health care workers.
“These students, they’re all so keen and aware and the fact that conversations are happening in grade ten and 11 and comm class and focusing on; this is what health care is. This is what different careers are.”
The impact extends far beyond a single placement.
“We have a much more informed and educated, you know, student population that’s going to be our future health care workers.”
Through CAREERS, Covenant Health is strengthening its workforce today while investing in the health care system of tomorrow.
