Co-op education is a process of education that formally integrates students’ academic study with periods of related work experience. Selkirk College’s Co-op education programs are designed within guidelines established by the Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL) and in consultation with federal and provincial government agencies.
Benefits
Find out the many benefits of hiring a co-op student.
- Diverse talent pool: You will have access to a pool of highly motivated and capable students from many different disciplines to perform specific tasks/projects.
- Multiple year-round start dates: Our co-op students can start working in January, May or September. This means that we will accept your job postings all year-round.
- Cost-effective recruitment strategy:
- This is an opportunity to evaluate potential career employees without obligation or commitment to permanent employment.
- Our co-op students help meet short-term needs, including peak times, vacation schedules, training commitments and/or special projects.
- Our co-op students bring enthusiasm, a “can-do” attitude, fresh perspectives and creative solutions.
- Your organization plays an important and influential role in the development of the student’s learning and education process.
- Financial resources available to help you fund co-op or internship student positions.
Tax credits for hiring a co-op student
Hiring a co-op student may provide tax credits to your organization. Check out the tax credits and incentives available in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Co-op eligible programs
- Geographic Information Systems Advanced Diploma
- Geographic Information Systems Bachelor’s Degree
- Integrated Environmental Planning Diploma
- Forest Technology Diploma
- Recreation, Fish and Wildlife Diploma
- Postgraduate Business Management Diploma
- Postgraduate Accounting Diploma
- Business Administration Diploma
- Engineering Certificate
- General Associate of Science Degree
- General Associate of Arts Degree
- Digital Arts Diploma
- Digital Fabrication & Design Diploma
Hiring process
A co-op position must be:
- A paid and supervised position.
- A minimum of 12 weeks and/or 420 hours.
- Engaging to the student in productive work relevant to their area of study.
Simple hiring process:
Contact us to create a recruitment plan or you can post directly onto our online job portal StudentJobs.
Process Map
- Let us know you would like to hire a co-op student.
- Create and post your job posting.
- Apply for wage subsidy/funding.
- Collect résumés.
- Interview top candidates.
- Make offer(s) of employment.
- Student begins work term.
- In the middle of the work term, check in with us.
- At the end of the term, complete a student performance evaluation.
Resources
Advice on mentorship
When supervising a new student employee:
- Arrange a welcome orientation and a tour. Introduce your new employee to their new colleagues.
- Ensure that anything a new employee needs (for example, their computer, phone, tools, workspace, etc.) are set up in advance.
- Tailor your orientation process to the student's level of experience. This could include providing information about workplace behaviour and safety, information about etiquette, and expectations surrounding confidentiality.
- Allow for a learning curve. This may be their first experience in a professional environment.
- Establish check-ins on a regular basis.
- Provide feedback regularly at scheduled review sessions. Be open to adjusting the student's responsibilities as needed.
- Provide the student with relevant materials that will help them in their new role, like information about past projects, examples, and templates.
- Invite students to connect with their colleagues or other professional colleagues that may help them explore their path. Facilitate meetings.
- Invite students to staff social activities.
- Help your employee to learn about the company's culture. Share success stories and stories of challenges that have been overcome.
Support from our team
We want to make this easy for you. We have templates for job descriptions, job postings, a list of wage subsidy programs and a team ready to help you in any way we can. We offer full-cycle recruitment support, which could include lunch time or in-class presentations, an information table in high traffic area, interview set-up and accommodation and student communications.
Diversity & inclusion toolkit
Workplace diversity is crucial for innovation and creativity within organizations. Having employees from various backgrounds brings different perspectives and ideas into the business.
The Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Toolkit for Employers and Hiring Managers includes a package of resources to help you attract, hire and onboard work-integrated-learning students from an international background.
