Every four months thousands of University of Waterloo students leave their classrooms for offices, factories, and hospitals, supplementing their university education with real-world professional experience.
The unusual combination is known as a cooperative program, and while the idea for it originated decades ago in America, it has blossomed at Canada's Waterloo.
Waterloo, in Ontario, operates what it believes is the largest co-op in the world, with more than 13,000 students enrolled in it. And Waterloo's program is increasingly attracting international students, along with a growing number of marquee global companies, like Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank, and Google.
In today's competitive job market, students say their co-op experiences give them advantages over their peers, and employers agree.
"The co-op students aren't green," said John Pagano, associate actuary for the insurance company Allstate, in Northbrook, Ill., which recruits Waterloo students studying actuarial sciences. "They know the professional jargon and they know what they're doing."
Waterloo started its co-op in the 1950s as a way to help end the country's shortage of engineers. Originally it connected several dozen students to business projects that desperately needed engineering assistance.
Today, the program includes more than a 100 academic subjects and involves almost half of Waterloo's 30,000 students, said Peggy Jarvie, executive director of the university's co-operative education and career services.
Co-op students are not interns. They receive academic credit for their work, but also are paid and work as part of a company's regular work force. They alternate four-month periods on the campus and in a workplace.
The salaries the Waterloo students earn, which ranged from $442 to $964 a week in 2009, help them pay their education costs.
While co-op students do not get a summer vacation and often take five years to complete their academic requirements, the participants say the program provides valuable professional opportunities.
For example, Taif Syed, a fourth-year electrical-engineering student from Toronto, said he gained good experience working for a term at Apple, in Cupertino, Calif. "I was part of the iPhone display team. I wasn't there to observe. I had real responsibilities and was an integral part of the team—and I got a return offer for my next work term."
As Ms. Jarvie puts it, "I tell them to look on it as a four-month job interview. For the employer it's a chance to try before you buy."
The process of matching a student with a potential employer starts online, where employers post their jobs and students post their résumés and cover letters. Students rank their choices, as do the employers, and a computer program does the matchmaking for the face-to-face interviews, which take place on Waterloo's campus. About 3,500 businesses, government agencies, and other employers conduct 15,000 interviews on the campus each term.
Students are encouraged to work for different employers to gain as much experience as possible, a distinction from American programs.
According to the Canadian Association for Cooperative Education, interest in co-ops is growing among universities and students. The association represents 83 institutions that provide co-op education to more than 80,000 students.
Students enrolled in such programs often pay a fee on top of the regular tuition. At Waterloo, students pay an additional $600 per term.
Waterloo's program is also increasingly becoming more global. International students first joined the co-op in 2003. About 6 percent of Waterloo students now enrolled in the cooperative are from outside Canada.
"It's one of the reasons I came to Waterloo," said Hayden Tay, a student from Singapore who is studying psychology and hopes for a career in human resources. "Back home you don't work until you've finished school, and then you take an entry-level job because no one has work experience. I hope my work terms will give me an edge, and I will stand out from the others because I've had jobs."
But there have been challenges to making the program more international. Language and cultural barriers sometimes hinder foreign undergraduates, and some of them are unprepared for the workplace because they have no prior employment history, unlike most of their American and Canadian peers.
Even as Waterloo's campus becomes more international, the university is sending more of its own students overseas. International cooperative experiences are growing in popularity, but bring their own sets of challenges.
"Employers in Europe and Asia don't know much about co-op," said Cathy Lac-Brisley, who oversees the international part of Waterloo's program. She and her five staff members help students and employers navigate visa issues and other red tape.
Outside of North America, "the students often have to arrange their own jobs because employer timing may be out of sync with our academic calendar," she said. "Also, we do have to approve the employer to make sure they can do the evaluations needed because these work sessions are for academic credit."
Despite these obstacles, Waterloo's Ms. Jarvie sees internationalization as a key part of the co-op program's future. A work stint abroad gives students a broader perspective that not only makes them attractive to employers, but also helps them to become global citizens, she said.
"Internationalization is a key element of Waterloo's strategic plan," said Ms. Jarvie. "We believe there's a need to develop and educate globally."
Comments
1. cranefly - June 10, 2010 at 05:38 pm
What happens when students aren't selected for a job?
2. la335 - June 11, 2010 at 07:59 am
With the recent economic downturn, many students are not getting co-op jobs. Some engineering classes (particularly first-term students who are competing with more senior students who already have co-op experience)have had placement rates of less than 30%. The additional co-op fee levied by the University is not refunded to those students who spend their term unemployed or who go out and find unrelated employment themselves. Waterloo has been very closed-mouthed about this fact and new students/parents are unaware of this until they are faced with the same scenario. It would be interesting to see Waterloo's retention rates after first-year in some of these programs. It is unreasonable to expect a 1st year engineering student with one term of school under his/her belt to compete with 3rd-4th year students for the same jobs.
3. hellodan - June 11, 2010 at 01:14 pm
For the casual reader, and individuals unfamiliar with Waterloo's Co-op program:
First year students at Waterloo are not expected to be able to compete with 3rd year and 4th year students. It is for this reason that employers designate their job postings with seniority specifications (ie. junior, senior, 1st year, 2nd year, etc). The reason for this is because co-op salaries at many organizations (and the salary expectations of the students), are tied to their level of academic and prior co-op experience. Mismatching students to the level of expertise required for the position leads to inefficient salary allocations and disgruntled students who may not be getting the experience he/she was hoping for... or who may be unable to keep up with the work assigned.
Waterloo publishes co-op reports often that include the average salaries for the term and employment rates. For those requiring more information, visiting the CECS department website (cecs.uwaterloo.ca) may help. It is common knowledge that first years have a difficult time getting jobs (as with anything when you are just starting out). In fact, it is one of those things I make a point of telling new students. Admittedly, it is very stressful for first year students, but it encourages them to work hard and seek out opportunities outside of the school's job board (ie. Going through personal contacts and such), which only helps expand the school's program by encouraging organizations that may be unaware of the co-op program to join on for future terms. For example, I worked at a relative's company in first year, and they receive letters occasionally from Waterloo inquiring if they need new students.
If a student is unable to find a job at all, it is encouraged that they do something with the term. As co-op terms count for credits that are needed for graduation, many students may seek out volunteering positions (which, as you can imagine are easier to find). In essence, these students work for the experience so that they can fluff up their resumes and be more competitive next term. It does not work to a students' advantage to simply find an unrelated position, so most students do find something that can be somewhat related to their field. Of course, as junior students, they can learn a lot from any experience (ie. basic business ettiquette, presentation skills, social skills, etc). This first year experience also has the benefit of humbling students who were probably top students in their high schools. They'll also find that being humble (not too much though) is a great quality to have during interviews.
First year students who are dismayed and frustrated by their first co-op search experience only have to look at the upper year students who have much better jobs and such. Many positions return every term, and so as senior students graduate, they need to be filled. Simply put, it isn't a stretch of imagination for a 1st year student to realize that if they just hold fast and get through the first or second work term, they'll have access to those much better positions. Not to mention, since the going actually gets easier as you go through Waterloo's system, it's a consistent force of motivation to work hard and stay in school. Not to mention, you wouldn't gain anything from going to another school, all it would serve is close the door on the possibility of landing a very nice co-op job.
Waterloo's co-op program requires lots of infrastructure. This includes staff members located in different geographical areas who liaise with employers and check up on students to ensure both parties are satisfied with their experience; as well as a relatively advanced job board system (it's not perfect, but not bad). There is much more to the co-op services provided, but I won't bore you. This is what the co-op fee goes to.
I think of myself as a typical Waterloo undergraduate engineering student. So, for illustration purposes: I am on my final work term now (and writing this during lunch of course!). I have worked at six different organizations, and have some pretty unique opportunities (I'm heading up to the Arctic this term). I have classmates who have worked in New Zealand and Malaysia, and a few are volunteering in third world countries. Waterloo has quite possibily the worst looking campus in the world, and the school seriously lacks a cohesive spirit (everyone tends to be more self-career oriented), but the results of their system speak for themselves.
I used to hate this school because I was forced to come by my parents, but what it has done for me; I'll never forget. When I find success, you can be sure I'll be giving back to this institution.
- 4A Environmental Engineering Student, University of Waterloo
4. civeng - July 06, 2010 at 12:52 am
What this article doesn't tell you about is how co-op at Waterloo is built around the employer's interests rather than the students.
I am currently in 4th year Civil Engineering at Waterloo and have been "screwed over" by the system more than once. There is no effective system in place for students that apply to a job, but due to circumstances changing, remove themself from the process past a certain point.
For example, if a student from Toronto originally, gets a job out in Vancouver, but is then required to work closer to home due to a change in your family's situation, the student would have to take a failed work term (which counts as a failed course on their transcript).
However, conversely, if an employer needs to back out of a job for whatever reason, there is no penalty to the employer and the student is left without a job.
Not to mention, some employers will use the system to 'trap' students into a terrible job (which I have known to happen on multiple occasions).
My last point is that there is also no system for students who are seeking their own employment in conjunction with using the school's system.
All-in-all, if I had to do it all over again, I don't think I would do Co-op at Waterloo and I make sure to fully explain the pros and cons to anyone that is interested.
(I know there are some pros)
5. hellodan - July 06, 2010 at 12:54 pm
@civeng
Not disputing anything from your experience, since I have heard of that happening before, and had my own rather frustrating experience with CECS; but if you are seeking your own employment and found it, you can simply fill out a form (found either in the Co-op manual webpage, or CECS page... can't remember). I did that in first year after finding my interviewed positions weren't to my liking. It went through just fine. (Although if you just dropped a job, it has been rumoured that they're not quite as understanding).
You also need to sign-off on jobs (there's another form for that) if the situation changes and you cannot accept the position... or even risk getting ranked for it. This is probably where the nightmare begins, as you need to do the form on the day of your interview.
6. civeng - July 07, 2010 at 11:06 pm
@hellodan
Oh I know all about what has to be done. It just the rigidity of the system and how they do not try to 'help' you. When I went to meet with my advisor (as soon as I found out of my situation change) I was only met with hositility and the staff talked to me in such a manner that belittled me.
I would just like to see a system where if you are looking for your own employement you can enter that in a a 'job' and if you get it by ranking time you can just rank it one. It seems rediculous to me that there is no system in place to safely use jobmine and persue outside of jobmine.