In talking to graduates who have struggled in making the jump from post-secondary to finding employment related to their studies, a common theme that emerges is that they underestimated the importance of balancing their studies with relevant work experience. Such students can be said to have taken a "ground hog" approach to their post-secondary education. This approach saw them bury their heads in their course work, take jobs unrelated to their career goals, and then pop up into a desired occupational only to discover that they lacked the practical work experience demanded by employers.

 Not surprising, those experiencing the after effects of this ground hog approach feel extremely frustrated. After all they wonder how are you able to overcome the "Catch 22" of needing experience to get a quality job, but not being able to get appropriate experience without a job. However, if these grads had included a Co-operative Education (Co-op) component as part of their studies they could have avoided the giant shadow being cast over their employment prospects.

 Co-op programs offer students the opportunity to combine semesters of classroom learning with semesters of paid, practical work experience.

In BC there are well over 300 post-secondary programs that include a Co-op component. Co-op offerings are most commonly found in two-year diplomas or four-year degree programs. Areas of study for Co-op include: Applied Business Technology, Computers, Arts, Science, Hospitality and Tourism.

Some of the elements that are commonly found in Co-op programs are:

• Professional and academic staff from the student's institute monitor and evaluate each work term.
• Candidates must achieve minimum grades and compete with fellow students for Co-op work placements.
• Students receive help with employment skills such as resume writing and preparing for interviews.

 Students participating in Co-op will benefit by:

• earning money to help pay for their education.
• applying classroom theory in a work environment.
• gaining practical experience in their field of study.
• gaining insight into an appropriate career path.
• learning about the expectations of employers.
• developing communication (oral and written), interpersonal, and team work skills.
• developing resume writing, interview and job search skills.
• gaining valuable employment contacts for future employment.

 Finally, if all of these reasons are not enough to persuade you it's also important to point out that Co-op grads will normally better their "Ground Hog approach peers" by having a greater degree of confidence when entering employment  (typically with a higher starting salary) and normally advance more rapidly in their careers.

 For more information on Co-op perform a Program Search using Co-op Programs as one of the search filters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tagged In: Adult Learners , Career , Parents , Planning , Success Strategies , Transition , Youth