Passport to Prosperity

"I understand why my parents are so tired sometimes. Taking the subway back and forth, having to deal with people in a real job, unlike school, it is something that I can now relate to."

Meghan Campbell, Student

Meghan Campbell, a student at Wexford Collegiate School of the Arts has been working at Second City through her school’s co-op program. Her tasks at Second City have ranged from helping with phone calls and clerical duties to assisting with educational workshops and shows. "Co-op has really given me the chance to step out of my comfort zone, and really grow as a person in a short amount of time. I have to be so much more responsible and organized," Meghan says. "If somebody told me even at the beginning of the year how much I would change, I wouldn’t have believed them."

Meghan believes that school-work experiences should be mandatory for all students. Her enthusiasm for her job, and Second City’s commitment to student work experiences are proof that the benefits to students, and to the organizations employing them, are nothing to laugh at.

"Young workers are six times more likely to be injured in their first month of work than any other time on the job,” says Sue Boychuk, Coordinator of Young Worker Health and Safety, Ontario Ministry of Labour. “They need a whole different way of training and supervision."

Young people are often afraid to ask questions because they do not want to look stupid. If there is no supervision, training or a positive environment, where young people feel comfortable asking questions, the risk of injury soars.

When training young people it is important that the level of training matches the learning abilities of the youth. "The training they get is not always the training they need," says Ms. Boychuk. "They don't necessarily have the right experience to be able to adapt and to know the lingo and know how things work."

Keeping orientation and training interactive helps keep students interested and attentive. Asking young people to provide input, ideas and suggestions creates a positive environment by making students feel valued. It also exposes supervisors and employers to a whole new way of thinking that can be innovative and unique.

"Every organization has a variety of interesting work opportunities that students could benefit from," says Alice Strachan, Executive Director of the Ontario Learning Partnership Group (OLPG). "By looking beyond the obvious, employers can seek out and offer these opportunities to students."

"Work experience is giving students the opportunity to make better choices," says Anne Sasman, an Education Officer from the Ministry of Education. She believes that every organization could be involved in at least one type of school-work experience. "Our aim is to give students early and multiple opportunities to explore careers," says Ms. Sasman.

One company offering a range of student work experience is Toronto Hydro. "There is so much more to Toronto Hydro than just hydro," says Jennifer Reynolds, Manager of Community Involvement, Events and Sponsorship. Student experiences at Toronto Hydro take place in a variety of departments, with exposure to many skills including:

Human Resources – Job preparation, résumé writing and interview skills
Technology – Monitoring and mapping of electrical supply and distribution
Trade School – Apprenticeship program for skilled trades workers
Garage – Maintenance and repair for the fleet of over 600 vehicles
Metal and woodworking shop – Equipment maintenance and design
Electrical – Transformer repair and maintenance
Communications– Web page maintenance, public relations and marketing
Finance – Accounting and payroll administration
Legal – Administrative duties
Call Centre – Telecommunications experience

"You need to have a strong business case," says Rod Eastman, a Human Resources Development Coach at Dofasco, where they are involved in a variety of school-work programs. "You need to continually communicate and re-communicate how supervisors will benefit directly. Approaching management with tangible benefits will more likely result in their buying-in."

Anthony Hopkins, Executive Assistant Manager at Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel agrees. They employ four to six co-op students a year. "We involve the management right up front, saying here's an opportunity for you to have someone working with you on an ongoing basis, who can help you achieve your business objectives."

Labour shortages and the expense of recruiting staff are two good reasons for participating in a school-work program. As Hopkins says, "It's certainly a low-cost approach to training and it provides a very good future recruitment source."

"One of the nice things about our corporate culture is that it's not hard to find senior managers and executives within our workplace who have themselves come into BMO through internships, or co-ops," says Aaron Young, Manager of University and College Relations for BMO. "Once you get management buy-in, great things can happen – for the company as a whole, as well as for students."

There are many reasons to support student work experiences. By doing your research, being prepared, and having a business case, you'll have greater success getting management support for the initiative. And, then as Eastman says, "It's a win-win for everybody."

Wherever a student participates in a work experience, it’s clear that the benefits are numerous. Learning practical skills, as well as developing a greater understanding of the working world, creates opportunities that these students may not realize exist. As Woburn Collegiate Institute student Linda Tao says, "The co-op experience has shown me there are more windows in this world than I thought existed."

"I consider myself to be extremely fortunate for having the opportunity to participate," says Rita. "It's been a tremendous journey for me. These opportunities have taught me a lot about myself, my future career plans, and most importantly, the working world."

There is no doubt that the experience gained from her work placements will support Rita’s future career plans within the marketing industry.

Carmen Farrugia, a student at St. Thomas More Secondary School, has been participating in school-work programs for three years. He's proud of the work experience that he's received from his placements at Tim Horton's and Fortino's. He is thankful to these employers for giving him the chance to work and is quick to put his goals into tangible terms. "When I finish co-op, I'd like to get a job with a paycheque."

Linda Tao knew that she wanted to be an engineer, but, she didn't know what kind of engineering she wanted to pursue. One of her teachers recommended that she do a co-op work placement with Black & McDonald, an engineering contracting firm. Linda's time there has shown her the value of practical experience. "Every day, I face new challenges because there are so many projects going on at the same time. There's a lot of information to absorb, and it's not always there in front of you in a textbook, like at school."

Linda has decided to attend a university that offers a co-op program for engineering so that she can develop more of those practical and valuable hands-on skills.

Sarah McVety, a student at The Woodlands School, took a co-op position as a Chef's assistant at On the Curve, a Mississauga restaurant. This decision had a profound impact on Sarah's career plans – she had originally wanted to work in radio. "By the end of my second day, I knew that being a chef was what I really wanted to do because I just loved it. I had a passion for it."

Sarah is very glad that she found a career that she enjoys so much. She will attend Humber College in September 2004 as part of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program. In the meantime, her hard work has paid off – she’s still working at On the Curve, now as a pastry chef.

Sometimes in a co-op program you get more than just work experience. Meghan MacFarlane, formerly a student at Turner Fenton Secondary School, had a co-op placement at Extendicare Brampton as a geriatrics activities assistant. The relationships she developed with residents filled a void in her life after her grandmother passed away. "I loved all of the people. It didn't feel like a job to me, it was something I wanted to do."

For more information call 1-800-387-5514 or visit the Passport to Prosperity website: www.edu.gov.on.ca/passport

For information about programs in your community, contact the Ontario Learning Partnership Group (a province-wide consortium of business-education councils and local training boards). Call 1-888-672-7996 or visit www.olpg.on.ca