Co-op can help you decide your future

by Ashleigh Viveiros

But as her senior year of high school neared, she worried she was only in love with the childhood dream of nursing, and not the reality.

"I love helping people and knowing you're making a difference in their lives," she says. "But for a while there, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a nurse."

Thanks to her school's co-operative education program, Peters got the chance to test-drive her chosen career and put her uncertainty to rest. She spent four months working with nurses at the local hospital, helping out with general tasks and getting a behind-the-scenes look at the profession.

The result? Confirmation of her dream.

"Even when I would do the lowest jobs, I still enjoyed it," she says. "I learned a lot of things. It's just a really good experience to know what you're getting into."

Although most people associate co-operative education with post-secondary programs, high school students across the country are also reaping the benefits of work experience before graduation.

"Students need to be prepared for the transition between school and work," says Mel Vanstone, coordinator of the program at Garden Valley Collegiate (GVC) in Winkler. "Co-op ed is kind of that bridge between the two."

The program at GVC has been up and running for well over a decade, with as many as 50 Senior 4 students each year opting to spend one of their semesters in a work placement.

Before they ever set foot on the job, though, students spend three weeks in the classroom learning everything they need to know about being a good employee, including résumé and cover letter writing, interview skills, and good workplace habits.

"Schools are extremely forgiving about leaving early, being late, that kind of thing," says Vanstone. "These things are not acceptable in the workplace."

This classroom component also continues for one afternoon a week throughout the semester to ensure kids have time to reflect on their experiences and add to their basic employability skills, he says.

Once a suitable placement is found, in accordance with a student's specific request, students prepare a résumé for their prospective employer and go through the interview process, just as they would for a real job.

"We want them to be treated like employees," says Vanstone. "Employers don't give them anything, they've got to earn their placement."

But unlike real jobs and similar post-secondary programs, these high school students aren't paid for their work.

"The reason (college students) are paid is because it's believed they bring knowledge and experience to the workplace," says Vanstone. "In high school, this isn't the case."

The trade-off is still a good one, he says, with students coming away from their placements with a greater appreciation for what awaits them after high school, especially if they're planning on heading straight into the workforce.

"Sometimes we forget how scary it is to be a high school student and not know what's going to happen," says Vanstone. "Co-op ed confirms that they are valuable, that they can hold a job." "It's a win-win situation," he says. "The student is getting knowledge and experience, but the business is getting the free help."

Students also earn high school credit for the program based on the number of hours they spend working, ranging from three to five credits, with most students typically working about 220 hours over the course of the semester.

While some students spend the entire semester solely doing co-op ed, others, like Peters, also juggle regular morning classes.

"That way you still have friend interaction," says Peters. "Otherwise, I think I'd miss it a lot."

Although only a few students actually end up pursuing a career in their placement field, the program is still valuable in helping kids make future career decisions and become viable employees, says Vanstone.

"We've had students that were so certain about, for example, nursing, until they took co-op ed," he says. "Many people honestly don't know what a nurse's life is like. Here, you're going to see a nice cross section of what goes on."

Some placements even result in full-time jobs for graduating students, or, at the very least, help establish a professional network they can tap into in the future.

"My measure of success is how many students are successful in what they choose to do," says Vanstone. "Did you do well? Did you get off to a good start because you took co-op ed?"

But the greatest benefits of the program are those that show up in the student's themselves, he says.

"It's seeing young people become more like a professional person," says Vanstone. "They're still a lot of fun, but now it's in a little different package."

"It's the whole idea of career exploration, confirming what they thought was their career choice, and learning about how to fit into the workplace," he says. "I just wish everybody had to do it."