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Co-operative Education
Since its creation in 1988, Carleton University’s Co-operative Education program has facilitated workintegrated learning experiences with many local, national, and international employers. The program has grown to include the co-op option for over 150 degree programs, majors, streams, and concentrations. As work-integrated learning is becoming increasingly important for securing employment after graduation, more and more students are choosing the co-op option.
In 2022-2023, Carleton’s Co-op program was the third-largest co-op program in Ontario. Even amidst a very challenging labour market, as a result of strong employer partnerships, a record 3,965 work terms were supported by the Co-op team throughout the year.
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CO-OP WORK TERMS
Co-op Students Hired
A total of 2,459 co-op students completed work terms in the 2022-2023 academic year, an increase of 15.6% over last year’s total.
Jobs Posted
6,825 co-op jobs were posted, an incredible increase of 102% over the previous year. These postings represented 13,009 openings, which is an increase of 38% compared to the year before.
Co-op Interviews
Employers conducted 4,690 individual interviews over the course of 2022-2023. This represents an increase of 5.8% in individual interviews (259 more), compared to 2021-2022.
Most Work Terms
Ericsson offered the highest number of co-op work terms this year (180). The second highest number of work terms was offered by Carleton University (148).
Total Work Terms
Co-op students completed 3,965 individual work terms throughout 2022-2023. This was a 16.1% increase compared to the year before.
CO-OP STUDENT SUPPORT
Co-op Student Advisors provide individualized one-on-one support to students participating in the job search and in co-op work terms. In 2022-2023, the Co-op Student Advising team held 1,188 student appointments, an increase of 32% over 2021-2022.
“The Support Hub really emphasized to me that it was okay to not instinctively know the right thing to do right off the bat, because working in this type of professional environment was such a new experience for me…the Support Hub gave me a strong starting point for questions to ask, and information to ensure that I had in order to feel comfortable and do my best right from day 1.”
– Co-op student
COOP1000 AND RESOURCE HUBS FOR CO-OP STUDENTS
All students who enter Co-op must successfully complete the COOP1000 course, facilitated by the Co-op Student Advising team. This year,1,647 students completed COOP1000.
In 2022-2023, the following features were added to the course:
Interactive, tutorial-style events such as Resume and Cover Letter Clinics, which allowed co-op students and staff to work together on these documents. These events attracted a total of 68 students, 100% of whom reported an improvement in their confidence with the job search (86% of attendees would attend again, with most reporting that they most enjoyed “being able to get questions answered on the spot”).
Expanded coverage of the Co-op Student Participation Agreement, to promote awareness of rules and regulations.
Invitations to upcoming Career Services and Co-op events to help students get a jump-start on their job search.
“What’s Next After COOP1000?” videos to familiarize students with their Co-op Student Advisor and to provide a sneak peek of processes and upcoming deadlines in their job search term.
In addition, Co-op continued to enhance two Co-op Resource Hubs, which are designed to complement the intense demand for one-on-one support from the team of Co-op Student Advisors. This year, 2,602 students accessed the Hubs, an increase of 131% from 2021-2022. The enhancements included:
Announcements and resources that ensured students were well prepared over the holidays to kick off their January job search.
Video materials and tip sheets to better familiarize students with their Co-op Student Advisor.
New videos on how to stay calm before and during an interview.
Introduction of the job notifications on mySuccess, as well as how-to videos about this feature.
The Job Search Resource Hub featured live supplementary events. These seven events attracted a total of 178 students in 2022-2023 and included LinkedIn Profile Building, Networking on LinkedIn, Empowering Your Co-op Job Search, and a Job Application Working Session.
The Work Term Support Hub served as on-demand support for students, and complemented the customized support and site visits from Co-op Student Advisors. The live events, which complemented this Resource Hub, included Welcome to Your Co-op Work Term! and We Shoot, We Score! Let’s Check-in and Talk Goals.
Business Information and Technology (BIT) student Alexandre Lott, featured here with employer Linda Krebs, dedicated two of his co-op work terms to Nokia. Located in Kanata North’s Technology Park, Nokia is a leader in telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics. Alexandre gained eight months of valuable work experience at Nokia by applying his skills in research, quality assurance, and software development.
CO-OP EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT
Co-op takes part in a variety of outreach activities and initiatives as part of its ongoing strategy to elevate the Carleton Co-op brand in the external community.
Highlights from 2022-2023
34 employers from 23 organizations were engaged in panels and events that were planned for co-op students throughout the year.
CU Co-op promotion included sponsorships of the Talent Summit and Informed HR conferences, and advertisements in eight publications including Ottawa Business Journal’s Book of Lists, HR Update, Canadian Architect magazine, the Aerospace Industry Association magazine, and the BioTalent newsletter.
Co-op collaborated with loyal Co-op employer, Perkins&Will, to submit sponsored content to the A+Dwire architecture and design industry publication. The piece featured the value of hiring Carleton Co-op students.
Co-op hosted Techworking at the CU@Kanata/Hub350 space. This in-person networking event connected 10 organizations with 100 co-op students to facilitate job search connections.
As part of International Women’s Day, Co-op highlighted the accomplishments of two female students, Inga Vassilenko
(Bachelor of Arts, Psychology) and Ellie Ng (Bachelor of Computer Science).
Co-op continued as a partner in the Hire Local initiative, a consortium of Ottawa’s post-secondary institutions and local partners (Invest Ottawa, the Kanata North Business Association, the City of Ottawa, and the Ottawa Board of Trade). The aim of Hire Local is to encourage employers to consider talent from Ottawa’s post-secondary coop programs to address current talent acquisition and retention challenges.
Co-op was a Bronze-level sponsor at Discover Technata in April 2023 and partnered with Career Services and the Kanata North Business Association to promote the event to students. Co-op offered resume review advice to over 50 student attendees throughout the day and interacted with 31 Kanata-based employers to create new co-op opportunities.
The Campus Co-op Employer Fund (CCE) offered $4,000 in support to Carleton employers who hired co-op students. In 2022-2023, the CCE program funded 148 campus-based co-op work terms. Since its inception three years ago, the CCE program has funded a total of 442 meaningful employment experiences for co-op students.
Top Co-op Employers
Based on the number of work terms offered to Carleton co-op students, Co-op’s Top 20 employers are:
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Carleton University
Ciena
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Ericsson
Ford Motor Company of Canada
Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
Health Canada
Hydro Ottawa
MHI Canada, Inc. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries CA)
National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces (DND)
National Research Council Canada (NRC)
Nokia
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
Ross Video Ltd.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Shared Services Canada (SSC)
In the 2022-2023 academic year, 2,162 new employer accounts were created in the CUHire database, of which 1,540 indicated an interest in hiring co-op students.
“Co-op students play a meaningful role in the growth of our talent and bring intuitive thoughts, which encourages our practice to innovate and evolve as a collective.”
CO-OP AWARDS
The Co-op Awards are presented each year to recognize the outstanding achievements, contributions, and performances of Carleton University’s co-op students and their employers. In 2022-2023, there were 85 students and 25 employers nominated for Co-op Awards.
Undergraduate Co-op Student of the Year
Abby Ibrahim is a fourthyear Bachelor of Cognitive Science student and winner of the 2022 Undergraduate Co-op Student of the Year Award. Ibrahim has completed two co-op terms as a Software Developer at Ross Video, which powers live video productions for global viewers with high impact, high efficiency solutions and services.
Ibrahim was nominated by Craig Tobias, Software Manager for OverDrive at Ross. In his nomination, Tobias highlighted that Ibrahim worked with a small team to start a brand-new project. This project utilized a new common framework developed by Ross and was key to providing a consistent look and feel across all of Ross’s products. The unique element of this project was that no one had ever adopted this framework to the same degree as this team, and Ibrahim soon established himself as the lead for the project by doing research, navigating the challenges that come with trailblazing new paths, and finding solutions.
“It is difficult to put a dollar value on the savings to Ross Video that this initiative has had,” said Tobias, “but all teams that adopt this framework in the future will benefit from the work Abby has done with this team.”
Graduate Co-op Student of the Year
Matthew MacMurdo has now completed a Master of Arts in International Affairs and is the winner of the 2022 Graduate Co-op Student of the Year Award. He completed his work term with the Resettlement and Asylum Strategic Operations Branch of the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and was nominated by Carol McQueen, Director General.
McQueen highlighted that MacMurdo proved to be a stellar addition to her office from the moment he joined. She said he jumped right into taking on a critical coordination and tasking role in response to a heavy volume of requests for briefing products, policy recommendations, and strategic planning in support of the Ministry’s mandate to bring resettled refugees to Canada and to manage an influx in asylum flows into the country.
McQueen noted that MacMurdo – beyond the skills he brings to the table – is a pleasure to work with for his positivity and how he is always willing to lend a hand. She said MacMurdo “stays calm and collected when faced with competing priorities and a somewhat chaotic environment in which demands and pressures are constantly changing.”
Co-op Employer of the Year
Ross Cheriton, Assistant Research Officer with the Advanced Electronics and Photonics Research Centre (AEP), at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), is the recipient of the 2022 Employer of the Year Award. The NRC, Canada’s federal research and development organization, partners with Canadian industry to take impactful research from the lab to the marketplace, where people can experience the benefits. Cheriton was nominated by Vlad Artyshchuk, a fourth year Electrical Engineering student who completed three four-month work terms at AEP.
In his nomination, Artyshchuk outlined how his work experience involved creating a drone platform that could be used for remote sensing applications. As he worked on this project, Artyshchuk said Cheriton provided him with guidance and support while also ensuring Artyshchuk understood the capabilities of his work and the future implications the work could have on their field and the world at large.
Said Artyshchuk, “This experience showed me the type of mentors the NRC has. I truly believe that the work they put into co-op programs is life changing, as I have seen specifically with Dr. Cheriton’s contribution.”
