Hire a Co-op Student

Process

1. Posting

• Job offers are posted three times per semester.
• Candidates apply for the job offers of their choice.
• At the end of each posting period, applications (ePortfolios) are sent to employers.

2. Interviews

• The employer tells the Cooperative Learning Department which candidates have been selected for an interview within the designated timeframe.
• Interviews take place at ÉTS during a predetermined period. Consult the placement calendar.
• The Cooperative Learning Department sets interview schedules and notifies candidates.

3. Selection

• The employer scores candidates according to the employer’s preference.
• At the end of the interview period, the students are informed of the scores given by the employers.
• The students then assign a score to the employers who interviewed them (the student's preferred choice).

4. Result

• Reconciliation of scores determines the candidate who is selected for each position. The results are sent to employers on the day after reconciliation
   

Reconciliation of Scores

The calculation is as follows: (employer's choice X 10) + (student's choice X 11) = the result

As a result:

• 1 + 1 = 21
• 2 + 1 = 31
• 1 + 2 = 32
• 3 + 1 = 41
• 2 + 2 = 42
• 1 + 3 = 43

A score of 21 corresponds to the best possible match. You will be matched with the available student with the lowest score.

If you believe that a student does not meet the basic requirements for the position, you can assign the student a score of “n/q” (not qualified) and indicate the reasons why.

Process

1. Posting

• Offers are posted continuously beginning mid-semester through the beginning of the next semester (outside of this period, matched placement applies). Students apply for the job offers of their choice.
• Applications (ePortfolios) are sent to employers.

2. Interviews

• The employer tells the Cooperative Education Service which candidates have been selected for an interview and interview availabilities.
• The Cooperative Education Service sets interview schedules and notifies candidates.
• Interviews are held at a time that is convenient for the employer, either at ÉTS or the employer’s offices.

3. Selection

• Employers contact the Cooperative Education Service as quickly as possible with the name of the student selected for the co-op term.

4. Resullt

• Just-in-Time Placement works on a first come, first served basis. Thus, after the interview, the first employer that informs the SEC it wishes to retain the services of a student is the one to which the student will be assigned as a coop student.

Examples of work that a construction engineering co-op student could do:

• Supervision and inspection of work (S1, S2)
• Computer-aided drafting (S1, S2)
• Quality control of materials and work (S1, S2)
• Laboratory testing (S1, S2)
• Estimates of quantities and project costs (S1, S2)
• Sampling water or soil for environmental studies (S1, S2)
• Calculating quantities of contaminated soil and making estimates (S1, S2)
• Supervision of environmental rehabilitation work (S1, S2)
• Selection and application of proper construction methods and processes (S2, S3)
• The use of information technologies in the construction sector (S2, S3)
• Management and supervision of engineering work and engineering staff (S2, S3)
• Planning and control of municipal, building and other engineering works (S2, S3, S4)
• Analysis and design of steel and concrete structures (S3 ,S4)
• Design of hydraulic structures (S3, S4)
• Design of roads and foundations (S3, S4)

Examples of work that an electrical engineering co-op student could do:

• Installation, maintenance, repair and adjustment of electrical and computing equipment (S1, S2)
• Technical and troubleshooting support (S1 ,S2)
• Computer network configuration (S1, S2)
• Programming of automatons and other systems (S1, S2)
• Design and adaptation of various types of circuits (S1, S2)
• Selection and installation of motors, electrical systems and power supply and protection system (S1, S2)
• Evaluation, adaptation, installation and optimization of control systems (S2)
• Use of computer-aided design tools and application to electrical engineering (S2, S3)
• Use and adaptation of computerized systems and system interfaces; programming and communication protocols (S2, S3)
• Evaluation of high voltage networks and their components (S2, S3)
• Analysis, design and integration of telecommunications systems (S2, S3, S4)
• Analysis and design of electronic, analog and digital circuits and power-assisted systems (S3, S4)
• Analysis and design of power circuits and their application in control systems (S3, S4)
• Project management and in-plant technical support (S3, S4)

Examples of work that a software engineering co-op student could do:

• Data collection and organization; software logic design (S1)
• Software user documentation (S1)
• Computer network configuration (S1)
• Web site and computer systems programming (S1)
• User interface analysis and design (S2)
• Quality assurance (S2)
• Management of small projects (S2)
• Strategy implementation testing (S2)
• Verification of accepted standards implementation within the organization (S2)
• Requirements specification (S3)
• Quality control (S3)
• Software architecture (S3)
• Database design (S3)
• Reengineering (S3, S4)
• Systems security (S3, S4)
• Strategy design testing (S3, S4)
• Detailed design and specifications (S3, S4)
• Standards implementation (S3, S4)

Examples of work that a mechanical engineering co-op student could do:

• Installation, maintenance, repair and adjustment of mechanical equipment (S1, S2)
• Computer-aided drafting (AutoCAD, CATIA, Pro/ENGINEER) (S1, S2)
• Manufacturing-cost estimates and time and motion studies (S1, S2)
• Programming of CAD/CAM systems and robots (S1, S2)
• Use of statistical techniques pertaining to quality control (S1, S2)
• Control of industrial operations, simulation of handling systems and use of computer science to solve problems related to the technical management of production (S1, S2, S3)
• Elaboration and implementation of preventive maintenance programs (S2, S3)
• Choice of assembly procedures, establishment of welding procedures and use of various inspection and non-destructive testing techniques (S2, S3)
• Computer-aided design of parts and machines and prototype design (S3, S4)
• Planning and management of production, selection of instruments and equipment to control processes (S3, S4)
• Design of circuits and specification and layout of components in hydraulic and pneumatic systems (S3, S4)

Examples of work that an operational and logistics engineering co-op student could do:

• Apply CAD tools to produce solutions for logistic problems (S1)
• Organize service delivery and transportation of manufacturing goods (S1)
• Determine task execution time (S1)
• Participate in value-added activities: six sigma, 5 S, continuous improvement and Kaizen approaches (S1)
• Analyze workstation ergonomics (S1)
• Use CAD models (S1)
• Participate in the design of manufacturing production, service delivery and logistic systems (S1)
• Participate in benchmarking activities (S1, S2)
• Implement and optimize material, services and product handling systems (S1, S2)
• Participate in internal OHF (organization, handling and flow) studies (S1, S2)
• Determine transportation work indicators (intensity, distance) (S1, S2)
• Participate in impact analysis of information handling and flow technologies in terms of the location and organization of services (S1, S2)
• Participate in studying the various internal organization models (S1, S2)
• Identify the proper techniques for solving optimization models (S1, S2)
• Define performance measurements and determine the permissible limits and applicable constraints (S1, S2, S3)
• Organize a safe production line (S2, S3)
• Participate in design projects for a service company (S2, S3)
• Install, operate and improve production and inventory planning and control systems (S2, S3)
• Develop production and workload programs (S2, S3 S4)
• Manage supply and inventory systems for dependent and independent demands (S2, S3, S4)
• Analyze performance measurements for goods and services production systems (S2, S3, S4)
• Design an optimization model to represent a system (S2, S3, S4)
• Create models for the purpose of system design and analysis (S2, S3, S4)
• Participate in statistical quality improvement processes (S2, S3, S4)
• Participate in impact analysis of information handling and flow technologies in terms of the location and organization of services (S2, S3, S4)
• Analyze and design distribution and warehousing systems (S2, S3, S4)
• Analyze and design supply chains (S2, S3, S4)

Examples of work that an automated manufacturing engineering co-op student could do:

• Installation, improvement and maintenance of electromechanical equipment (S1, S2)
• Computer-aided drafting (S1, S2)
• Configuration and programming of software and computer systems (S1, S2)
• Automating processes around the production of goods and services (S2, S3)
• Programming robots (S2, S3)
• Control of operations and simulation of industrial systems (S2, S3)
• Calculating profitability and managing production of goods and services (S3, S4)
• Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (S3, S4)
• Selecting and integrating systems involving various technologies such as IT, mechanics, electronics, robotics and computer vision (S3, S4)

Examples of work that an information technology engineering co-op student could do:

• Technical and troubleshooting support (S1)
• Data collection and organization; software logic design (S1)
• Software user documentation (S1)
• Web site and computer systems programming (S1)
• User interface analysis and design (S2)
• Participation in an organized context to development, maintenance, support and process improvement teams (S2)
• Quality assurance (S3)
• Management of small projects (S3)
• Web application design (S3)
• Information systems development: business process analysis, requirements specification, deployment (S3)
• Database design (S3)
• Systems security (S3, S4)
• Network management (S3, S4)
• Multimedia development (S3, S4)

Number of UNDERGRADUATE students available for Summer 2019 work-terms : 719
Updated : March 6, 2019

Construction engineering
S1 : 27  |  S2 : 58  |  S3 : 54  |  S4 : 10
Total : 149

Electrical engineering
S1 : 31  |  S2 : 34  |  S3 : 40  |  S4 : 4
Total : 109

Software engineering
S1 : 19  |  S2 : 35  |  S3 : 24  | S4 : 8
Total : 86

Mechanical engineering
S1 : 30  |  S2 : 64 |  S3 : 89  | S4 : 6
Total : 198

Operations and logistics engineering
S1 : 13  |  S2 : 14  |  S3 : 19  | S4 : 6
Total : 52

Automated manufacturing engineering
S1 : 3  |  S2 : 17  |  S3 : 24  | S4 : 5
Total : 51

Information technology engineering
S1 : 8  |  S2 : 13  |  S3 : 16  | S4 : 5
Total : 44

Number of MASTER LEVEL students available for Summer 2019 work-terms: 40
Updated : March 6, 2019

Aerospace engineering: 10
Construction engineering: 5
Electrical engineering: 3
Renewable energy and energy efficiency: 2
Environmental engineering: 1
Project management engineering: 2
Automated manufacturing engineering: 2
Software engineering: 1
Mechanical engineering: 6
Telecommunication network engineering: 3
Information technology engineering: 2
Healthcare technology engineering: 1

Summer 2019 term:

Construction engineering: 836
Electrical engineering: 543
Software engineering: 669
Mechanical engineering: 909
Operations and logistics engineering: 262
Automated production engineering: 314
Information technology engineering: 276

Breakdown of students who are eligible for co-op work-term by geographic region - 2018

Montreal: 24%
Laval, Laurentides, Lanaudière: 25%
Montérégie: 24%
Quebec, Chaudière, Beauce: 5%
Outaouais, Abitibi, New-Québec: 3%
Est du Québec: 4%
Mauricie, Centre-du-Québec: 3%
Eastern Townships: 2%
Outside of Quebec: 10%

2018 evaluation of ETS co-op students by supervisors
(3545 work-terms - 3715 responses)

A - Excellent: 1511 co-op students (43.6%)
B - Very good: 1514 co-op students (42.7%)
C - Good: 476 co-op students (13.4%)
D - Adequate: 36 co-op students (1.0%)
E - Unsatisfactory: 8 co-op students (0.2%)

85.3% of co-op students were rated by employers as "excellent" or "very good".

The masculine form is used to simplify reading of the text and includes all genders.

Before the co-op work term: Plan for the arrival of your co-op student

• Specify to your co-op student:
  • The start and end dates of the co-op work term;
  • The time at which he should arrive at his work station;
  • The person to ask for when he arrives the first day;
  • The dates on which the organization is closed, if any.
• Prepare related reference documents.
• Prepare a warm welcome:
  • Inform team members of the expected arrival of the student and his mandate;
  • Prepare a workstation and the necessary equipment (having to borrow a computer or other hardware from a colleague can eventually cause problems for both).
• Identify a team member responsible for supervising the wook term.
• Plan his tasks:
  • Define a clear, varied and stimulating mandate;
  • Make sure you have enough work for the duration and the skill level of the co-op student.
• Plan for the fitting of working clothes (if required).
   

When the co-op work term begins

• The welcome and integration:
  • Introduce the co-op student to the entire team upon his arrival and give him a tour of the site;
  • Meet with the co-op student to review the tasks he is expected to accomplish;
  • Inform the co-op student of your expectations, the work schedule and the dress code;
  • Plan an information session on the current regulations on health and safety at work and have the co-op student follow the required training;
  • Check weekly to ensure that he is on the right track.

Your co-op student will be more motivated if his mandate is clear and diverse and the work term allows him to put new concepts into practice.

During the co-op work term

Co-op coordinator visit

• Plan a meeting with the coordinator and the co-op student.
• Fill in the online assessment form. It should be submitted at the end of the work term.
   

Relationship between the co-op supervisor and the student

• Be more present and available in the first weeks. The supervision can become more discreet as the co-op student gains in autonomy.
• Keep the student informed of his performance:
  • If it is satisfactory, share your satisfaction with him. Give him encouragement and motivation;
  • If it needs to improve: evaluate and adjust as required the supervision, objectives and tasks to be performed and, if applicable, notify the coordinator of any deviation in behaviour or gap in terms of skills.
• Answer the student's questions to maximize his learning and the quantity of work performed;
• Clearly inform the student what is expected of him; increase his responsibilities gradually and in an appropriate manner;

A supervisor who is attentive to the needs of his co-op student and provides the required explanations will obtain good performance. The supervisor must want to convey his knowledge and guide the student.

A qualified co-op supervisor

Although there are many styles of supervision, some basic qualifications and skills are necessary to guide and evaluate an co-op student. These include the ability to listen and the will to engage with the student by questioning him and promoting discussion.

The co-op supervisor must be able to assess the student in a constructive manner by taking care to value his achievements and progress, while highlighting aspects needing improvement.

Conflict management: Don’t hesitate!

It is your responsibility to promptly notify the coordinator as soon as a problematic situation occurs.

The majority of co-op work terms go smoothly. Both co-op supervisors and students are generally very satisfied. Nevertheless, difficulties such as personality conflicts, disagreement on the tasks, a mandate that doesn’t start, unavailability of the co-op supervisor, inadequate attitude of the student and learning difficulties do sometimes arise.

There are many possible causes for these situations: a gap between the student's profile and the requirements of the position, unforeseen changes in the mandate, the departure of a colleague that results in an overload for the co-op supervisor, unrealistic expectations of his experience by the student, unrealistic expectations of the student by the supervisor.

It is very important to discuss this with the co-op coordinator as soon as the first signs appear, regardless of their nature. The coordinator will make an appointment with you in order to help reach a solution that satisfies both parties. He can play a supporting role or one of mediator.

End of the work term

• Discuss the evaluation of the co-op work term that you will send to the coordinator with the student.
• Read the Departure Interview [in French, PDF].

Don’t hesitate to contact us, we’re happy to answer your questions!

The Code of Ethics for participants in the ÉTS co-operative education regime defines for students and employers the rules regarding placement of interns under this regime.

It is inspired by the Code of Ethics of Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL Canada, formerly the Canadian Association of Co-operative Education or CAFCE) and the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE).

View the Code of Ethics [in French, PDF].