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

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 Learning Department which candidates have been selected for an interview and interview availabilities.
• The Cooperative Learning Department 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 Learning Department 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 Winter 2019 work-terms : 819
Updated : November 15, 2018

Construction engineering
S1 : 94  |  S2 : 57  |  S3 : 52  |  S4 : 19
Total : 222

Electrical engineering
S1 : 42  |  S2 : 30  |  S3 : 42  |  S4 : 11
Total : 125

Software engineering
S1 : 51  |  S2 : 24  |  S3 : 10  | S4 : 13
Total : 98

Mechanical engineering
S1 : 57  |  S2 : 59  |  S3 : 69  | S4 : 19
Total : 204

Operations and logistics engineering
S1 : 18  |  S2 : 10  |  S3 : 22  | S4 : 7
Total : 57

Automated manufacturing engineering
S1 : 24  |  S2 : 21  |  S3 : 16  | S4 : 4
Total : 65

Information technology engineering
S1 : 14  |  S2 : 19  |  S3 : 10  | S4 : 5
Total : 48

Number of MASTER LEVEL students available for Winter 2019 work-terms: 24
Updated: November 15, 2018

Renewable energy and energy efficiency: 4
Aerospace: 2
Construction engineering: 5
Innovation management: 1
Electrical engineering: 1
Automated manufacturing engineering: 2
International Project Management: 1
Telecommunication network: 2
Occupational health and safety risk: 1
Information technology: 3
Healthcare technology: 2

Fall 2018 term:

Construction engineering: 1260
Electrical engineering: 652
Software engineering: 786
Mechanical engineering: 1226
Operations and logistics engineering: 309
Automated production engineering: 445
Information technology engineering: 347

Breakdown of students who are eligible for co-op work-term by geographic region - 2017

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%

2017 evaluation of ETS co-op students by Supervisors
(3673 work-terms - 3564 responses)

A - Excellent: 1646 co-op students (46.2%)
B - Very good: co-op students (39.4%)
C - Good: 467 co-op students (13.1%)
D - Adequate: 42 co-op students (1.2%)
E - Unsatisfactory: 4 co-op students (0.1%)

85.6% 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].