Co-operative Education is a flexible, cost-effective partnership between employers, educators and students
Employers gain talented, ambitious employees while providing mentorship and experience-based learning. The TRU Co-op model allows students to alternate between semesters of academic coursework and paid full-time employment. A co-op work term requires 420 hours of work completed in a 12-to-16-week period.
At TRU, co-op work terms are usually for 4, 8, or 12 months and begin in January, May or September. The work terms are paid, monitored and reviewed.
Thompson Rivers University is a proudly accredited member of Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL Canada).
We are also a proud member of the Association for Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning BC/Yukon (ACE-WIL BC/Yukon).
View our Co-op Eligible academic programs and their prerequisites for beginning a co-op work term.
EligibilityBenefits of hiring a co-op student
- Flexible access to a pre-screened talented pool of students who will bring fresh perspectives, new ideas, and a positive attitude towards working and learning.
- Optimal workforce management utilizing co-op students to fill temporary job openings, work on specific projects, free up permanent staff for other projects or supplement staff during peak seasons.
- Cost-effective and efficient means of evaluating prospective future employees' potential.
- Opportunities for your staff to develop their leadership and training skills through mentorship.
How we support you
The Co-operative Education Team is available to assist you in finding the most suitable candidate for your organization’s hiring needs. We can help you with:
- Developing your position’s job description
- Posting positions to the Career Connections job board
- Collecting applications
- Shortlisting candidates
- Scheduling interviews
- Coordinating follow-up and employment offers
These services are provided for free
Your responsibilities as a co-op employer
Hiring co-op students is mostly the same as any other employee with only two additional steps:
- Participating in a site visit by a Co-op Education Coordinator around the middle of the student’s work term
- Completing a work term evaluation at the end of the student’s work term
Funding programs
Employers may apply to have their student-employee’s wages funded or subsidized by government programs.
Explore Funding and Wage Subsidy OpportunitiesAre you an Indigenous organization or looking to hire an Indigenous student? Look here for specified Indigenous Wage Subsidy programs.
Explore Indigenous Funding Opportunities
