Benefits
Benefits to Employers
- Employers gain better-educated graduates. By the time they graduate, Co-op students have already had a full year of paid and supervised industrial experience. They already understand and accept workplace targets, relationships and discipline.
- While on their work placements, Co-op students have the full support of the Faculty. As a result, industry gains access to the specialised expertise and facilities available at the University.
- Compared to the existing vacation employment requirement of some degrees, Co-op work placements offer a number of advantages to employers. They are easier to program in that an organisation can create a "quasi-permanent" Co-op position which is filled on a rotation by different students. Each work placement is long enough to allow students to tackle a worthwhile project and to be genuinely productive. The placements are not confined to the summer vacation period (a time when supervisors are away on recreation leave). Each work placement is carefully structured and supervised in cooperation with the Faculty.
- Work placements provide the opportunity for an employer to evaluate the suitability of the student as a future employee of the organisation. If the student does eventually become a permanent employee, there is the added benefit that the student has already undergone their orientation.
- Co-op work placements are a flexible and cost effective method for employers to respond to fluctuating work loads.
- As a result of regular and long-term contact with the faculty staff, employers become involved in the design and delivery of the academic program. Cooperative links in the areas of research and consulting are also fostered.
Benefits for Students
Co-op offers the following benefits to students:
- Students graduate having already had a full year of industrial experience in two different organisations. This significantly enhances their employability and gives them a distinct advantage in today's competitive job market. Experience with other Co-op programs shows that it is not uncommon for students to receive job offers from their former Cooperative employers.
- Students are able to sample particular areas of their chosen speciality before graduation.
- Students earn while they learn (recognised rates are paid during periods of industrial experience).
- Networking between Co-op universities provides the opportunity for students to broaden their horizons by undertaking their work placements in other states of Australia or possibly overseas.
- The process of mixing study with practical experience helps students to appreciate the relevance of the theory and procedures that are presented to them during their academic semesters. Co-op students return from work placements with an increased enthusiasm for learning; as a result, it is common for academic performance to improve significantly.
- Full-time study towards a degree is extremely demanding, even for the most capable students. Work placements give students a break from continuous study.
- By the time they graduate, students are already seasoned job applicants, having successfully gone through the resumé/application/interview cycle twice.
