GCCA | Graduate Careers Council of Australia

Graduate Careers Australia

ergo - Number 86 March 2002

Co-op Turns Out Experienced Graduates

Co-operative Education (“Co-op”) programs have been operating successfully in Australia since the late 1960s. These programs combine tertiary study with an extra year of relevant work experience in private businesses and government organisations, and are available to students from many disciplines.

The idea behind co-op programs is to give high-performing students, who have the potential and the enthusiasm to progress within their chosen industry, the chance to experience the “real world” work environment during their study. This means that they will be better prepared for the reality of the workplace when they graduate, as well as giving them the chance to build relationships with established professionals. Co-operative education programs will often help students to improve their academic performance and develop more mature communication and organisational skills which later prove invaluable in the workplace. In Australia the competition for desirable jobs is fierce, and a simple degree without relevant additional experience is not always enough. The experience co-op students gain often gives them a significant advantage over other graduates when they eventually finish their studies, and they have a very high rate of employment; for example the Victoria University Co-operative Education Unit has an uptake rate in excess of 93%.

Co-op Programs Benefit All

Co-operative programs are finding favour with many universities and employers across the country as the process is not only of benefit to the students. Universities profit from being able to offer a more rich and diverse learning environment, as well as being able to extend their links with the corporate sector and improve the quality of teaching and preparation. Ties established between students and employers also have positive flow-on effects for future work placement programs and careers services/counselling, as well as giving valuable feedback about the relevance of the curriculum to student needs and workplace requirements.

Employers benefit from closer ties with universities, and the ability to “preview” the best and brightest students who will potentially become the business and government leaders of the future. Employers also benefit from the work provided by skilled and enthusiastic students sometimes at a significantly lower cost than a fully-qualified graduate, as well as their ability to share the organisation’s workload. One successful example of a working co-operative education program exists within the Faculty of Business and Law at Victoria University. Originally started for engineering students in the early 1970s, the program quickly extended to business students from a range of disciplines including commerce and hospitality, and now places more than 300 students each year. The program has a high priority amongst the University’s careers initiatives, with eight full-time staff working year-round to place students into both small and large companies, not only in Australia but also around the world.

The program is not compulsory as it is in some institutions but is popular nonetheless, and start times throughout the year are also flexible. The Unit also helps students pick a suitable placement from a range of companies and negotiate pay and conditions, which in some cases can be as much as a graduate, with a similar level of responsibility.

One such student is Shaun McMeeken, who was initially placed as a Marketing Officer for Melbourne Airport, and who later worked with Thomas Cook Travel subsidiaries in Vermont and Florida in the United States. Shaun performed strongly during his co-op employment with these firms, winning several awards and recognition within the company for being one of its top sales performers. Shaun states that the program “…assisted him greatly with his academic studies… and enhanced his employment prospects post graduation”. He is currently the Marketing Development Coordinator for AAT Kings Tours in Melbourne.

Co-op programs usually require that the student submit a resumé and sit an interview as they would for an ongoing or contract position, another valuable area of experience. Once employed, a student will be regularly visited by the program’s coordinator, who will provide a work report and feedback on the progress of the individual as well as offering guidance on the completion of set tasks. This work report is completed by the student as part of their assessment for the subject Co-op, and they then receive credit on their academic transcripts. The strictness of internal procedures may vary with each individual employer, but the overall success of these programs is implicit in the fact that many employers provide “repeat business”, and participating students invariably provide nothing but positive feedback and glowing reports.

For further information about the Victoria University Business Faculty Co-op program, please contact:

Barry Broons
Manager – Co-operative Education Unit
Telephone: (03) 9688 4546
Facsimile: (03) 9688 5057
Email: [email protected]

The author wishes to acknowledge the kind assistance of the Victoria University Co-op Unit in preparing this article.