Page 108 - 2007

Professionals in Training
The Cooperative Education Class at CCI is a course that students can take and experience many different aspects of the workplace. It teaches students what it was like to be out in the workforce, away from school, and naturally there is a lot to learn in a setting like that. One semester of work will turn into two hundred and twenty (220) hours at a placement, which students have the complete freedom to choose. With the help from co-op teachers, Mrs.lemon, Mrs. Mcleod and Mrs.T. Checkley, you will be placed in the perfect placement for you.
There is the occasional assignment to be done it is a class, after all. Updating resumes, working on cover letters and thank-you letters to give to employers, and going over the legal working rights of Canadian Citizens it is all fairly straightforward, and all geared towards your future, and giving you the knowledge and experience you need in order to enter the workplace. In fact, working with myCollingwood.ca lined me up as a job as a Freelance Journalist after I graduated in January. I never even saw that coming! My parents were proud of me when I told them that I was promised that job. Co-Op is a class that is full of new experiences and opportunities. You
could surprise yourself with how much you enjoy working in a certain area, or how much you do not enjoy it when you thought you might. Honestly, I have to say that every student should enter a Co-Op class. It really helps you direct your future, and can fill up your resume with crucial experience employers could be looking for. When you look at it in the long run, there is really no downside to being in a Co-Op class - Two credits, a bundle of experience, and if you play your cards right, an enjoyable morning or afternoon away from school.
The next time you get that course selection booklet, and dont like the sounds of some of the other optional courses, take it from me you want a Co-Op class!
Article written by:Scott Vandergroef, (right) co-op student at myCollingwood.ca and teaching assistant at Cameron Street School