Employer Perspective

  • A co-op placement is an arrangement between the employer and the student employee facilitated by the Co-op Office. The program requires a minimum work term of 14 weeks which corresponds to the academic term. Terms of employment are established by the employer. By mutual agreement a student may be reappointed to a second work term, with approval of the Co-op Office.
  • Salary is set by the employer. The Co-op Office is able to advise on the range of current rates. Benefits are set by the employer but normally are those required by law.
  • Work assigned to co-op students may encompass a wide range of jobs from special studies that include surveys, indexing or cataloguing projects, to setting up Web pages on the Internet, database design or regular archival, library or information science work.
  • Employers in the public or private sectors are encouraged to post positions with the LIS Co-op Program. Any bona fide employer can be a co-op employer, provided the work is related to the academic discipline of the student. It should be noted, however, that a qualified individual is required to supervise/mentor the work of the co-op student for the duration of the work term.
  • As the co-op experience is a competitive employment process, students are flexible as to the location and type of employment. All communication between employers and students is mediated by the FIMS Co-op Office.