How On The Job Training Will Work For Post-Secondary Students This Fall
FREDERICTON – Covid-19 has caused a lot of uncertainty for universities and community colleges set to start online or in-person classes this fall – one of them being whether co-ops will be co-on or co-off this year.
“So, they’re still operating,” said Patricia Meng, co-coordinator of the Co-Operative Education Program for the Faculty of Computer Science at UNB.
“Actually, pretty much all of the students who went out this summer were working from home.”
The co-op program for UNB Computer Science didn’t have too many issues when transitioning online, according to Meng. Computer science students do most of their work from a computer.
“If there was no such thing as internet and technology, it would have been painful,” Meng said.
“Because the students all have their computers and some employers sent students computers or iPads … the student was able to set up at home.”
Community College Placements
At New Brunswick Community College, students partake in practicums, co-ops, and work placements. Some students are doing in-person placements, some students are doing simulated placements, and some will even be online.
“For those programs that will require that practical experience with [the] industry in [the] fall, some of it will be dependent upon the industry themselves because not all industry will be able to take on students,” said Ann Drennan, Vice President Academic and Research at NBCC.
“It could be limitations in terms of the host organization, financial limitations, or capacity that they have or just space relative to physical distancing.”
She said how the placements will go ahead in the fall is completely dependent on the program.
Some students had clinical during the summer and they were able to do in-person work abiding by COVID guidelines and wearing proper PPE.
“All of our theoretical components will be delivered in virtual classrooms, so that means still that the students are engaging with their instructors,” said Drennan.
But in terms of placements, which Drennan said will probably happen towards the end of the fall semester, if industries are taking students, the students will be given that opportunity. If industries aren’t taking students, they’ll be offered an alternative experiential learning experience on campus.
University internships
At the University of New Brunswick’s Arts Faculty and St. Thomas University, internships will be offered mostly online when they can be.
But, some internships will be offered in-person since many businesses have re-opened and can accommodate students on the premises.
“We do still have some placements that involve some on-site work with an organization,” said co-coordinator of the arts internship program for the Faculty of Arts at UNB, Tabatha Armstrong.
“When that’s the case, the organization has to be able to offer safely social-distanced work within their work environment, and to be otherwise following any guidelines from public health.”
Angela Bosse, the Internships Coordinator at STU, said the transition to online internships isn’t all bad.
The Experiential Learning Office at STU did a pilot project of webinars for their interns this summer. Students were given vital skills for navigating online and in-person workplace environments in a video call setting.
She also said it makes more internships more accessible to a greater number of people.
“It also allows students to participate who maybe aren’t currently located in Fredericton,” Bosse said.
Now that classes at STU and UNB are online, many students are working from all over the world, and they can now do remote work from virtually anywhere as well.
There are still negatives like most students not receiving that in-person office experience, but Bosse thinks it could positively help the relationship between the student and the employer.
From one-on-one meetings on Teams or Zoom, or constant access to a channel to ask fellow colleagues questions, it opens up a new work environment for both employer and employee.
“It actually is a benefit because it helps students and employers overcome new challenges together,” Bosse said.
“It helps push people to be a little more innovative [and] think outside the box.”