The Mount has a co-op component in the following programs: business administration, public relations and tourism & hospitality management. Business administration and public relations students are available each semester for co-op work terms (January – April, May – August and September – December). Tourism students complete summer work terms only (May – August or May – mid October). Public policy, arts and science interns are also available in the summer for paid internship work terms.

Mount co-op students are ambitious professionals who are eager to contribute to your team. Hiring a student gives you the chance to shape careers and provide valuable mentorship to new talent. It also creates a pipeline for future employment opportunities in your organization.

As a co-op employer, you play an integral role in your student’s education. Your feedback, guidance and mentorship are key to the success of the co-op term. Your role as an employer will be to assist your student in establishing a Personal Learning Plan for the co-op term, to participate in the midterm work site visit with a university representative, to provide guidance on the student’s work term project, and to evaluate the student’s progress at the end of the co-op term.

Co-op Position Requirements

Each co-op position must meet the following requirements in order to post with us:

  1. The position must guarantee a minimum of 13 consecutive weeks of work
  2. The position must be a minimum of 35 hours per week
  3. The position must be paid

Responsibilities of Student, Employer, and Institution

Mount Saint Vincent University is committed to the delivery of high quality academic programming. The Mount demonstrates this commitment by adopting the recruiting ethics and the accreditation standards of Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL). The recruiting ethics maintain the integrity of the co-op competition process, while Accreditation sets the national quality standards for co-operative education programs. The responsibilities of each of the partners (the student, the employer, and the institution) are described below:

It is the student’s responsibility to:

  • Abide by the co-op policies and procedures of the institution
  • Ensure that employers are provided with accurate and appropriate information regarding their qualifications and interests
  • To proceed with a co-op position once a job offer has been accepted
  • Honor their acceptance of work term as a contractual agreement with the employer
  • Not provide information to employers about other students or employers
  • To fully participate in the evaluation process (setting a personal learning plan, participating in the work site visit, reviewing the employer evaluation form and completing the work term report/project

It is the employer’s responsibility to:

  • Respect the institution’s schedules regarding co-op position postings, interview arrangements and the direct offer process
  • Provide accurate job posting information including salary, location and dates of employment
  • Provide reasonable notice of candidates to be interviewed and of interview cancellations
  • Allow all co-op position offers to be made through the Co-op Office and not discuss offers with candidates before, during or following an interview
  • Not seek a candidate’s assessment of other candidates
  • Honour all job offers and not renege accepted offers or rescind offers of employment
  • Confirm all co-op position offers in writing
  • Not translate a co-op assignment into a full-time position, encouraging a student to settle for less education
  • To fully participate in the evaluation process (setting a personal learning plan for the co-op student, participating in the work site visit and completing the employer evaluation form)

It is the institution’s responsibility to:

  • Inform students, employers, and other interested parties of the policies and procedures
  • Provide equal services to all student and employers
  • Accommodate employers’ reasonable requests for position postings and interview space
  • Where available, provide students with accurate information (including promotional materials and salary/benefits), on all recruiting employers

Posting a Co-op Position

Hiring a Mount co-op student is easy! To post a co-op position, log in to our co-op portal, Career Connects. Career Connects allows you to submit job postings, review applications, arrange interviews and submit rankings following interviews. You can view the Career Connects Employer User Guide on our Employer Resources page.

New employers can create a Career Connects account by following these steps:

  1. Go to Career Connects
  2. Click on “Login Now”
  3. Click on “Employer”
  4. Click on “Click Here to Register”
  5. Fill in the online registration form

If you are a returning employer, please login to Career Connects using your email address. If you forget your password, learn how to reset it on page 3 of the Career Connects Employer User Guide.

Creating Effective Job Postings

Your co-op job posting is the students’ first impression about the experience they will gain with you as an employer. The key to attracting co-op students is to provide a detailed and informative position description. When drafting your co-op position description, try to include the following:

Position Title: Descriptive titles such as Communications Assistant, Web Developer, Research Assistant, Travel Counsellor or Special Events Coordinator are more interesting to students than a generic title like Co-op Student.

Student Testimonials: Quotes from previous co-op students can be helpful. Please contact the Co-op Office to see if we have a testimonial on file for your organization.

Specific Duties: The more you can tell students, the better. Separating duties into primary and secondary responsibilities is effective. Students also appreciate having a specific project or assignment they can “own”. This is beneficial for them when they’re developing their portfolios and resumes. Providing the percentage of time spent on each duty listed is also a great benefit to students who are seeking work terms that provide a specific learning opportunity.

Qualifications: Be sure to include specific information about skills and aptitudes required such as computer programs and languages. Be sure to note which are necessary and which are considered an asset.

Salary Details: Salaries influence students’ choices and those that are TBA, to be announced, are not attractive. Students are more likely to apply for positions that have salaries, or at least a range, included. If you provide travel/and or accommodation assistance for out of province opportunities, this should also be noted.

Employer Information: A paragraph about the company/or department is helpful. Students appreciate learning about the reporting structure, how long you have been a Mount co-op employer, and if they will be working with Mount graduates.

Additional Information: You may want to provide a link to your website or a link to an online video that provides more information on your organization.

Co-op Salary Guidelines

The primary cost to the employer is the student’s wage. The chart below provides you with a good indication of the hourly salary employers pay students in each program.

Business Administration

Co-op 1
Average Hourly: $16
Range Hourly: $15 – $18

Co-op 2
Average Hourly: $16.50
Range Hourly: $15 – $19

Co-op 3
Average Hourly: $17
Range Hourly: $15 – $19

Public Relations

Co-op 1
Average Hourly: $17
Range Hourly: $15 – $22

Co-op 2
Average Hourly: $18
Range Hourly: $15 – $22

Co-op 3
Average Hourly: $18
Range Hourly: $15 – $25

Tourism & Hospitality Management

Co-op 1
Average Hourly: $14
Range Hourly: $12 – $16

Co-op 2
Average Hourly: $14
Range Hourly: $12 – $16

Co-op 3
Average Hourly: $14.50
Range Hourly: $12 – $16

Other costs to you, may include:

  • Benefits (vacation pay, EI, CPP, and Workers’ Compensation contributions)
  • Overhead (allocation of a desk, chair, computer, etc.)
  • Supervisory time
  • Travel costs, if you wish to reimburse the student for the costs of relocating
  • Performance bonuses

Salaries are based on positions filled for the Winter, Summer and Fall 2021 co-op work terms (average of 35 hours/week).

Funding Opportunities

Co-operative Education Incentive (Nova Scotia employers only)

The Nova Scotia government’s Co-operative Education Incentive (CEI) funding program provides private sector, small business and non-profit organizations with 50% reimbursement of a required $15 per hour salary minimum. The funding reimbursement increases from $7.50 per hour to $9.00 per hour if the student is a member of a designated diversity group.

Visit the CEI website for application deadlines.

Student Summer Skills Incentive (Nova Scotia employers only)

The Nova Scotia government’s Student Summer Skills Incentive (SKILL) funding program is available in the summer term only. The program provides not-for-profit organizations registered as a charity or active society with Registry of Joint Stock Companies a wage subsidy of $9.10 per hour. The funding reimbursement increases to $10.10 per hour if the student is a member of a designated diversity group.

Visit the SKILL website for application deadlines.

Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)

Click on the links below for more information on available funding programs including eligibility, application instructions, deadlines and contact information. More information about SWPP can be found on the CEWIL Canada website.

BioTalent Canada
Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC)
Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace (CCAA)
Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA)
Cultural Human Resource Council (CHRC)
Environment Careers Organization Canada (ECO Canada)
Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC)
Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC)
Food Processing Skills Canada (FPSC)
Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)
Magnet
Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR)
TECHNATION (formerly ITAC)
Toronto Finance International
Tourism HR Canada
Trucking Human Resources Canada
Venture for Canada

Co-op Work Term Sequencing

Typically, public relations and business administration students complete their first co-op in year two of study, their second co-op in year three of study, and their third co-op in year four of study.

Given the nature of the industry, tourism & hospitality management students complete all three co-ops in the summer. Given this, you can expect a range of first to third year students applying to your summer co-op positions.

Here is typical sequencing for students entering into the public relations, business administration, and tourism & hospitality management programs:

Public Relations and Business Administration

Tourism & Hospitality Management

More Information

For more information on hiring a Mount co-op or internship student, contact co-opjobs@msvu.ca. Review Important Dates to ensure you don’t miss any upcoming deadlines.