As part of National Co-operative Education Week (March 23 – 27), the BCIT Centre for Workplace Education hosted a panel of employers to talk about the value of workplace education, to provide insight on how to secure a job and be successful in the workplace, and to discuss the impact of the new economy. Members of the panel were from Air Thermal Systems, Chevron, Cowell Motors Volkswagen, EA Sports, Kodak and the Integrative Bioscience Research Cluster (IBRC).
Even though many disciplines were represented on the panel, one prominent theme of the discussion was the role that communication plays in success. Most of the panel members agreed that good communication and interpersonal skills are essential, regardless if one is providing customer service at a car dealership or developing a video game. From their experience, they shared how co-op work terms are an ideal environment in which students can learn to communicate professionally through enhancing their technical training by applying it in the workforce.
Members of the panel spoke of the lessons they learned early in their careers–working as grocery clerks and cashiers–and how they developed a work ethic, and problem-solving and teamwork skills that helped in their professional development. Some of these early lessons nurtured work habits that follow them today. A few members of the panel shared that they are very interested in the early non-technical jobs (working in fast food or delivering papers) that potential applicants have done.
The current economic slowdown and new economy was a topic of interest for the employer panel and was a concern in the student questions. Panel members shared their experiences of going through the recessions of the past 30 years. The main piece of advice was that while the economy slows downs periodically, the best way to weather the storm is to be aware of transferable skills, to be flexible and to always be re-training. They indicated that students who have co-op experience–even if their work term is unrelated to the job they are applying for–will compete better in a competitive labour market.
The formal and informal exchange between the employers and students provided a snapshot of one of BCIT’s strengths as providing practical education in the workplace. The connection between the applied nature of BCIT’s training and employer expectations is very tight. Many of the employers graduated from BCIT and regularly hire co-op students because they recognize the value that workplace education plays in developing exemplary learners.
This event, in terms of its outcomes, was planned and implemented as a reflection of BCIT’s mandate that states “BCIT offers experiential and contextual teaching and learning with the interdisciplinary experiences that models the evolving work environment and that BCIT exercises its provincial mandate by collaborating with the post-secondary system and employers in activities that improve learner access and success.” Ultimately, the success of the event was based on the promotion of the value of experiential learning as well as strengthening and reaffirming BCIT’s partnerships with the employer community.
