- Work placements, Apprenticeship traineeship, Co-op and internships
- Exchange programmes
- Teaching schemes
- Volunteering
- Casual work
Co-op programs, internships and apprenticeship traineeship;
A period of work experience or ’stage’ is a well established feature of graduate employment in Canada. There are several institutions dedicated to, or with substantial sections on, ‘stages’.
Although there are many types of work experience – from part-time work to work shadowing – structured placements and internships are a particularly popular way to gain career skills. They happen in a specific time frame, are usually project-based and almost always involve some structured training.
As they are usually focused on one career area, they can improve your employability more than other forms of work experience. You can explain what you achieved on a specific project to other employers and get training in some sector-specific skills.
Most internships are offered to Foreign students in the summer before their final year, and year-long placements almost always make up the penultimate year of a sandwich degree course. However, once you have been accepted on to a programme, employers are usually flexible if you need to defer, particularly if this is for reasons out of your control.
There is a tendency for small- to medium-size businesses to want people who already have some work experience, as the smaller the organisation, the less time there is to train people in basic work skills such as writing professional e-mails. On the other hand, students in small- and medium-size businesses can quickly find themselves being given quite large amounts of responsibility.
Larger organisations tend to be less concerned with previous work experience, as they have the resources to train anyone in almost anything.
For your convenient Hineni Member site Directory publishes organisations of all sizes offer Canadian placements and internships.
This include:
Exchange programmes allow you to spend time in Canada working or study, often as part of your degree. Your institution may be involved in a “ Leonardo da Vinci” Programme through which vocational training exchanges and work placements are arranged with partner organisations in other countries. Subscribe to our site to gain access, view or print the most complete student exchange programs listing in canada .
Teaching a language in Canada is a popular choice for students, particularly modern languages students.
University language schools – if your university has a department for foreign languages or equivalent, you may be able to pick up useful advice, guides and contacts there.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a good way to gain experience and to learn more about Enlgish or French Canadian society and culture and will improve your language skills.
Casual work can be done in vacation times and can provide you with transferable skills for future jobs. It will also help you to improve your language skills. Useful resources include:
There are- lists a large number of internships and temporary vacancies on its online database.
