LDSS co-op program continues to impact students, employers and the local business community

BEA TODD co-op@midwesternnewspapers.com

istowel is a tight-knit, supportive community, shown through the backing for the Listowel District Secondary School’s (LDSS) co-operative education course.

Since 1987, thousands of students have taken this elective, which provides a hands-on, indepth look and feel for a specific line of work, before a student may proceed to post-secondary education – and spending thousands of dollars on a career they may not enjoy. It also gives the opportunity to receive a part-time job, or networking.

Today, roughly 200 students take part in this course and encounter chances to work in a variety of fields including: agricultural tech mechanics, health care, trades, farming, auto, business, programming, media, services, education and more – all experiences provided by more than 100 companies in the community.

Thirty-five years ago, LDSS was the first school in the Avon Maitland District School Board to offer co-op education. It was a provincial initiative which was established by Eric Walden, and he was keen to get the program started. Walden attended three years of summer school to get a co-op specialist certification to further the program.

In an email from Laura Cressman, co-operative education teacher at LDSS, she states, “(Eric) went door to door, made many phone calls and used many personal connections to find employers, to talk to employers, explain what co-op was and invite them to take on students.”

After 11 years in charge, the program was taken over by Andrew Jaunzemis. Since then, the amount of students participating in co-op has more than doubled over the last 20 years.

According to John (JD) Kuepfer, head of the co-operative education department at LDSS, this is partially due to “our school’s many alternative education students who are talking co-op including those in CASE and Riverside Rural Learning, which includes many students from Conservative Mennonite, private school, and home school background.”

Outline

The routines of a co-operative education program are similar yet distant to the beginning structure and outline. Originally, students were placed in the classroom for two weeks and aptitude tests were distributed which showed the kinds of jobs a student would excel in. Students developed and perfected their own resumes, participated in makeshift interviews to practice their skills for an interview, and set up times for an interview with potential employers – applying to two locations. If a placement was confirmed, students would go off to work for only half of the semester and this step was repeated for the second duration of the semester. At the end of the year, there was a banquet, which students, parents and employers would take part in. As a form of gratitude, the students would give their employers a plaque.

Although there have been changes since that time in the program, the concept and goals are still the same.

Students from past years are now paying forward their experiences of co-op as well, becoming supervisors to the next generation of students.

Finding a future

The students who have completed the co-op course have gone on to university, college, the trades, finding networks and employment. An example of finding a future through co-op is Scott Gibson.

Gibson was a past co-op student who had taken the course multiple times. It originally appealed to him due to the hands-on experiences offered.

“I really liked the hands-on as- pect of everything,” Gibson said in an interview with the Banner “I was eager to do co-op, so I signed up for the program,” In the past, he had taken his placement at a local farm and was set to take his placement with the same farmer once again, because he was making “good money” doing it. However his teacher (Jaunzemis) considered that Gibson should experience something else, since he had already taken his placement there previously. He took Jaunzemis’ advice and searched for an alternative placement. He landed on the masonry trade with Jim Greydanus and spent his term working there. Gibson went on to become a mason by trade and started up Gibson Masonry in 2012. Since that time, Gibson has taken on his own co-op students – with no hesitation either – saying “I was never hesitant. I think it’s a great program for the kids and (I) had a lot of luck with it.”

He currently has a 2020 LDSS graduate doing his apprenticeship under Gibson, after completing a two and four credit co-op with Gibson Masonry. With community support and assistance from businesses like Gibson Masonry, LDSS is able to provide on-thejob experiences for students.

“(Scott) has been a positive and willing supporter with some great connections to the community and the co-op program at LDSS,” writes Cressman.

Leaving a legacy

Barry Hutchison of Hutchison’s Welding has been a supervisor for several co-op students since the program launched, including the second semester of 2022.

“He is highly respected for his skills in his field, and also for his willingness to invest in the lives of young people,” Kuepfer wrote in an email. “He has high standards and keeps people accountable, but also is a patient and understanding mentor to students who work for him.”

(Eric)

Walden approached Hutchison and he took a chance on Walden, becoming one of the very first coop employers.

“I thought this a good program for the students to get a feeling for the career they were thinking of after they graduate from high school,” said Hutchison. “I have had many students over the years and almost 100 per cent were very eager to learn, in our case, the welding trade. “The reason we accepted co-op students was to give them some experience in the welding field – it is not for everyone. The same goes for any job; some may like it and some find they would like to try a different line of work.”

Hutchison has been linked to assisting the start of careers and for building skills in many citizens in the community. He continues to be a strong supporter of the co-op program at LDSS.

“Barry sees the value of practical experience and believes that students should have the opportunity to develop their skills during their time with his company,” wrote Kuepfer.

When Hutchison retires, he will leave a legacy in that some of his former students will become coop supervisors themselves.

“With the community support from local health-care teams, services, companies and businesses, we work together to provide experiences for students with local experts in the industry of a student’s choice. Co-op promotes and supports local,” said Cressman.

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