Benefits of Cooperative Education
For the Employer
- Increases cost-effectiveness of recruitment and training.
- Results in a higher average retention rate among permanent employees recruited and hired through a co-op program.
- Provides an opportunity to evaluate employees prior to a decision regarding full-time employment.
- Allows flexibility in staffing needs.
- Brings state of the art technical knowledge to the workplace.
- Exempts employers from paying unemployment compensation taxes on wages of co-op students if they are enrolled in a qualified co-op program and from paying unemployment compensation to students released from these programs.
- Creates a partnership between business and education.
For the Student
- Enhances the graduate’s marketability by providing valuable work experiences.
- Provides academic credit toward graduation (in most curricula).
- Enables students to earn money to help defray college expenses.
- Develops self-confidence, responsibility, and professional competence.
- Provides employer contact and exposure to the working world.
- Helps students to develop long-range career goals.
- Integrates work experiences with classroom instruction.
