Guidelines

Authority to recruit and appoint

• Federal organizations are delegated to recruit, select and appoint Co-op/Internship students.

Values in student recruitment

• In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of Employment for Students, the Co-op/Internship student hired must possess the competencies required for the work to be performed.
• The selection and hiring of Co-op/Internship students must be in accordance with all the staffing values, including equity of access, transparency, fairness, non-partisanship and representativeness.
• Each Co-op/Internship appointment must be a result of an advertised external appointment process.

Eligibility

• The Co-op/Internship program is available only to students who are enrolled in a Co-op/Internship program in which work experience is a mandatory requirement for graduation
• Students must satisfy the definition of a student, as established by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).
• Only students enrolled in PSC-approved Co-op/Internship programs can be recruited to work in the public service under this particular student program.

Program approval

• The PSC approves and publishes a list of recognized academic institutions and programs offering Co-op/Internship programs.
• Approved programs are listed on the jobs.gc.ca Web site under "Approved Programs."
• If you do not see the Co-op/Internship program that you wish to recruit from, you must ask the institution to contact the PSC in order to have their program approved before advertising your opportunity. Please click here for the program approval process.

Area of selection

Since fall 2008, full-time positions are subject to a national area of selection for all student programs. When hiring a Co-op student, organizations must consider students from different institutions in order to yield a reasonable pool of qualified candidates.

• A reasonable pool of persons to be assessed must be identified to enable organizations to choose from a sufficient selection of students and to ensure that Canadian citizens are given preference.
• If a sufficient pool of students cannot be identified, it is expected that organizations will approach additional institutions offering a given program.

Citizenship

• In keeping with section 39(1)(c) of the Public Service Employment Act, preference must be given to Canadian citizens. Accordingly, a work term must be offered to a Canadian who meets the student requirements before the position can be offered to a non-Canadian student.
• Selection must be restricted to Canadian citizens where there is a sufficient pool to draw from, and preference in appointment must be accorded to Canadian citizens.
• If a sufficient pool of students cannot be identified, it is expected that organizations will approach additional institutions offering a given program.

Mandatory learning plan

• In accordance with section 5.2(b) of the TBS Student Employment Policy, "managers must develop a structured learning plan defining what the student should accomplish (see Appendix B and Appendix C for model learning plans) or use the generic plan provided by the academic institution, combined with a description of the specific assignment."

Re-employment situations

1) Into another Co-op/Internship placement:

• Re-employment of a Co-op/Internship student may occur when an additional work term is required as a condition of graduation.
• Co-op/Internship students may be re-employed into the same or a similar position by the organization for an additional work placement, with prior approval by the student's academic institution.
• The student must continue to meet the definition of a student as set out by TBS.
• It is also possible for a Co-op/Internship student to be re-employed by another organization into the identical or a similar position as his or her initial Co-op/Internship placement.

2) Into an FSWEP position:

• Co-op/Internship students may be re-employed into an FSWEP position following their initial Co-op/Internship placement.
• Organizations must submit a Request for Re-Employment to their local PSC district/regional office, with the following completed documentation:
  • a copy of the Letter of Agreement between the organization and the student's academic institution (or equivalent); and
  • a copy of the most recent Letter of Offer between the organization and the student.
• Students must have an active application in the FSWEP general inventory prior to the re-employment request.
• Students can submit their FSWEP applications on-line via the jobs.gc.ca Web site.

Bridging mechanism

• Student bridging can only be employed in instances where a student placement resulted from the Co-op/Internship Program, FSWEP or the Research Affiliate Program
• Student bridging cannot be used in relation to casual or contractual arrangements involving students.

Internal advertised appointment process

Students can apply in an internal advertised appointment process when the following conditions apply:

• The area of selection for the internal advertised appointment process specifically includes persons appointed under TBS-approved student employment programs;
• The student meets the other criteria of the area of selection; and
•  The student is currently employed under a TBS-approved Student Employment Program and can demonstrate that they will be able to complete their current studies program within the time frame indicated in the advertisement.

Students must have completed their studies program prior to their appointment to a term or indeterminate position.

Related Web links

• TBS Student Employment Policy
• TBS Student Employment Programs in the Federal Government
• TBS Terms and Conditions of Employment for Students (including rates of pay)