Youthink PS is Western Canada¹s post secondary resource guide for high school students planning on attending university, college or other Canadian post secondary institutions and is distributed to 400 high schools across BC and Alberta.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1166235
10 > YOUTHINK PS > FALL 2019 YOUTHINK.CA 786862-XX-4.indd T revor Broderick is 18 years old and, thanks to a co-op program, he already has a great job doing what he loves. It's the perfect sit - uation. He's close to the office (his morn- ing "commute" takes about three minutes), and there's almost no traffic or slow-downs (unless his brother or two sisters are awake and hogging the bathroom). It may not be the corner suite . . . but for now, a small spare room in his family's Surrey home is all the office Broderick needs. Moments after waking up, he slides into a work chair, in front of a small desk laden with computer gear. He switches everything on and two large monitors flicker to life. The image of Dr. William Spat — his boss in Prince George — appears on one screen and co-worker Tom Tang logs on and smiles from the other. It's as if they're all sitting around the same table. For the last four months, Skype has dis - solved the distance between them. They discuss what they're working on, goals for the day, and the progress of their project. The "project" is called "Goverlytics." It's a tool that the team has just completed. It uses IBM's supercomputer (and one-time Jeopardy! champion) "Watson" to analyze what politi - cians are saying in their speeches, blogs, posts and on their websites. Instead of ranking politi- cal candidates on the basis of sensational media coverage, Goverlytics ranks them based on the relative importance of what they are talking about. It's unique in that it brings machine ob- jectivity to political analysis. Dr . Spat directed the project, while Broder- ick and Tang did all the programming as part of a four -month work experience. They created both a web application and a mobile version. At 18, Broderick is surprisingly clear about his goals. "I knew in high school I wanted to get into programming," he says. "So I did a lot of research on the different universities and the different programs for computer science." "I like to learn," Broderick continues. "I like to learn hands-on. That's why I chose a co-op program. I can start a career with all that I've learned now. And I'm going to learn so much more in the upcoming term." Co-op education Co-op education (or "workplace education" as it's also known) combines in-class learning with periods of actual work in the field. It gives students the opportunity to take the knowledge they've acquired in the classroom and apply it to the real world of business and industry. This work experience is called a co-op "placement." While on placement, you can network with employers, gain valuable work experience in your chosen field, and earn academic credits that count toward your degree or diploma. Co-op also allows you to "kick the tires" of your proposed career. You'll find out very quickly if this is the kind of work you want to do. It's also a chance to check out your employ - er (because they will certainly be checking you out as a potential hire for the future). And you can make money (co-op placements are usually paid positions). "I'm really glad that I took the co-op pro- gram, and worked on this project," says Broder- ick. "You could see the whole development pro- cess from start to finish. This was just an idea to start, and we built all of it. That was cool." Nick Petryszak is the cooperative educa- tion coordinator for BCIT's Centre for Work- place Education. An important part of his job is to secure work placements for students in the Computing co-op program. "The students who get in now are very goal oriented, " says Petryszak. "They want to get a job. They want a career. And they know the co-op program is one of the ways to do it — to climb that ladder of success." According to Petryszak, industry demand for skilled workers has dramatically accelerated over the past few years, particularly in the com - puting industry. "The job placement rate for graduates of our program is very high. For the students who are engaged in the program and fully participating, we place 100 per cent." Trevor Broderick is looking forward to the second year of his two-year diploma. And he has some simple advice for young adults as they consider what this next chapter of their lives will entail — advice that displays wisdom beyond his years: "Find what you love doing," he says, "and go for that, instead of what pays the best. I'm going into this area because I love programming . . . and no matter what post-secondary you go to, see if they have a co-op program." To find out if the school you are consider - ing has co-op programs, check out the website of the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (cafce.ca/cgi/page.cgi/institutions.html). They have a very useful searchable list of co-op education programs offered by post-secondary institutions across Canada. • Working From Home A student recounts his telecommuting co-op experience By Paul Heraty Trevor Broderick kicks back at the "office," after completing a four-month work experience.