Hire a #MacEng Co-op Student
Connecting with engineering and technology students before they graduate is essential in today’s competitive business world. One of the largest co-op programs in Canada, with over 6000 students available annually, hiring a #MacEng co-op student ensures that your business stays ahead of the game by engaging with tomorrow’s emerging talent.
Five McMaster Engineering students and recent alumni share the technical skills and experience they can bring to your organization.
Whether you want to hire a student today or learn more about our program, our co-op advisors are here to help you.
Varun Jain
Lacey Wice
Biya Kazmi
Julee Minniti
Tomisin Olomi
Interested in Hiring a #MacEng Co-op Student?
How to Hire a Student
Our team of experts in Engineering Co-op & Career Services are here every step of the way to guide you through the recruitment process.
Campus Branding & Engagement
We make it easy getting your brand, and your people, in front of the right talent.
Are you looking to build your company brand with our students? Our staff can help you find unique ways to engage with and recruit from our highly-engaged engineering co-op students.
We’ve developed new student engagement opportunities based on student feedback that are exciting and outside the box. In 18/19, our team received the Special Award for Innovation by a Career Centre, recognizing our innovative approach to career education on our campus.
Campus Recruitment & Employer Branding Opportunities
Our team offers the engagement opportunities which put your company front of mind. Partner with us today to run events, such as:
Talent Talks
Student Size: 30-120 | Fall/Winter | Day or Evening
We understand your company is more than just a job posting. For employers who post a position for our co-op students, we’re pleased to offer Talent Talks. These virtual sessions will connect you with job-seeking students for upcoming job search terms.
The Talent Talks series is highly customizable in format, allowing you to present your brand to students in a format that works for your company. This could include any combination of presentation, speed-networking, virtual break-out chat, question & answer session, and much more!
Student Size: 100-300 | Fall/Winter Term | Evenings
In partnership with Engineering Co-op & Career Services, our respective engineering student societies put on a collaborative networking event each year to connect students with industry. This is a great opportunity to meet and recruit students from targeted programs.
Booth in the Lobby
Student Size: 30-120 | Fall/Winter | Day
For two hours, set up a booth in the Faculty of Engineering Lobby. Have former co-op students, HR staff and managers available to answer students’ questions about your company. Chat to students about your company in a space that is comfortable and familiar to students.
Classroom Chats
Student Size: 30-120 | Fall/Winter | Day or Evening
Build connections with potential talent by co-teaching or presenting in a classroom or taking part in a lab session with the Faculty of Engineering. Bring your expertise onto campus by teaching students a technical skill that is relevant to your industry. Participate as a classroom guest lecturer on topics related to your company goals. We will assist in connecting you to a class/lab and faculty member based on the topic you would like to present and your student recruitment target(s).
McMaster University Career Fair
Student Size: 2000 | Fall Term
McMaster University’s annual career fair is great way for employers to show their presence on campus. Being the largest annual career event held at McMaster, it allows employers to feature full-time, part-time, internship and co-op opportunities.
This event is held every September on campus, allowing employers the opportunity to connect with our students prior to the application and interview process if you are looking to hire for January or May start dates.
For more information on how you can partake in this event as an employer, please reach out to the McMaster Student Success Centre.
Connect with our team to learn more:
Experiential Learning Events
Tap into a pool of highly qualified McMaster University engineering students by supporting student clubs, special events, or other experiential-learning activities. For more info on participating contact the Experiential Program Coordinator
Student clubs require funding, guest speakers, and other support for their activities. They host industry nights, PD days, site visits and more. By supporting these students, your company will get in front of the most active and passionate students. Check out the list of active clubs and teams!
Every top university hosts a hackathon – and McMaster’s is one of North America’s best. Held in the winter term, this event lets you spend over 36 hours with some of the best and brightest tech students. Along with McMaster students, other teams from the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto attend – about 400 students in total participate! Find out more about DeltaHacks.
The MEC brings together hundreds of students in teams of 4 students competing in engineering challenges such as consulting, design, programming and debate. Winners go to the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC). We need judges, prizes and sponsorship money to make this a top-level event.
Capstone projects can be done in all of the engineering programs and are final-year in-class projects tackling a real-world technical problem. Students in small groups work for either one or two semesters and help assist in creating a solution to an engaging work-related issue. Participating in capstones are an immersive and long-term way to partner with the Faculty of Engineering.
Companies have joined forces with ECCS to design their own custom events that bring a big impact when branding your name on campus. From hosting site tours, case competitions, resume and technical interview workshops, these bespoke events will help you capture the attention of the best and brightest students.
Expectations
The successful recruitment of co-op students depends upon the collective activities of three parties – the employer, the co-op student, and the educational institution. As an employer of a co-op student, there are expectations that are required to fulfil the co-op requirements and abide by ethical recruitment guidelines. the co-op requirements:
Funding
It is never more affordable to hire a McMaster Engineering co-op student. Many funding, subsidies and tax incentives exist to offset the hiring costs of our co-op students.
Expandable List
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
In affect beginning April 2022, NET NEW position requirements will be reimplemented as a requirement for funding.
New criteria for eligible employers has been established, and post-secondary institutions will no longer be eligible for SWPP funding.
As part of the Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program (SWPP), a variety of funding opportunities are available for employers to hire students for the purposes of experiential learning. This funding is being administered by Employment and Social Development Canada.
Through SWPP, organizations within Canada that offer full-time employment opportunities between 12-16 weeks for full-time Canadian post-secondary students can receive wage subsidies:
- up to 50% of the wage cost for the placement (up to a maximum of $5,000 per placement) per student OR
- up to 70% (up to a maximum of $7,000 per placement) for under-represented students including first-year students, women in STEM, indigenous students, persons with disabilities and newcomers.
There are a total of 19 delivery partner organizations that help distribute this funding.
You can apply for this funding through the SWPP delivery partners, outlined below:
| Delivery Partner Organization | Eligibility | ||
| Information and Communication Technology Council – WIL Digital Subsidy | Applications must be from a Registered business or Not-for-profit organization that provides a student with a meaningful work placement which includes a Digital or Technology component and uses technology in some capacity.
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| Magnet Student Work Placement Program |
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| Biotalent Canada | Must be with a bio-economy employer or healthcare employer and/or fulfilling a bio-economy or healthcare job function.
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| Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council | Agri-workforce gaps inevitably lead to lost sales, production delays, and stress across the entire value chain with no end in sight. CAHRC has heard the industry calling for creative solutions we and have partnered with the Government’s Student Work Placement (SWP) Program to put post-secondary students directly into employment opportunities in their communities.
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| Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace | Organizations in Canada working in the aerospace and aviation industry (cannot be a research position in a school lab). | ||
| Canadian Media Producers Association – Student Work Placement Program | The CMPA’s National Mentorship Program has invested in the next generation of independent producers—and a strong future for our industry—by placing aspiring producers in Canada’s leading production companies.
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| Cultural Human Resources Council Student Work Placement Program | CHRC is seeking applications from cultural sector employers. This sector includes Digital Media (Content Creators); Film and Television; Live Performing Arts; Music and Sound Recording; Visual Arts and Crafts; Writing and Publishing; and Heritage. The student’s field of study does not have to be related to arts and culture. For example, if a Canadian cultural sector employer requires assistance in developing its website, a computer science student could be hired.
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| Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC) – Empowering Futures |
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| Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) of Canada – Co-op Program | Organizations in Canada that are looking to hire students from science, technology, engineering, arts or mathematics (STEAM). Work terms must be at least 6 weeks long. Funding can be applied to part-time students as well as co-op students. | ||
| Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium WIL Works | EMC is working in partnership with the SWPP team to achieve Canada’s Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Strategy, which is meant to drive systemic change in the skills development system by EMC working with post-secondary institution partners to effectively align ‘work-ready’ skills of students with the skills required by Canada’s manufacturers.
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| Food Processing Skills Canada Student Work Placement Program | This program has been designed to support employers in connecting with students across all educational categories from food science to business, engineering and quality assurance. Food Processing Skills Canada’s Student Work Placement Program+ has made it easy for employers in Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing industry to connect with college and university students for work terms.
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| Information and Communication Technology Council – WIL Digital Subsidy | Eligibility requirements include:
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| Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHR) – Gearing Up | Organizations in Canada (small and large companies/post-secondary institutions/non-profit organizations) working in the mining or mineral exploration sectors are encouraged to apply.
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| Ontario Chamber of Commerce Talent Opportunities Program | The Talent Opportunities Program (TOP) is an initiative of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce designed to help employers located anywhere in Canada hire college and university students on work placements.
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| Technation – Career Ready Program | Organizations in Canada looking for employees with skills in the field of Information and Communications Technology.
Positions you are hiring for can fall under the following categories:
Municipal governments are eligible for funding.
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| Toronto Finance International (TFI) – Aspire | Organizations in Canada working in the financial services sector, including:
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| Tourism HR Canada Propel Student Work Placement Program | The Propel Student Work Placement Program is a new initiative to help the hardest-hit sector recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic.
The latest addition to the Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program, Propel offers post-secondary students opportunities to develop the work-ready skills required to secure meaningful employment upon graduation.
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| Trucking HR Canada Student Work Placement Subsidy | Full-time or part-time work opportunity (minimum 4 weeks up to a maximum of 16 weeks at a minimum of 10 hours/week), directly related to the applicant’s program of study, and /or fulfilling a trucking and logistics job function.
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| Venture for Canada – Internship Program | Employers must:
Employers can be from a wide range of industries from agriculture to robotics and anything in between.
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Need more information about funding, or assistance finding a candidate? Please contact us to learn more.
Any Ontario employer hiring students from a post-secondary co-op program, who are not government institutions, are eligible to receive an Ontario Tax Credit.
Large corporations can claim 25% of expenditures, up to $3,000 per work placement. Small businesses can claim 30%, up to $3,000. This tax credit is available for each eligible 4-month work placement and employers may have multiple work placements at the same time and throughout the year. The tax credit is per eligible work placement and there is no cap. If you hire a student for 8, 12 or 16-months, you will receive a tax credit for each 4-month block of time.
The Engineering Co-op and Career Services Office sends tax credits letters to employers at the end of every 4-month term, once all the expectations and requirements of both the employer and student have been met. More information on co-op program requirements can be found on our employers page.
| Delivery Partner Organization | Eligibility | ||
| PROJECT GRANT PROGRAM – CANADIAN INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RESEARCH (CIHR) | Funding: Varies
Eligibility: Researchers at any career stage to build and conduct health-related research and knowledge translation projects. |
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| INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM | Funding: Covers a portion of an intern’s salary.
This program is great for any organizations looking to hire emerging talent to assist and work on projects related to research and development, engineering, multimedia/market analysis components, or to help develop a new product/process. Eligibility include:
The candidate’s internship must last a minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 months, and the candidate must be:
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| Funding Organization | Eligibility | ||
| PROJECT LEARNING TREE CANADA | Funding: Up to 50% wage match to employers hiring youth aged 15-30 into forest, conservation, climate change, sustainability and parks jobs (up to a maximum of $5,712 per youth).
Eligibility: Any organization that will offer work experience opportunities to students in the green jobs sector. Work experiences must be from 2-20 weeks in duration and must take place between July 13, 2020 and March 31, 2021. The job must be a Green Job from the Approved Jobs List and:
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| CAREER FOCUS GREEN JOBS | Funding: Offers up to $13,500 in wage subsidies over six months to employers to hire a recent graduate from any discipline into a “green job”.
Eligibility: Businesses in the Biotech sector that have a green mandate and are hiring a co-op student for a role with an environmental focus. This organization offers funding opportunities for both co-op students and new graduates. |
| Funding Organization | Eligibility | ||
| ONTARIO ACHIEVING INNOVATION & MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE GLOBAL INITIATIVE | Funding: Up to $100,000
Southern Ontario manufacturers undertaking training or skills-upgrading activities which will support innovation at the manufacturing facilities. All initiatives must support innovation which will lead to new global export opportunities or create new global markets. Employer eligibility include:
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| NORTHERN ONTARIO HERITAGE FUND CORPORATION | Funding: 50 – 75% of eligible expenses. There are 6 funding programs:
Eligibility: See each program for individual eligibility requirements.
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| EASTERN ONTARIO DEVELOPMENT FUND | Funding:
Business projects
Community and regional development projects
Eligibility: Businesses that support economic development in Eastern Ontario. This includes job creation, innovation, and the ability to attract private sector investment. |
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| SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO DEVELOPMENT FUND | Funding:
Business projects
Community and regional development projects
Eligibility: Businesses that support economic development in Southwestern Ontario. This includes job creation, innovation, and the ability to attract private sector investment. |
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| ABORGINAL PARTICIPATION FUND | Funding: There are five streams available:
Eligibility: Funding is available to indigenous communities in Ontario. See each program for individual eligibility requirements. |
| Funding Organization | Eligibility | ||
| NEWFOUNDLAND/LABRADOR BUSINESS INVESTMENT FUND | Funding: Up to $500,000 per year in repayable term loans
Eligibility:
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| NOVA SCOTIA GRADUATE TO OPPORTUNITY | Funding: Employers receive 25% of the first year’s salary (35% if the new graduate is a member of designated diversity group and 12.5% of the second year’s salary.)
Eligibility:
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| NOVA SCOTIA WORKPLACE INNOVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY SKILLS INCENTIVE | Funding: Up to 100% of your training costs to be covered up to $10,000. For larger businesses, WIPSI provides up to 50% of direct training costs
Eligibility:
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| PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT GRANT | Funding: 15% of actual eligible cost as determined at the time of your request for reimbursement – resulting in a maximum grant of $3,750.
Eligibility:
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| Funding Organization | Eligibility | ||
| NORTHWEST TERRITORIES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FUND (BDPF) | Funding: There are two programs for small business:
1) Core BDPF
2) BDPF Aftercare
Eligibility: Only businesses with $500,000 or less in annual revenues are eligible to apply. |
| Funding Organization | Eligibility | ||
| REGIONAL INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS | Funding: Up to 100% of approved project costs
Eligibility: Your project must support one of the following two priority areas:
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| SASKATCHEWAN JOB GRANT | Funding: Multiple grant applications to a maximum of $100,000 per year and up to $10,000 per individual for employee training.
Employer eligibility:
Trainee eligibility:
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Canada Summer Jobs is an initiative of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to provide flexible and holistic services to support all young Canadians develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition in the labour market.
The program provides wage subsidies to create quality summer work experiences for young people aged 15 to 30 years.
Organization Eligibility:
- Not-for-profit organization (eligible for wage subsidies up to 100% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage)
- Public-sector organization (eligible for wage subsidies up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage)
- Small businesses with less than 50 full-time employees (eligible for wage subsidies up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage)
Student Eligibility:
- Full-time student returning to full-time studies after summer work term
- Student between the ages of 15 – 30
- Student that is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to who refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of employment
For more information, please visit the Government of Canada website.
Connect with our team to learn more:
Hire Students – FAQs
About the McMaster Engineering Co-op Program
Co-op students in the Faculty of Engineering are available from the following programs:
- Bachelor of Engineering
- Computer Science
- Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences
- Bachelor of Technology
- Bachelor of Technology, Degree Completion Program
- Graduate Studies (Masters and PhD)
McMaster Engineering’s Co-op program is a highly flexible and customizable co-op program. We have students available from various programs, year round. For more information, visit our Co-op Recruitment Cycles tab.
Yes, many of our co-op students are offered full-time permanent positions after they graduate. Co-op programs are a great way to find future students for full-time, new graduate positions. Co-op students can only be hired while they are still completing academic studies, as co-op experiences must occur between two academic terms.
If a co-op position is in Ontario, and the company is not a government institution, they are eligible to receive an Ontario Tax Credit for hiring a co-op student from the provincial government. This is given to employers who hire co-op students and is worth a maximum of $3000. The reimbursement varies per position. For full details and to see additional funding options, please click here.
The Engineering Co-op and Career Services Office sends tax credits letters to employers once all the expectations and requirements of both the employer and student have been met. More information on what needs to be done on the employer end can be found on our expectations tab.
All work term opportunities must be compensated by the employer. Compensation for work terms varies widely depending on employer, industry of employment, program of study, and overall work experience.
In 2021/2022, the average hourly wage for Faculty of Engineering co-op students was $23.00 per hour. Our wage range was $15.00 – $63.00 per hour.
For more information on average salaries, please contact us.
Other than verifying if the work meets the requirements to qualify for co-op, there are additional expectations for employers. Please visit the expectations tab for more information.
For a position to be verified as an eligible co-op experience, it must meet the following minimum requirements:
- The role needs to be related to engineering and/or technology.
- The role needs to be a minimum of 12-consecutive weeks in duration, for every 16-week employment term.
- The role needs to be full-time hours. The minimum requirement is 35 hours per week.
- The roles must be paid, and the wages/salary need to meet provincial or territorial minimums. The current minimum wage requirement for Ontario employers is $15.50/hour.
Need more information?
If you are an employer and would like to learn more information about our co-op program, please contact our team at engcoop@mcmaster.ca
Contact Us
General Employer Inquiries
For questions about the recruitment process and hiring a co-op student (including posting jobs, interviews, job offers and co-op tax credits), please contact:
Engineering Co-op & Career Services
McMaster University
John Hodgins Engineering Building, H301
1280 Main Street West Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7
Office Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Monday to Friday)
Email: engcoop@mcmaster.ca
Employer Relations & Engagement
Our employer relations team supports all industry employers and engineering alumni to recruit top talent. Contact our team to learn how to best engage with Faculty of Engineering students, recruit students, post-co-op and new graduate jobs, and attend career events or invite students to join your organization.
