Employers

Benefits of Branding on Campus

Company Information Sessions organized by Engineering Co-op and Career Services (ECCS) allow your organization to tap into a pool of highly qualified and engaged McMaster University engineering students. These events are quick and easy to arrange and help to get your corporate “face” in front of hundreds of potential co-op students and new graduates. Our team has seen many outside-the-box recruitment ideas, we can make suggestions that will be unique and allow you to capture students attention.

Location

Generally, we book you a free classroom in or near the John Hodgins Engineering (JHE) Building. Conveniently located where engineering students congregate, rooms can be booked free of charge that can accommodate 20-100 students. Room location subject to availability.

Dates and Times

Company Info sessions are best booked either in October/November or in January. Sessions run from 5:30-7:30, Monday through Thursday. Other time frames can be arranged.

A/V Equipment

We encourage employers to bring their own laptop. All rooms are equipped with projectors and screens. A perfect space to show corporate videos, display your job boards or other promotional videos. Just let us know your needs.

Parking

Parking is conveniently located near the JHE building in Lot I, off the Cootes Road entrance to the university. Parking is $6 after 4pm and can be paid at one of the lot kiosks upon exiting. See our campus map.

Event Advertising and Attendance

We advertise your event for free through the online system OSCARplus and will hang up your posters. We list events in the Career Events section so students can sign-up in advance. We will confirm final attendance numbers with you the day before the event.

Larger Venues

Larger venues on campus can be booked for a fee. The University Club can hold approx. 100- 150 students. Celebration Hall or CIBC Hall in the Student Centre are other options. Please let us know if you require one of these rooms and we will provide you with the proper contacts. (Average price of room/food ~ $800.

For more information, please contact:

engcoop@mcmaster.ca

Engineering Co-op and Career Services 905-525-9140 ext. 24674

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.

Student Success Centre

Gilmour Hall 110

1280 Main St. W.

Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8

1 (905) 525-9140 x24254

studentsuccess@mcmaster.ca

Each year, every student-led association puts on an Industry Night, inviting employers to come to campus to network with students from specific programs. This provides an excellent opportunity to meet students one-on-one, and recruit students looking for both co-op as well as full-time opportunities.

For more information on getting connected as an employer, please contact Louise Gazzola, Experiential Program Coordinator. 

Support students in their competitions, events and activities. 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 let's 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 participate! 

This event brings together hundreds of students in teams of 4 competing in such engineering challenges as consulting, design, programming and debate. Winners go to the Ontario Engineering Competition. We need judges, prizes and sponsorship money to make this a top-level event. 

Companies have organized coding contests, tech workshops or campus ambassadors to get their name out to students. Customize an event or program to fit your budget and time. 

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 here.

New co-op funding opportunities have been announced as part of the Government of Canada's Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) being administered by Employment and Social Development Canada.

So far, there are five confirmed partners for the SWILP program:

• Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace (CCAA)
• BioTalent Canada
• ECO Canada
• Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)
• Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC)

Employers can receive wage subsidies of up to 50 percent of the wage cost for the placement (up to a maximum of $5,000 per placement) and up to 70 percent (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.

Please contact us to learn more about the positive impact our co-op students can make on your organization.

NSERC’s Experience Awards (previously Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Awards [IUSRA]) offer organizations access to talented natural sciences and engineering undergraduate students for a work term. This cost-shared program allows students to address organization-specific R&D challenges while gaining valuable industrial experience. Experience Awards also let organizations identify potential future full-time employees.

The value of the award is $4,500.00 for every 16-week employment period. 

Please visit here for more information.

Export Market Access (EMA) is a $5 million initiative, jointly sponsored by the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC). It is designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs)increase their access to global markets.

Generally the EMA program will cover 50% of the eligible costs in four specified areas. Non-repayable contributions generally range from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $30,000 (with the exception of capital bidding projects which generally would not exceed $35,000).

Through FedNor’s Targeted Manufacturing Initiative for Northern Ontario, the SMART Productivity Assessments program was created to assist and support Northern Ontario manufacturers improve their operations. Under this program, CME can contribute 50 percent of the eligible costs to a maximum of $15,000 to help companies identify opportunities in the areas of product and process improvements, quality, lean manufacturing, information systems, human resources, management systems, and market analysis.

NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) provides financial support to qualified small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada to help them undertake technology innovation.

For more information, please click here.

Programs | Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation

Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) have rolled out their Career Ready Program nationally and would like to actively engage you in matching employers with your work term students. Their goal is to place 200 students for 2018, 300 in 2019 and 500 in 2020. The scope of programs includes both business+technology (i.e. BTM and MIS), computing, computer science, computer engineering or alike programs. They still have spots remaining for Fall and Winter 2017/2018, and are encouraging CAFCE members to distribute the attached Workplace Integrated Learning Wage Subsidy Employer Application Form to Fall and Winter term employers you believe would qualify for the wage subsidy. The subsidies are distributed on a first come first serve basis.

They will actively work with employers to identify their schools of interest and work with you to screen employers and ensure jobs meet a student’s learning outcomes and that you are able to manage the work term placement for the student. Their key market are the SME’s and in particular start-ups and they will work actively with incubators and accelerators across Canada to not only create awareness about the benefits of WIL to those communities, but provide interesting work experience opportunities for your students. Throughout the year, they will organize various outreach activities such as meet-up style events and webinars where students and employers can network and learn about WIL opportunities.

Access to new talent with hands on experience in the latest trends in engineering.

Future Employee Investment: By hiring a co-op student, you get decide who you would like to hire before your official hiring process even begins a few years down the road. Many of our students receive offers from employers, asking them to come back and work for them once they graduate.

Talent Pool: McMaster students are talented and hard-working; they will get the job done. Our students are highly rated by our employers.

Flexible Work Terms: Our co-op program is very flexible. Students can work 4, 8, 12, and 16 months depending on the time of year. We offer a continuous, real world hiring experience. We do not use rank and match. You hire and select students who are the best fit with your company.

Free Job Postings and Interview Rooms: We post jobs freely on our online co-op job board, OSCARplus. Email us the job description, qualifications, job location, start date (and end date if possible), and length of the term. If you require assistance with interviews, we provide support with interview scheduling and on-campus interview rooms.

Ontario Tax Credit: If the position is in Ontario, and your company is not a government institution, you are eligible to receive an Ontario tax credit for hiring a co-op student. This is given to employers who hire co-op students and is worth a maximum of $3000. The reimbursement varies per position.

Pre-Screening of Candidates: Our Co-op students are in good academic standing and take a co-op prep course before they are given access to job postings. They are taught to a specific standard so that they are ready work.

Team Support/Personalized Service: Our ECCS team will provide support through every step of the co-op process. We are dedicated to making sure employers and students are satisfied with their co-op experience.

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 Ph.D.)

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 page.

Yes, many of our co-op students are offered full-time permanent positions after they graduate. Co-op students can only be hired while they are still completing academic studies.

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 here.

Generally, average co-op salaries range from $15 to $24 per hour. Salaries are usually dependent on level of study, length of the co-op, and discipline/stream. 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 click here 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 $14/hour.