II. E. Branch Location Placements

The 'branch location' model is the one most often used by employers to facilitate international co-op placements. Typically, employers might take on a domestic co-op student for a fixed period of time and then send that student to one of their branch locations or associated companies abroad for another fixed period. Or, after hiring a domestic co-op student for one work term, the company might then recommend that student to one of their other locations abroad for a subsequent work term. Alternatively, the domestic employer may simply facilitate the connection for the local co-op program, conducting interviews with the students on behalf of their branch location.

students may be paid by the domestic employer, circumventing the need for a work permit at the branch location in the foreign country;

students are more likely to be assigned appropriate positions by working through knowledgeable company connections;

employers can use such students to transfer technology within their organization with minimal disruption to full-time staff;

employers can contribute to the development of graduates with experience in foreign countries and even benefit from their hiring.

co-op programs that do not have connections with multinational companies would be limited in their ability to use this model;

branch locations may not be in the countries favoured by students.

A Guide for Developing International Co-op Programs