On June 11, in a bright and busy atrium at Trent University Oshawa, representatives from secondary schools, colleges and universities gathered together with business leaders and organizers from the Durham area for the Co-op Advantage, an event organized by the Whitby Chamber of Commerce.

The purpose of the event was to showcase the benefits of hiring students from high schools, colleges, and universities for work placements including co-op placements, internships, capstone projects, apprenticeships, etc. The public and catholic school board, Durham College, UOIT, and Trent University participated in the event, among others.

Regional chair and CEO of the Durham Region, Mr. Roger Anderson provided a keynote address, noting that the Durham Region is lucky to have such a range of educational providers. He said that partners are important when it comes to work placements. Addressing employment challenges, he said, “You need a job to get experience and without experience, you can’t get a job – that’s why study programs with work placements are so important.”

Trent Oshawa participated by showcasing internship programs and experiential based learning opportunities at Trent via Career Services.

Joe Muldoon, head of Trent Oshawa noted that, “This was a very opportune time for the Co-op Advantage to be held at the Thornton Road campus. In Winter 2014, Trent Oshawa will be offering for the first time a third-year internship course through the Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) program that will include work placement opportunities for students in the Durham area.”

“It was wonderful working closely with our educational partners and the Whitby Chamber of Commerce to educate business owners in the Durham region about the possibilities that are available to them through internships, coops and other experiential learning activities,” said Ken Field, Trent Oshawa’s acting principal.

"We are proud to once again connect our business community to the educational sector – we are ensuring partnerships flourish and we're proud to carry out our mandate of helping lead the business community to further growth and success," said Christine Raynor, chair of the Whitby Chamber Community & Education Committee.