Cooperative education programs have difficulty in finding work placements for students. Employers must be made aware of their crucial responsibility, toward their local community and society at large, in providing such placements. An information system for the placement of cooperative education students should be established with a view to possible integration in the employment opportunities databases.
Work placements are most often found in non-unionized firms, although unions generally support the cooperative education system. Gaining knowledge about unions and their role in the workplace is part of learning about the labour market. The search for coherence within the cooperative education system should lead to union and business influence in the school system.
Those involved in cooperative education within schools also have a role to play in achieving an integrated approach.
Through its financial support of cooperative education programs, the federal government is directly involved as a partner in the system. Funding and appropriate curricula are critical issues when establishing a cooperative education system on a national scale. Cooperative education is a specific mode of instruction within a career education program that combines academic learning, technical learning, and on-the-job training. A well-organized cooperative education program requires the development of the following procedures: counselling and interviewing during student selection, work placement, and pre-placement orientation; individualized training plans; regular monitoring of training stations; evaluation of the out-:of-school activities; integration of placement experience in an informal classroom setting; and considering equity principles. Governments must examine these issues, so that the development of cooperative education can be achieved on the large scale that we propose.