Trained personnel in the schools

Proper training must be provided to teachers and counsellors involved in the cooperative education system, so that the workplace experience influences the way in which knowledge is delivered in the classroom.

32. We recommend that future teachers be trained in the cooperative education approach as part of the core curriculum at university faculties of education.
    
    
    

Monitoring and evaluation

The focus of a cooperative education system is enhancing students' employability. Operation of the system at the school and individual level must be closely monitored and regularly evaluated to ensure that the work experience is relevant and that the classroom curriculum is adjusted to complement this new form of learning.

33. We recommend integrating an appropriate monitoring and evaluation system into cooperative education programs. All stakeholders should take part in the monitoring and evaluation process: educators, supervisors, and counsellors in the schools and employers and employee representatives in the workplace.
    
    
    

An extension of the original cooperative education concept

The idea of cooperative education should be generalized to a wider range of learning situations. Community-based training usually takes place largely in the work setting and much is done to replicate such settings during the training. Adult learning centres frequently include on-site work and visits to help trainees see the practicality of what they are learning. Literacy programs often benefit from having students try their new skills in a work setting, in real life. The major advantage of cooperative education is that it shows the learner that "book-learning" has application in the real world and gives the learner an opportunity to discover what he or she still needs to learn, as well as what has been accomplished. Traditional educational settings often do not make the connection between learning and work clear, and thus lead to students dropping out of school. Cooperative education helps learners make the connection earlier and more meaningfully.

Cooperative education programs are usually developed on the initiative of educational institutions. We encourage employers and labour to take such a role ("reverse cooperative education programs") to allow dialogue in both directions, thus addressing current complaints by business and labour that they are ignored by those in education and training.