Partners at Work

Partners at Work, a joint venture between the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver School Board is entering its ninth successful year. Every year, for two weeks, grade 11 and grade 12 Career Preparation students work at various City worksites gaining valuable work experience that will help them make more informed decisions about their future careers.

Started as a response to the Civic Youth Strategy's recommendation to provide opportunities for youth in the City, Partners at Work was able to offer 70 work placements to the high school students in 1995. The program has grown steadily, offering up to 140 in 2004, thanks to the support of the City staff who have helped make the dream a reality by offering meaningful hands-on work practicums to the students.

The placements range from Community Centres and Fire Halls to Police, Engineering and Civic Theatres, pretty much covering all areas of civic work. The placements are not paid work. They are part of the student's education for which they receive letter grades. Career Preparation Programs integrate classroom learning with practical work experience in the workplace. Students learn skills in their chosen field and complete a minimum of 100 hours of practical work experience. The program is supported by the British Columbia Federation of Labour.

The City of Vancouver contributes to the skills development of students, giving them access to technology, expertise and exposure to a wide variety of services. From our perspective, it demonstrates City's leadership and provides staff with personal satisfaction, allowing them to "show what they know".

See what students and supervisors have to say...

How to get involved

The Partners at Work team will be contacting staff, managers and supervisors to request suitable placements for students for March 2007. The project team will work closely with Vancouver School Board staff to coordinate the placements and to ensure the best possible matches. Staff who would prefer to host a student during Spring Break, March 19-23, can request a student for this week by special arrangement. Contact your department representative for more information and to complete a "student placement request form." The project team will work closely with the Vancouver School Board staff to coordinate the placements and to ensure best possible matches.

• What can students do?
  
• Details on training and goals of Career Preparation Program.
• Examples of work experience placements
  See what different City departments planned for their students.
• Fill out the forms (PDF)
  Download and print the PDF form and forward it to your department rep.
• Project team (PDF)
• Partners at Work 2007 poster (PDF)
• Checklist: Things for staff to remember (PDF)
• Interview: What to ask your student (PDF)