Cooperative Education

What is Cooperative Education?

Cooperative Education is an opportunity to experience the work world using classroom knowledge and on the job training, while earning secondary school credits. Pre-placement takes place in our library at THS and then students move into a work experience in the community.

Who Takes Cooperative Education?

Grade 11 or Grade 12 students who have successfully completed their Grade 10 credits.

When does Cooperative Education take place?

Cooperative Education is offered as a two credit or four credit program. Students taking the four credit program work all day at their work placement in Trenton and the surrounding community. Students taking the two credit coop work in the morning or the afternoon in Trenton and surrounding area.

Why take Cooperative Education?

Cooperative Education gives students the opportunity to:

experience future careers and gain practical experience
develop employability skills
strengthen interpersonal skills
increase an awareness of the importance of lifelong learning
identify their capabilities and limitations
identify job opportunities to make an informed career decision
potentially be offered a paid position
learn what you want and don't want to do

How to apply?

Request Cooperative Education when registering for classes for next year.
Start networking for a placement with a business and keep your teacher informed.
Complete the paper application two months before the program begins and submit to the Co-op office.

For more information, email [email protected] or call 613-242-8268

DCO3O1

Creating Opportunities through Co-op ~ Grade 11 ~ Open

This course consists of a learning experience connected to a community and a cooperative education curriculum focused on developing skills, knowledge, and habits of mind that will support students in their learning, including their education and career/life planning, at school and beyond, today and in the future. Within the context of their experience connected to a community, students will apply skills, knowledge, and habits of mind that will protect and promote their health, safety, and well-being and that will strengthen their inquiry, decision-making, and leadership skills. Students will create and implement a learning plan that meets their particular interest and needs, reflect on their leaning, and make connections between their experience in the community and other aspects of their lives.

Prerequisite: Permission of the teacher

What is an Apprenticeship?

There has never been a better time to consider apprenticeship opportunities!

An apprenticeship is a combination of on the job training and post secondary education. Typically, apprentices will spend 80-90% of their time in the workplace, learning practical skills about their trade. The other 10-20% of their time is spent in a classroom setting (usually at an Ontario College). The length of an apprenticeship can vary depending on the trade, but apprentices can complete their training and earn their Journeyperson status within 2-5 year. For a complete list of apprenticeable trades, visit www.oyap.com

In the next two decades, 40% of new jobs will be in the skilled trades and technologies (Skills Canada). The Apprenticeship system has undergone tremendous change, as it evolves to meet the high demands of today's business and industry. There are over 140 Apprenticeable trade occupations in Ontario, which fall into four main categories: construction, industrial, motive power, and service.

Jump Start Your Career in the Skilled Trades

Trenton High School actively supports students interested in apprenticeships through the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP). Students are able to begin an apprenticeship while still enrolled in high school. For more information on OYAP, please visit the Cooperative Education Office or www.oyap.com

What is OYAP?

Check out https://oyap.com

OYAP-FAST

OYAP-FAST allows students to earn credits toward the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and hours that could be applied to becoming an apprentice by taking cooperative education courses for which the community component is an apprenticeship trade. The Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training (FAST) is an accelerated stream within OYAP that will allow students in Grades 11 and 12 to participate in more apprenticeship learning through additional cooperative education credits while completing their OSSD. A student must be registered in a 2 or 4-credit co-op and have completed parent/guardian consent to participate in OYAP-FAST.

OYAP–FAST: Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program - Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training

The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) allows students to earn credits toward the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and hours that could be applied to becoming an apprentice by taking a cooperative education course(s) for which the community component is in an apprenticeship trade.

To be eligible for OYAP, students must:

be 15 years or older,
have completed 14 credits toward the OSSD. and
be enrolled as a part-time or full-time student in a secondary school or continuing education program.

Students must complete an OYAP participant form prior to their first co-op placement in an apprenticeship trade. OYAP participants may have the opportunity to become apprentices with Registered Training Agreements (RTA’s) while attending secondary school.

As an extension of the regular Cooperative Education programming, beginning in September 2025, some students may opt to participate in OYAP-FAST. The Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training (FAST) is an accelerated stream within OYAP that will allow students in Grades 11 and 12 to participate in more apprenticeship learning through additional cooperative education credits while completing their OSSD.

To be eligible for OYAP-FAST, students must:

meet OYAP eligibility requirements (as described in detail above),
have a signed parent/guardian “consent to participate” form,
earn 8 to 11 cooperative education credits with their placement component in the skilled trades, and
be register as an apprentice through a Registered Training Agreement (RTA) by the time they complete their eighth cooperative education credit.

If you are interested in the OYAP-FAST apprenticeship pathway, please choose:

“OYFAST - Focused Apprenticeship Expression of Interest” during your course selection, in addition to your 2 or 4-credit co-op choice. A follow-up appointment with your guidance counselor will take place to review requirements and complete and submit a parent/guardian consent form.

Students who meet the above completion requirements and all other OSSD requirements will be awarded the OYAP-FAST seal on their OSSD, and OYAP-FAST will be listed in the Specialized Program field of the Ontario Student Transcript (OST). If a student has already been granted an OSSD, it cannot be exchanged for an OSSD with the OYAP-FAST seal. Students graduating in 2025-2026 school year will be eligible for OYAP-FAST.