About PEY Co-op

Canada's leading Engineering co-op program

The Professional Experience Year Co-op Program (PEY Co-op) is U of T Engineering's flagship work-experience program, a founding member of U of T Co-op and the largest program of its kind in Canada.

PEY Co-op enables undergraduate students to build meaningful work experience, strengthen their professional networks and enhance their interpersonal and technical competencies. During the work terms, students are full-time employees with a competitive salary.

Students are undergraduates in their second or third year of study at University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (FASE) and University of Toronto Mississauga Mathematical and Computational Sciences (MCS) and have completed intensive and structured career programming.

In addition to building their professional brand and investigating different industries, they have enhanced their knowledge of workplace dynamics, which ensures a smooth transition to the workplace

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12-to-16 month work term

Recruit for 12-to-16 month work terms starting between May and September 2025.

Starting in September 2025, undergraduates can start applying to posted opportunities. The recruitment period is a continuous cycle and runs until  July 2026.

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Summer work term

Post and promote roles to engineering student applicants for the Summer 2026 work term, which can be 12 to 16 weeks between May and August 2026.

Starting in September 2025, Year 2 students can begin applying for summer jobs.

Seven reasons to hire our students

1

Access workplace-ready talent

  • Build a talent pipeline from Canada’s #1 ranked engineering school.
  • With an underlying commitment to developing the ‘whole engineer’, we ensure our students have the technical skills and training in workplace dynamics to make a lasting impact at your organization.
  • Large pool of talent to choose from as over 1,500 U of T students from Engineering and other technical disciplines register in the PEY Co-op program every year.

2

Hire from a diverse talent pool

  • At U of T, diversity is one of our priorities, which gives employers access to a great variety of backgrounds and points of view and provides more inclusive and insightful thinking.
  • For the past several years, U of T Engineering's first year class has been near or above 40% women, the highest proportion in Canada.
  • Over the past five years, on average 32% of the incoming Engineering class have had an international background.

3

Tailored recruitment

  • The U of T Career Portal makes it easy for employers to post positions, schedule interviews, and manage their PEY Co-op hiring process based on what work best within the program operation dates.
  • A dedicated team of co-op coordinators will help employers throughout – from registration and hiring to hosting on-campus information sessions and beyond.
  • There are no fees to post jobs, interview on-campus or hire.

4

Build your employer brand

  • Employers have the opportunity to showcase their organization through information sessions, career fairs, networking and career education events.
  • Well before entering the recruitment cycle, students will gain exposure to employer brands that often lead to full-time careers.

5

Return on investment

  • U of T is the #1 university in Canada for producing work-ready graduates thanks to rigorous technical training and unparalleled extracurricular and professional experience opportunities.
  • Supervisors can benefit from providing mentorship and guidance.

6

Co-operative education tax credit and funding resources

  • Ontario employers may be eligible for a co-operative education tax credit worth up to $3,000 for every four months of co-op work term.
  • There are several grant and government funding possibilities such as the Federal Student Work Placement Program.

7

Remain competitive

  • Keep your company top-of-mind with emerging talent.
  • As a co-op employer, you'll be in good company with 630+ leading Canadian and international engineering companies that hire through the PEY Co-op Program, from large multinationals to small, local start-ups.

Recruitment process and timeline

Key dates

Key dates for undergraduate engineering students and courses can be found in the academic calendar.

12-to-16 month PEY Co-op work term (2025–2026)

Start between May–September 2025 and end between May–August 2026

Key Dates12-to-16 Month PEY Co-op Recruitment Stages (2025–2026)
August 26, 2024 – June 30, 2025Job board opens- continuous job posting
September 16, 2024Job postings go live
Students submit application
October 7, 2024 – July 11, 2025Continuous interview phase
October 2024 – July 2025
Continuous job offer and acceptance period
December 6, 2024Suggested last day to interview before Winter Break
December 20, 2024
Last day to confirm offers through co-op office before Winter Break
December 24, 2024 –January 3, 2025
Co-op recruitment on hold for Winter Break
January 6, 2025
Job posting, interviews and offers are on-going

Summer PEY Co-op work term (2025)

Start between May–June 2025 and end in August 2025

Key DatesSummer Co-op Recruitment Stages (2025)
September 16, 2024 – April 30, 2025Job board opens — continuous job posting
October 28, 2024
Job postings go live, and students can start applying
November 2024 – April 2025 Continuous interview and job offer for summer participants
May 5 – June 9, 2025Suggested period to
start summer jobs

Recruitment steps for all work terms

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International work terms 

If you are an international employer hiring co-op students, we encourage you to discuss the following with potential students:

  • Start and end dates of the work period
  • Compensation details
  • Relocation expenses, such as travel and housing assistance
  • Onboarding resources and local transit information
  • Visa processing options, sponsorship, and payment of administrative fees

Safety

The University of Toronto monitors and follows the advice of public health authorities regarding restrictions of working in person at the company location. Co-op employers are encouraged to observe and implement the safety policies and protocols of cities and provinces where our co-op students are assigned to complete their work terms.   

In recent years, the Engineering Career Centre staff were able to successfully facilitate thousands of co-op work terms by delivering our services online and virtually to both students and employers.

How to ensure a successful work term

Vipul Agrawal, Senior Manager Demand & Conservation Planning, IESO

Vipul Agrawal, Senior Manager Demand & Conservation Planning, IESO

PEY students bring forward a renewed enthusiasm each year, as they quickly ramp up and get engaged into the core IESO work streams and projects. Over the duration of their term, students are assigned core deliverables, in addition to 'exploratory' projects that student undertake that align with their interest and IESO mandate. There is also a strong commitment from the regular IESO staff and new students to establish an effective mentorship program, and actively look for opportunities to provide exposure to other aspects of the business and the sector in general.

Coby Segall, Sr. Manager, Engineering Product Innovation, Zebra Technologies

Coby Segall, Sr. Manager, Engineering Product Innovation, Zebra Technologies

As the PEY Co-op lead for Zebra, I am continually impressed by the caliber of PEY Co-op students that come through our doors year after year. I am proud to partner with the PEY Co-op program and with the excellent staff at the PEY Co-op management office.

PEY Co-op contacts

Each employer is assigned a lead co-op coordinator and is supported by the Employer Relations team.

To discuss your recruitment needs or job postings, or for support with the U of T Co-op Portal, please contact your coordinator or your operations hub representative.

If you’re unsure how to reach them, feel free to send an email to U of T Co-op (uoft.coop@utoronto.ca) or the PEY general inbox (pey.coop@utoronto.ca)

For office and contact info for all ECC staff, visit the ECC contact page.