- Register your organization on the U of T Co-op Portal
- Click the ‘Sign Up’ button
- Previous users: Please use the same login information. If you have forgotten your login details, please contact us employers.ecc@utoronto.ca
The U of T Co-op Portal is the hub where our students, recent graduates and alumni visit for job opportunities. From your account, you will be able to post opportunities, view submitted applications, schedule interviews and extend offers. We require complete information recorded in the system for easy reference. You will receive a confirmation email after your registration is approved with details on next steps. This usually takes one-three business days. You will then be able to post your opportunities. There is no cost to register, post or recruit from any of our programs.
The PEY Co-op program is open to all eligible third-year full-time undergraduate engineering students. PEY Co-op is also open to eligible third-year undergraduate students in selected Arts & Science disciplines. See the tables below.
PEY Co-op Engineering Student Disciplines
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Engineering Science:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Biomedical Systems Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Energy Systems Engineering
- Engineering Mathematics, Statistics and Finance
- Engineering Physics
- Infrastructure Engineering
- Machine Intelligence
- Robotics Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Materials Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mineral Engineering
PEY Co-op Arts & Science Student Disciplines
- Computer Science
- Commerce/Business
- Pharmacology
- Toxicology
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry
- Life Sciences
- Mathematics
- Statistics
* Consult a Co-op Coordinator if you are you interested in recruiting from a discipline that is not listed above.
You can find recruitment timelines for each program on the Employer Guide.
PEY Co-op work terms must be a paid, full-time position. Some of our employers have their own pre-determined salary levels for student hires. We record our salary statistics annually, and new employers may choose to refer to these salary ranges to help determine the rate they are willing to pay prospective student hires.
Hiring a student is quite similar to a temporary contract position hire. As a students employer, you will receive support from our Co-op Coordinators as they work with you to fulfill your recruitment needs. There is no fee to recruit from our programs. Students in the PEY Co-op Program must return to full time studies after they complete their work term.
Employers in Ontario may be eligible for financial support through the Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit, resulting in a refundable tax credit equal to 25-30% of eligible expenditures (i.e., up to $3,000 for each 4 months of a qualifying work term). If your organization is eligible to receive an Ontario Employer Tax Credit, the Engineering Career Centre will prepare the tax credit for you. To determine eligibility and for more information, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website.
We encourage all employers to recruit and hire for their PEY Co-op positions through the U of T Co-op Portal so that we can provide resources to support you during the recruitment period and ensure all program requirements are being met. However, if a student obtains a work term outside of the Career Portal that meets the program requirements, it can be reviewed by our Co-op Coordinators.
First, it is the students’ responsibility to follow the Approval Process for Independent Work Terms. Once this process is complete, a Co-op Coordinator will reach out to the employer to verify the program requirements. If the student is not registered in the PEY Co-op program, we will assess their program participation eligibility first, based on our set criteria.
New employers: The ECC will need to ensure that the organization meets the employer registration protocols and that the job description is relevant for the PEY Co-op program. The first step is to create an account on our Portal. To register for an account, please click on Employers and then Register for an Account. Our employer guidelines can be found here. By registering on our Portal you will be able to recruit seamlessly going forward.
No -- there is no fee to post or participate in our programs.
No -- you are not obligated to hire a student for a position you post with us. However, we do ask that you update us on the status of the posting, in terms of whether it has been filled with our student, a student from another university, or if it was not filled at all.
Hiring a student begins with the development of a relevant and descriptive job posting. When you post your position on the U of T Co-op Portal, you will be asked to provide the following information:
- Job title (descriptive and relevant)
- Number of positions
- Rate of Pay
- Hours per Week
- Length of Position (start and end date)
- Location of position
- Description of duties/responsibilities (detailed)
- Qualifications (skills, abilities, knowledge)
- Application deadline
- Indicate any further information required for the application process, such as forms or transcripts, as well as other important information the applicant should know.
This depends on your recruitment timelines. Typically positions are posted for two-three weeks to allow enough time for students to prepare their applications and apply. Please note: many students submit applications closer to the posting deadline. This is not a reflection of interest in the opportunity, but a way to manage the demands of the recruitment process and academic commitment.
No -- we post your job description and leave it up to students to determine if their skills and experience are a good fit for the position. Once you review submitted applications, you'll select potential candidates for interviews. Our counsellors work closely with students to provide guidance during this process.
No -- we don’t match students to employers. While we do provide assistance and guidance to students in terms of applying and interviewing for your positions, you will ultimately decide which students to interview and hire. The student will decide whether to accept or decline the offer. Our counsellors work closely with students to provide guidance during this process.
Job offers can be made to students at any time. For presenting offers, you have two options:
- Send the offer to your Co-op Coordinator and they will present it to the student. This doesn’t have to be an official contract, but should include details like job title, start and end dates, location, supervisor name, salary, etc. They will follow up and let you know the student’s decision within your set time frame. Please note: a 2-3 business day offer deadline is preferred. They will notify you with the hiring outcome.
- Contact the student directly via phone or email to present the offer. Please ensure you cc or let your Co-op Coordinator know the hiring outcome so we can update our records and inform the student of their next steps.
We are here to support you and your organization throughout the recruitment process. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.
The University is closely monitoring the global pandemic and has recently updated travel policies for university related activities. If you expect the student to travel outside of Canada during the work term please contact us at pey.coop@utoronto.ca to ensure this is in alignment with University of Toronto Safety and Risk policies.
Yes -- students in the PEY Co-op Program must pay the associated work term fee. Some employers reimburse their students for this fee as a hiring incentive.
If the offer is declined, you have the option to offer the next most qualified student or repost the position.
We are here to support you and your organization throughout the recruitment process. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have: pey.coop@utoronto.ca
Please submit the letter of offer/employment contract directly to the student, with a copy to the Co-op Coordinator. During the course of the work term, both students and supervising managers are required to submit online evaluations and check-ins to fulfill the program requirements.
As such, students are encouraged to take the lead in meeting with their supervisors to review and complete these documents. The submission timeline and guidelines are available on our website.
In addition to the hiring documentation, we encourage our employers to have well-defined on-boarding sessions with the newly hired students. Based on our observation, the majority of successful work terms are a result of implementing the following:
- In-depth orientation on administrative and operational policies of the organization
- Clarity on who the student reports to and how communications should flow between managers, team members and co-op students
- Detailed training on work projects and each new project that will be handled by the student
- Structured and regular feedback meetings with the supervising manager(s) and HR representative(s) during the first two months
After completing PEY Co-op, students are required to return to their studies to complete their degree requirements. You may choose to offer the student a position to fulfill another work term or offer a position post-graduation.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss your options: pey.coop@utoronto.ca
During the first few weeks of the work term, we encourage the HR or supervising managers to hold a regular check-in meeting with the students to provide feedback on their performance and/or behaviour. Student employees are subject to the same performance standards, ethics and codes of conduct that you would expect from any employee. Contact us immediately if you have urgent concerns about a student's performance and well-being.
For PEY Co-op, the students' concerns may occur in the first four months as they transition to the work environment, and are introduced to challenging projects. Depending on the urgency of the issue, you may choose to contact the Co-op Coordinator immediately or address the issue in our online evaluation. Your feedback report allows us to follow up: assess the situation, consult with supervising managers and provide coaching to the student.
COVID -19 Mental Health Resources for Students: https://engineeringcareers.utoronto.ca/covid-19-mental-health-resources-for-students/
The U of T Co-op Portal specializes in the recruitment process for Co-op programs. As such, any job positions for our programs should be posted on our job board. If employers are recruiting for full-time hires, positions for engineering students can be posted on our New Graduate job board. We also encourage employers to post roles on the Career & Co-Curricular Learning Network (CLNx) at U of T. CLNx is open to every U of T student at all three campuses (St. George, UTSC, and UTM). For contact details for CLNx and the other career offices at U of T, please visit: https://cln.utoronto.ca/register/contactusemployer.htm