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Work Opportunities Program

Overview

The Work-Op Program is a wage reimbursement program, which provides compensation for the minimum wage cost of up to 70 hours of work/approved positions in each of the Work-Op semesters for currently enrolled VIU students.

The Fall Work-Op Program runs from September to December, the Spring Work‑Op Program runs from January to April and the Summer Work-Op Program runs from May to August.

The Work-Opportunities Program includes the following categories of activity:

  • Academic Support (Directly supports students’ academic work, eg. Tutor)
  • Lab Support (Directly supports students’ academic work in a lab or studio setting)
  • Student Engagement Support (Supports student involvement and engagement across the campus)
  • Events Support (Supports the planning and delivery of events for a program or departmental area).
  • Research Support (Supports research activities – *Research Work Opportunities)
  • Other (Does not fit in any of the above categories)

If you have any questions pertaining to Research Work Opportunities, please contact Kendra, Kendra.Stiwich@viu.ca.

Work-Op Program: Procedures

  • A Work-Op callout email will be sent 3 to 4 weeks prior to the submission deadline
  • Work-Op positions are submitted on the CareerVIU Work-Integrated Learning On-Campus Employment Work-Op job posting board
  • Submitted positions must be complete and contain all required documentation to be considered for approval
  • Once the submission deadline is reached submitted positions will be reviewed by the Work-Op Steering Committee
  • If your submission was approved you will receive an email advising you of such
  • Unless otherwise requested, approved positions are on the CareerVIU job posting system
  • Unfilled postings can be extended by logging into your CareerVIU account and selecting the "Repost" option on your expired job posting

Program Details

  • Positions are approved for 70 hours/semester.
  • Unused hours are not carried over between semesters

Hiring

  • Ensure your position posting has all of the information that students will require to determine if they meet the requirements for the position. Is there a program preference? Year-level preference? Other specific requirements?
  • Ensure that the process for applying for your position is clearly indicated.
  • Determine a process for selecting applicants and use the criteria previously established in your posting.
  • Complete the student candidate shortlisting and selection process. An interview process is encouraged to ensure you have the right candidate for your position as well as to provide the student with a valuable learning opportunity.
  • At least one confidential reference check is recommended.
  • Contact all interviewed applicants with the outcome of the selection.
  • Determine a time to meet with the successful student candidate to complete the required contract and paperwork. 

Beginning Employment

Students must not start work until all necessary documentation has been submitted and a student appointment has been created

Employment Standards Act Requirements

Hours of Work

  • Minimum hours/day is 1 hour
  • Maximum hours/day is 8 hours
  • Maximum hours/week is 40 hours
  • Overtime hours will be charged for days over 8 hours and any week over 40 hours

Breaks

  • Entitled to take a ½ hour unpaid break after 5 consecutive hours of work*

*On the time sheet this is indicated under “Lunch” and is deducted from total hours

Financial Matters

This program is an employment reimbursement program that reimburses minimum wage cost for up to 70 hours of employment/semester for approved positions.

The cost centre that you provide in your application will be charged for student employment expenses at the rate indicated on the Student Appointment Form. Costs are then reimbursed at minimum wage + employer expenses for up to 70 hours at the end of each semester. Any top up to minimum wage along with associated employer expenses (12%) for the top up is the responsibility of the department.

Additional hours over and above the 70 hour maximum and those recorded after the time sheet deadline will not be reimbursed.

Supervisors are responsible for monitoring student hours and ensuring that time sheets are submitted to Payroll according to the pay period deadlines.

Supervision

Please be reminded that approved supervisors of Work-Op students have a responsibility for the care and safety of our student employees.

While students are covered by WorkSafe BC as paid VIU employees, supervisors need to provide student employees with all of the information pertinent to maintain both their health and safety in the work environment. This includes clearly explaining to the student the scope of their duties and responsibilities through a comprehensive orientation that explains your expectations. The student should be informed of proper process and protocols for action, who to contact, and other steps to take when either concerns, issues, problems, and/or risks present themselves.

Expected levels of supervision include being available/present to student employees on a regular basis. If there are reasons for you to be off-campus while your Work-Op student is working on-campus, then another VIU employee (selected at the discretion of the supervisor) must be present or to act in a supervisory capacity to provide guidance or direction for the student.

Co-Curricular Record and Work-Op

Two years ago there were some minor changes to the application process with the adoption of Graduate Attributes and work towards integration with the Co-Curricular Record. We are continuing to work towards full integration of the Co-Curricular Record as well as the inclusion of an evaluation component. As we progress towards those goals, we will be seeking input related to the application process and request for interest to participate in an evaluation pilot program in the Fall and Spring semesters of the coming year.  Please stay tuned for an opportunity to provide input.

Contact

For clarification or questions related to any of the information you have received, please contact the Centre for Experiential Learning, CEL@viu.ca, or local 6420.

Application Resources

If you are interested in applying for a position, please review the documents on Work-Op Resources for VIU Employers