News Archives: New Work Term Course Launches for Business Administration Students at GPRC
Friday, October 13th, 2017
GRANDE PRAIRIE – Next summer, 15 Business Administration students at Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) will be hard at work getting real world experience as part of the College’s new work placement opportunity.
The Business Work-Integrated Learning program is an optional three-credit course available for Business Administration students currently in their first year of study. The course is set to launch in the summer of 2018. Designed by business instructor Cibylla Rakestraw, the program involves a 12-week workforce placement between the student’s first and second year. GPRC is one of only two colleges in Alberta that provide a work-integrated learning option that is recognized by the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education to students.
Not only will the course give students valuable work experience, but participants will also receive a paycheque, a polished resume, and a network of professional contacts. “It will really help the students to get clear in terms of their career objectives,” Rakestraw said.
“The work term program offers the opportunity to get hands-on experience that you can apply when you come back for your second year,” said Elizabeth Vidrih, a first-year business student who has applied for the course. Vidrih is interested in pursuing a career in finance and hopes she can secure summer placement in a bank or credit union. “I’m very much a doer. I learn hands-on, so this is an awesome opportunity for me and my peers.”
Holly Thiessen, another first-year business administration student interested in the course, agrees hands-on experience is invaluable for an undergraduate. “Being in our first year, we get an introduction to business in class,” she said. “But then if you have the ability to go out and work in your field, it sets you up for the future and gives you that step ahead.”
Only fifteen spots are available for the approximately 80 students who have so far expressed interest. The deadline for students to apply is October 27, after which an interview process will help select the best-suited candidates.
“I’m going to be looking for students who are academically gifted and have a strong level of confidence and poise,” said Rakestraw. “They should have some pretty clear ideas about which direction they’d like to go but also be willing to explore career possibilities they might not have considered before.”
Rakestraw is now in the process of securing placements for her students by connecting with businesses in the Grande Prairie area and beyond.
“Grande Prairie has a great business community that covers many sectors, and that’s wonderful for our students,” said Rakestraw. She added it was possible for students to travel to other places to complete placements. “We have some students who may like to do their work term in Calgary or Edmonton or Peace River.”
Organizations are invited to participate in the program. The students seeking placement specialize in a range of business fields, including marketing, finance, accounting, investment, management, and human resources.
Organizations interested in offering placement to a summer student should contact:
Cibylla Rakestraw
Instructor, Business & Office Administration
780.539.2873
crakestraw@gprc.ab.ca
About GPRC
GPRC is a comprehensive community institution, publicly supported to provide opportunities in post-secondary education in northwestern Alberta. Established in 1966 in Grande Prairie, GPRC now includes campuses in Fairview and Grande Prairie, and learning centres in Edson, Grande Cache, Hinton and Jasper. GPRC offers a wide variety of career certificates and diplomas, pre-employment and apprenticeship trades, university transfer studies, and several opportunities for on-campus degree completion at baccalaureate and master levels through collaborations with four-year universities. For more information, visit gprc.ab.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Mark Evans GPRC Corporate Communications Phone: 780-539-2951 |