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Building a bridge from classroom to workplace

Work Study program relaunches as Career Boost: Ryerson’s Student Employment Service
February 25, 2016

Last summer, Nishara Muthu Arachchige worked as a botany co-ordinator in the Faculty of Science through Ryerson’s Work Study program. Now in the last semester of undergrad, she reflects, “It was the best decision I made in these four years of my undergrad.”

Working in the Chemistry and Biology program under supervision of Professor Lesley Campbell, Arachchige studied community gardens in the GTA, publishing her findings in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food System and winning the Career Centre’s Outstanding Professional Development Award.

During the summer she developed skills that she now uses daily. “I’m now doing my thesis, which is more related to marine biology. I have to write a lot, I have to collect data, I have to analyze data, and those are all skills that I learned from this program.”

Arachchige’s position is one of more than 900 paid work positions on campus, providing students with practical work experience to supplement their time in the classroom. As of this month, the Work Study program has been revitalized as “Career Boost: Ryerson’s Student Employment Source” – a rebranding inspired by student/employer focus groups that pointed to a need for greater awareness of the program on campus.

“It was heavily dependent on, ‘My friend worked there, so I heard about it,’” said Caroline Konrad, director of Ryerson’s Career Centre. “We needed to create a cross-campus dialogue that raised awareness among students that Ryerson has nearly 1,000 on-campus positions through this program, through a diversity of roles, and also make students aware that they can work without hampering their studies.”

The relaunched Career Boost includes a newly built search engine allowing students to find jobs by sector (job family) and employer. It offers students a chance to develop their professional networks and the summer 2016 cohort will be the first to join a cross-campus Induction Day event. Career Boost recruitment has also been moved forward by four months to mirror external employer recruitment. Summer job postings are online now, and students can apply at https://ss.cf.ryerson.ca/jobsoncampus/index.cfm.

These changes will further improve a program that is already known for its convenience and accessibility. “Students really liked the fact that it’s on campus,” said Konrad. “We’ve got an 80 per cent commuter population, so for students who have all the responsibility of their academic program, and are looking to build their professional development, to then have to commute out after that to a job off campus and then get back to their home in Markham or Ajax – that’s a lot to ask from a student. It also takes away from the attention they’re able to give to each core aspect of their life.”

Konrad added that the program gives students a chance to experiment with jobs that might not be aligned to their degrees. “It’s an excellent opportunity to test the waters in something that you think might interest you, or that you think you might like to explore. Having that forum to do so on campus where you’re also benefitting from mentorship from professional staff. It’s really giving you a leg-up on the competition in building your career.”

“If I didn’t take that opportunity, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” said Arachchige. “It completely changed my life, because after that opportunity, [Lesley Campbell] decided to hire me on as lab co-ordinator for another year. From there, I was able to get the award for professional development, and from there, I was able to do more research and write more papers.”

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