Work Based Learning

What is School to Work?

School to Work (aka Cooperative Education) is a program that provides supervised workplace employment opportunities and learning experiences for qualified students. The employment experience is based upon an agreement developed by the employer, student, parent, and high school representative.

Students are closely supervised and periodically evaluated by the employer and the Cooperative Education Coordinator. The evaluations are used to assign a grade and receive credit for the experience in their career-theme class.

Services provided by the Cooperative Education Office:

Assistance in finding employment
Ensuring compliance with the New Jersey Department Education requirements for cooperative education
Development of the training plan in cooperation with the career-theme teacher
Assist with the process and assess the student throughout the work experience
Approve employers

Where is the Cooperative Education office?

The office is located in the GCIT School to Work Office in the 500 wing.

Cooperative Education

Cooperative education is a structured educational strategy integrating classroom studies with learning through productive work experiences in a field related to a student's academic or career goals. It provides progressive experiences in integrating theory and practice. Cooperative education is a partnership among students, educational institutions and employers, with specified responsibilities for each party.

All students are eligible to participate in Cooperative Education provided they meet the basic qualifications required by the school and employer. The Cooperative Education Coordinator will assist the student with this process.

To participate, a student must:

Complete the Cooperative Education paperwork
Be 16 years of age and have been enrolled in the second year of a career-theme program
- Working papers are required for anyone under 18 years old
Have a GPA of C or better
Maintain acceptable conduct and attendance
Complete OSHA safety training
Meet the qualifications required by the school and employer
Have the recommendation of the career-theme teacher and guidance counselor
Work at least 15 hours per week
Sign an agreement and training plan developed between the employer, the student, the parents, and the high school staff.

The Cooperative Education Coordinator and career-theme teachers also assist junior students seeking paid summer internship experiences.

Employers - How to Partner with GCIT

Our students need positive role models in the business community who can help them develop their career goals or offer employment opportunities.

How can businesses partner with GCIT?

Employ
Hire GCIT students or graduates.
Cooperative Education
Hire GCIT students to work part-time in the career area for which they are trained.
Apprenticeship
Sponsor a GCIT student in an apprenticeship.
Job Shadowing
Host GCIT students to "shadow" you at your place of business.

Sponsor
Become a sponsor and help finance a school related project in one of our career programs or clubs
Advisory Board Member
Serve on one of our advisory boards and provide input into current and future industry needs.
Guest Speaker/Class Tour Host
Share your work experiences with GCIT students at your location or ours.
Proctor
Administer the occupational proficiency test to juniors and seniors and score the results.

Employer Job Lead Notification

Required

Please complete the following information to share an employment opportunity with our School to Work office and career theme teachers.

Company Namerequired

Contact Namerequired

First Name

Last Name

Contact Emailrequired

Addressrequired

Street Address, City, State, Zip

Contact Phonerequired

Job Information

Job Titlerequired

Job Descriptionrequired

Multiple Choicerequired

Full-Time

Part-Time

Minimum Age Requirement

Additional Information

Permission to Share Posting - In the event that we do not have a qualified student for this position, may we have permission to share this information on social media, with partners, and the Workforce Development Board? required

Yes

This employment opportunity will be shared with our career theme teachers based on relevancy to GCIT course offerings.

Please contact Fred McCoy at 856-468-1445 x2516 with any questions.

Nondiscrimination Guidelines
The Business/Agency understands that the worksite must be consistent with "Guidelines for Vocational Education Programs for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex and Disability," as well as with federal requirements of nondiscrimination in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.
34 C.F.R, §104.4, §106.38 (a)(b), and §100.3 (c}.

Student Job Leads

Alumni Job Leads

NJCAN

Click here for the NJCAN website.

The New Jersey Career Assistance Navigator is an internet-based delivery system for accurate, comprehensive, current and relevant occupational post-secondary school and financial aid information. NJCAN contains the latest national, New Jersey and local labor market data and projections.

NJCAN also includes information on:

Job interview preparation
Resume and cover letter creation
How to keep a job
Self-employment
Military occupations

NJCAN is designed to support lifelong career exploration, career planning and decision-making through easy to use, straightforward search and sorting utilities, and an online portfolio for saving information from all system components.

Post-Secondary Job Leads

School to Work Advisory Board

GCIT’s School to Work Program announced their newest members at their September Advisory Board meeting. The board works to advise, inform, and support GCIT students in apprenticeship, job, and career exploration for students in grades 9-12. The board welcomed 10 new members to help diversify and expand the options available to students.

George Barbin, Liberty Displays & Exhibits, Operations Manager, stated, "The students I have hired from GCIT are ready to work from the moment they enter the building. They possess operational knowledge, executable skills, the ability to problem-solve in real time, and are diligent workers. In an industry dominated by senior employees, GCIT students and graduates are a rare bright spot of young, reliable, and capable individuals who enter the workforce eager to continue cultivating their skillset."

School to Work is a program that provides supervised workplace employment opportunities and learning experiences for qualified students. The employment experience is based upon an agreement developed by the employer, student, parents, and high school representative. Students are closely supervised and periodically evaluated by the employer and the district Cooperative Education Coordinators. The evaluations are used to assign a grade and receive credit for the experience in their career-theme class.

The School to Work program had great success in the 2021-2022 school year with 60 students who earned a combined 32,000 hours and over $460,000 in wages. With the new members of the Advisory Board, they hope to increase this number greatly.

To learn more about School to Work, visit the What is School to Work tab.

Advisory Board Members:

Martha Ponge - Director, National Institute of Innovation and Technology

Michelle Shirey - Executive Director, Gloucester Co. Workforce Development

Tiruayer Battle - Director of Administration, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine

Thomas A. Bianco - Director, Gloucester County Economic Development

Jim Doto - President, Great Plumbers

Larry Banks - Operations & Business Development Specialist – NJ Manufacturers Extension Program

Fred McCoy - GCIT Cooperative Ed Coordinator/ Hazardous Occupations

Glenn Hubert - GCIT Cooperative Ed Coordinator/ Hazardous Occupations

Bryan Vahey - GCIT Guidance Counselor

Leonard Brinson, Jr. - Senior V.P. South Jersey Industries

Keith Burkhardt - Manager of Human Resources, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine

George Barbin - Operations Manager, Liberty Displays & Exhibits

Dr. Allison Jackson - President AJA, Advisor to GCIT

Jon Blaisdell - Service Performance Manager, Ford Motor Company

Rich Whitworth - Service Performance Specialist, Ford Motor Company

Student Internships & Job Opportunities

Working Papers