Experience Works Information
Career Services
Experience Works Information
Purpose & Positions that Qualify
Employer Contribution
Rate of Pay & Rate Restriction
Maximum Weeks and Hours
Submitting an Application
Experience Works Committee
Selection/Approval Criteria
Decision Notification
Student Eligibility
Posting
Interviewing and Hiring
Contracts
Student’s Hours of Work
Supervisor Responsibilities
Unused Funding
Experience Plus Skills Checklist
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Purpose & Positions that Qualify
The purpose of Experience Works is to help provide career and skill development to students that will help them to transition to full-time employment after graduation, while also helping them to meet the costs of University.
- Positions in this program must provide students the opportunity to develop varied employability skills through on-the-job training and facilitate the transition to full-time employment after graduation by enhancing the students' portfolios. Students in the Experience Works program must be adequately supervised and provided with training and duties that will build employability skills. Please see Supervisor Responsibilities in the Hiring Information section.
- Proposed positions must not conflict with any existing collective agreements at Brock University or replace, supplement or take work away from an already existing staff position. Any position covered under a union at Brock University will not be funded.
- Positions supporting a conference(s) that charge a registration fee will not be funded.
- Positions in which the primary duties are administrative will not be funded.
- Positions must be on-campus. If a position will require the student to work off-campus, including if the student will be working from home, it must be indicated in the application. Approval for off-campus work must be given by the Experience Works Committee.
Experience Works will fund 65% of approved positions; employers are required to make a 35% contribution towards the position. For contributions being paid from all externally funded research accounts, your account will be listed on the student's contract, along with the Experience Works account. On a bi-weekly basis, 35% of the student's payment will be charged directly to your account. Otherwise, Experience Works will pay 100% of the contract and the employer will be required to contribute 35% once the contract has been finalized.
Hourly rates of pay must conform to one of the current Brock University Human Resources Student Employment Rate Schedules – either the Casual Student Rate Schedule for students working in non-academic positions, or the Student Assistant Rate Schedule for students employed in a position for which their academic education is required.
Experience Works only provides funding up to $13.52/hour.
If, according to the appropriate rate schedule for your position, you are required to pay a student at a rate greater than $13.52, you will be required to pay that portion of the contract, in addition to your contribution. Questions about this? See the FAQ
The work term (proposed number of weeks) cannot exceed:
- 25 weeks for the Fall/Winter sessions
- 16 weeks for the Spring/Summer sessions (between May 1st and August 31st)
The hours of work (proposed weekly hours) cannot be in an excess of:
- 12 hours of work per week during the Fall/Winter session
- 35 hours of work per week in the Spring/Summer
Applications are open twice a year to all full-time faculty and staff at Brock University.
Applications will be open for a period of three weeks. All applications must be received before the specified deadline.
To submit your application:
- Visit the Experience Works website and follow the link to the online application
- Enter the required information, which includes:
- A detailed job description, including a description of the project(s) in which the student will be involved and a list of duties/responsibilities
- A description of the training the student will receive and the skills the student will gain in the position
- Any qualifications a student must have to be eligible for your position
- The number of positions, rate of pay, number of weeks and weekly hours requested
- Anticipated start and end dates
- Review and submit the application.
The Experience Works Coordinator will review all submissions and contact applicants to confirm receipt of the application and the details. The Coordinator will then compile and distribute the applications to the Experience Works Committee members once the application deadline has past.
All Experience Works applications are reviewed by the Experience Works Committee.
The structure of the Experience Works Committee will be changing for the 2013-2014 year. Please check back for more information.
Please see the Purpose & Positions that Qualify section for information about positions eligible for Experience Works.
Funding decisions are based primarily on the merit of the position, according to the following established Selection/Approval Criteria:
- The degree to which the position provides on-the-job training
- The quality and range of skill-building opportunities the position will provide
- The amount and quality of experience the position will offer
- The degree to which the position will facilitate the student’s transition to full-time employment
In cases when there are more positions of merit than funds to allocate, the following factors may also be taken into consideration in order to ensure funds are supporting areas with the most need:
- The number of positions being funded through Experience Works in the faculty/department
- The amount of Experience Works funding granted to the applicant in the past
- The amount of research/external funding, or revenue available to the department
In order for the Committee to determine the merit of your position, you must include a detailed project and job description, list of duties, and skills the student will gain in the position. In short, the more detail you include the better.
It is important to note that the Experience Works program is extremely competitive and funding is limited and varies from year to year. Currently, we receive well over four times the number of applications per year than we have funds to support. For this reason, even the most detailed application, for an outstanding position may not be approved.
As a result, there is no guarantee that all positions of merit will be funded.
No position vital to a department or project should rely on these funds.
The Experience Works Coordinator will inform each applicant of the Committee’s decision.
All Committee decisions are final.
For each approved position, the applicant will be sent an email containing information on the approved position(s), the approved hourly rate, hours and weeks. The applicant will also be mailed a Note of Acknowledgement form which must be returned to Career Services. The Note of Acknowledgement authorizes Career Services to withdraw automatically the required employer contribution from a specified account once the contract(s) have been created. The Note of Acknowledgement also outline the supervisor's responsilities. It must be signed by the employer, the Chair and the Dean/Director of the department/faculty, and must be received by the Experience Works Coordinator before the position begins; otherwise, the funding will be reallocated to another applicant.
In order to use the funding, the student(s) hired must be approved for Experience Works in the year and session during which he/she will be employed.
To determine eligibility, the student must complete a Student Financial Profile, available online through the Student Awards and Financial Aid website and meet eligibility criteria as determined by the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office. The student must complete a new profile for each session every year and approval in a previous session does not guarantee approval in the next.
Criteria for student Experience Works approval include:
- is currently a full-time undergraduate student at Brock
- is a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident
- has demonstrated financial need
- has an overall average of at least 60%
- for the Spring/Summer session, must have attended Brock full-time in the previous Fall/Winter AND be returning to full-time studies at Brock in the following Fall/Winter
Graduate students are not eligible for Experience Works.
You are not required to post your position; however, it is highly recommended that Experience Works positions are posted on the Career Services Job Posting site. If you choose to post your position through Career Services, the Experience Works Coordinator will prepare the posting and confirm the details with the employer prior to placing the position on the website.
Jobs are normally posted in mid-February for Spring/Summer positions, and in the second-last week in July for Fall/Winter jobs. Employers are welcome to specify alternate dates. Experience Works jobs are typically posted for a three week period.
For positions which are not posted by Career Services, please ensure that you identify the position as being an Experience Works position and as requiring current approval for Experience Works, either by including that information on your posting or by informing the student prior to making an offer of employment.
All resumes and applications are to be directed to the employer. Employers are responsible for the interviewing and hiring process. Guidelines for interviewing and reference checking are available from the Brock University Human Resources website.
Students must provide a copy of their current Experience Works approval at or before the interview, if it was not submitted with the resume (the approval is an email sent by Student Awards and Financial Aid). A position should never be offered to a student without first confirming the student’s eligibility. Please contact the Experience Works Coordinator if you are unsure of the student’s status.
For academic positions, it is the employer’s responsibility to check the students’ year complete and applicable rate of pay prior to hiring. Experience Works will only cover up $13.52/hour, thus if you choose to hire a 3rd year complete student, who must be paid $15.35/hour, you will be required to pay $1.83 for every hour the student works, in addition to your contribution.
Positions can be shared either simultaneously or consecutively among students, providing that the total amount paid to the students does not exceed the total grant awarded.
All contracts will be created by the Experience Works Coordinator. Once an eligible student has been selected for the position, contact the Experience Works Coordinator.
The Experience Works Coordinator will create the student's contract at the rate at which the student is required to be paid according to the appropriate Brock University Human Resources Student Employment Rate Schedules – either the Casual Student Rate Schedule for students working in non-academic positions, or the Student Assistant Rate Schedule for students employed in a position for which their academic education is required. If this rate is greater than $13.52, the employer will be pay the difference directly on the student's contract. It is the employer’s responsibility to check the student’s year complete prior to hiring.
In order to accommodate the examination periods in the Fall/Winter session, two contracts will be made for each student. The first contract will begin no earlier than September 1 and end no later than the last day of Fall classes. The second contract will begin in January and end no later than the last day of Winter. The total number of weeks of each contract will be determined by the approved total weeks (up to the maximum of 25 weeks).
If a student leaves the position before the end of the contract, the Experience Works Coordinator must be informed immediately. If the total funds awarded have not been used, a replacement may be hired, following the same eligibility rules and procedures as in the initial hiring. The funding must still be used before the end of the session.
All students will be put on contract. Contracts are created for a total number of hours over a specific period of time. The employer is responsible for monitoring the student’s hours of work to ensure that all hours are worked, and that the student does not work more hours than what will be paid. If a student requires time-off, it will need to be made up before the end of the contract. If for any reason the student will not be able to make up the missed time, contact the Experience Works Coordinator to make the proper adjustments to the contract.
The student’s academic commitments should be first priority. All positions must accommodate the student’s academic schedules.
The Experience Works Coordinator must be notified immediately if a student leaves the position before the end of the contract, or a problem arises with the student.
Statutory and Non-Statutory Holidays
Students are not paid for non-statutory holidays. If the student’s scheduled work hours fall on a non-statutory holiday, the student is required to make up those hours before the end of the contract. The student is not required to make up work hours that fall on a statutory holiday. For a list of statutory and non-statutory holidays please visit the Human Resources website.
The primary purpose of Experience Works is to provide students with skills and experience that will help them to transition to full-time employment after graduation. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the student is adequately supervised and is provided with training and duties that will build employability skills.
All employers must:
- Meet with your student within two weeks of their appointment to discuss expectations, responsibilities, and learning opportunities provided by the position.
- Meet or communicate with your student on a regular basis to update on their performance/progress.
- Provide a workplace orientation, as well as appropriate supervised training for all new duties.
- Provide learning and skill growth opportunities for your student whenever possible.
- Meet with your student if you have any concerns regarding their performance and, if necessary, ask for assistance from Career Services or Human Resources before taking any action.
Experience Works suggests you have bi-weekly update meetings with your student, whether just to touch base or to review and evaluate work performance or progress. We would also recommend meeting with your student for a performance evaluation and exit interview to provide feedback on their strengths and areas of improvement.
The employer automatically forfeits all unused funds allocated by Experience Works at the end of the respective session. The employer may not use any remaining funds to finance future contracts, or for any other purpose. Funds cannot be carried over between sessions, i.e. Spring/Summer funds cannot be carried into Fall/Winter or vice versa.
At the end of the employment period, the employer is required to complete an Experience Plus Skills Checklist. The Skills Checklist will outline the skills you believe the student demonstrated in their position. The form will be sent to the employer by the Experience Works Coordinator and will be used to update the student’s Experience Plus transcript. The Skills Checklist can also be a helpful tool for discussing your student’s performance.
Events
For a Current Listing of Career Services Events, Workshops and Job Fairs Visit CareerZone
September 10, 2012 - 1:45pm
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