To ensure students have access to the most up-to-date employment information, we publish our employment rates throughout each hiring term via the portal below.
Once you’ve logged in using your WatIAM credentials, you’ll be able to view both current and historical employment statistics filtered by term, faculty, program and level. Each term's data will be updated every night to represent the final results from the previous day.
Please note that the recruiting period extends into the work term as some co-op students continue their search until the last day to secure employment for co-op credit (usually about four weeks after the work term begins). For a list of current co-op dates and deadlines, visit the co-op important dates calendar.
Here’s an example of what you’ll see, overlaid with key points of the recruitment cycle (login to view actual co-op employment statistics below):
In order to login, please use your email ending in "@uwaterloo.ca" and the associated password after clicking on the link above.
Understanding the co-op employment rate
We track the success of the Waterloo co-op program through many measures, including the employment rate. This rate shows how many students secure employment opportunities.
How we calculate the employment rate
The co-op employment rate methodology aligns with industry and government standards, including standards used by Stats Canada for measuring employment outcomes. The employment rate is calculated by dividing the number of employed students by the total number of students participating in co-op recruitment.
Employed students include:
- Students with statuses EI, EP, ES, EJ, ER, EF and EA. These statuses indicate that students have secured co-op employment.
Students participating in recruitment include:
- Employed students: Students who have secured co-op employment.
- Students seeking employment through traditional co-op interviews (UI status): Actively searching for co-op opportunities.
- Students seeking employment outside our co-op process (UN and US statuses): Looking for jobs independently.
- Students awaiting decisions on external job offers (UA status): Waiting to confirm external employment.
For a detailed list of student statuses and what they mean, consult the co-op roles and responsibilities.
If you haven't found a co-op job (yet)
Some students (typically at the junior level, looking for their first or second work term) struggle to find employment due to a number of factors, including:
- Work location preferences
- Availability of jobs in your field
- Which jobs you choose to apply to
- Economy trends
- Your work experience
- Your work search strategy
- Your employable and interview skills
If you’re struggling to find employment for your work term, we will continue to work with you to help you find a co-op job or gain experience in some other way. Here are some things you can do:
- Continue searching into the beginning of your scheduled work term! Learn more about the last day to start work to receive credit for your work term on our important dates calendar.
- Arrange your own job (standard or flex) that will count for co-op credit
- Take an off term and gain experience through pursuing a non-co-op opportunity or taking an academic course
- Take a PD course to reflect on your academic and/or personal experience
- Talk to both your academic and co-op advisor about options available to you in relation to your program
If you have questions about the employment rate or need help with your work search, connect with your co-op advisor!
