Placement Hours
Students are available to work placement hours outside of the normal classroom hours, on a scheduled that is approved by the employer and the student. Typically, students are available for placements on Mondays and/or Fridays, although this is subject to change each academic year. Once a student has completed 140 hours, their field placement requirement is considered met. They are available to begin placements as early as the first week of classes in September. They must complete their hours by the third week of April each year. Final completion date must be approved by the Program Coordinator.
Supervision and Assigned Tasks
Field placements must be conducted under the direction of a professional business communicator, public relations practitioner, or marketing professional. All tasks assigned to the student during the placement must be related to business communications/public relations in order to provide the student with valuable, industry related, experience. The placement must be approved by the Public Relations - Corporate Communications Program Coordinator before the placement can begin, based on meeting the supervision and task requirements.
Workplace injury insurance coverage
While the student is working in the field placement they are covered by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) based upon the same method by which you cover your regular employees (either WSIB or Private Insurance), providing it falls within the academic calendar year – September to approximately mid-May. Mohawk College will require the employer to identify the type of workplace injury insurance coverage they provide, in order that in the event of payouts, coverage is provided through the same method (I.e. WSIB or private coverage).
Approval Forms
Prior to beginning the placement, employers are asked to complete the online PR Employer Participation Form and Affiliation Student Placement Agreement. Once all forms have been acknowledged as “received and approved,” the student is free to begin the placement hours.
Completion and Evaluation Forms
Once the student has completed the hours, employers are required to complete the PR Employer Evaluation Form and the student is required to complete the Student Field Placement Summary. Completion of these forms indicates that the field placement requirement has been met (140 hours completed). A student may stay on longer than 140 hours, in agreement with the employer, however the Mohawk College Public Relations - Corporate Communications Student Placement Partnership is no longer in place.