Work Experience 12A / 12B Overview
Work Experience 12A and 12B are both elective courses approximately 120 hours in duration. The main purpose of these courses is two fold:
provide students with an opportunity to sample the nature of the work and the culture of the workplace;
and provide a means of honouring legitimate career exploration and learning that happens outside the confines of a conventional classroom.
Students may engage in paid or unpaid work. They frequently start in an unpaid capacity as they learn and explore, and then transition to paid employment as they develop skills and proficiencies applicable to their given workplace setting.
Some students may choose to do their entire Work Experience placement in a volunteer capacity. Examples might include, but are not limited to, coaching or camp leader.
Work Experience 12A and 12B are both credit courses that are customized to meet students’ personal career and educational needs. As such, a unique “training plan” must be created in consultation with the school based Career Teacher and workplace employer/supervisor prior to the commencement of logging hours. Retroactive credit for hours logged in advance of the creation of the training plan is not possible.
The WEx 12A and 12B Handbook outlines a series of events and documentation that must be completed as part of the course requirements.
The WEx 12B supplementary Handbook for “continuation with the same employer” provides a fresh training plan that must be updated prior to commencement of the second 120 hours and must reflect a significant step up in learning and responsibility for credit to be awarded.