Keynote from J&J, at WACE Thursday

Keynote Presentation: Maximizing the Benefits of co-operative Education at J&J

Dominic J. Caruso, VP Finance and CFO

Mr. Caruso is a former Co-op student (accounting at Drexel). He seemed to have chosen Co-op to verify his career choice for himself. Through good mentors at work and good advising through the Co-op office, he gained a better understanding of the variety and complexity of the business and the profession.

There are 114,000 employees at J&J. Engineering is fairly big at J&J...perhaps there's room for some BMEs?

Co-op students are more valuable and are engaged more deeply than interns (summer students). They bring more experience to the Co-op role and that experience is valued at the time of full-time hiring, being preferred as they stand-out. In fact, their retention rate is higher because they are making an informed decision about J&J. Significantly, they see higher performance and faster promotion rates for Co-op students.

There are seven, top-tier schools that they use (Drexel, Rutgers, etc.). They are looking for talent in Commerce, IT, engineering, etc. 40% of the 1500 new hires were Co-op students. They have noticed that there has been a decline in the number of acceptances for Co-op offerings recently. One theme from focus groups is that students are pursuing internships rather than Co-op. There is a perceived benefit to get through the Bachelor's degree and get onto Master's level study, faster.

Johnson & Johnson are very willing to work with Faculty to improve curriculum. But, they're not too sure what "real world experience" means.

In response to a question from P. Jarvie (UW), Mr. Caruso replied that J&J values students who have had multiple opportunities and experiences and therefore the more familiar model of Co-op is recognized as beneficial. They're quite satisifed when a student chooses J&J after seeing other experiences.

Is it confusing to be an intern?

We seem to use the term "intern" for a lot of different categories. I think in Canada, according to the CAFCE guidelines, there's a pretty clear definition. But, when I look at all the different situations that interns wind up in, I wonder if we're doing a favour for students and employers, let alone ourselves the practitioners, in letting loose the many different interpretations.

My most prominent (negative) image and the one which I like to have you imagine least, is the intern in the U.S. television/motion picture industry. Time was that the interns in these roles were compensated and given challenging, productive opportunities. I think those same challenges may still be there, but they've let themselves slide down the slippery slope, greased by the demand from the students and the abundance of roles, to the point where students are not paid. When that happens it means that the engagement of and by the student is lessened. Following this to the logical conclusion, the employer does not see the need to have a student work (and learn) in their workplace if they're not engaged. There are likely many flavours to this story, but I'm describing the most bitter tasting one.

Interns can contribute to their employer post-graduation, pre-graduation, and any number of different ways. Internships often mean that a student is working more than the usual four- or eight-month terms. It's often 12- or 16-months. I think these are very good for the employer and moderately so for the student. It has to be managed well. Ideally the student is progressing through a cycle of roles in that time span. The point being to engage them in all different ways so as to enable them to contribute best and learn optimally. Obviously this is more the case for a series of four-month work-terms...where different employers/supervisors are involved.

This is not meant to be an extensive categorization of what it means to be an intern.

When you hear "intern", be open to the different interpretations.