Jonathan D’Arienzo just wrapped up his final work term at the engineering department of the city of Thorold, Ont., in the Niagara Valley.
“Now I know that I’d rather be in the construction process,” says D’Arienzo, after completing a Co-op placement at a consultancy firm, where he handled construction disputes and claims. “Even though I had a great mentor and I enjoyed doing schedule analysis for claims, it can take five years for a claim to close, or maybe two years to open a claim. I need something more immediate and tangible.”
That realization prompted D’Arienzo to seek a totally different work experience for his second placement. He went to Syncrude Canada, a large oil company in Fort McMurray, Alta., where he worked in the soil lab. His duties included testing rocks for their engineering properties for construction purposes.
“My boss had over 30 years of experience, so it was great because he could explain concepts you’d never learned in school,” says D’Arienzo. “The oil sands provided a wonderful learning opportunity, but ultimately, they’re too remote and cold for me.” D’Arienzo’s final placement was in the engineering department of the City of Thorold, Ont. “The job deals directly with infrastructure — the roads, sidewalks, water, lights — and I’m involved in every project. Infrastructure is fantastic and I like the feel of a mid-sized organization.”
Along the way, D’Arienzo also learned about the importance of managing client expectations and providing alternative solutions when you hit a roadblock. “Technical skills can be taught,” he says. “But I saw that interpersonal skills are why you move up in a company.”
Back at Syncrude Canada in Fort McMurray, Co-op students continue to impress their employers. “Students help us bridge the gap in terms of generations,” says Brandon Chau, BEng (mech.) 12, an assistant project manager in Project Development and Execution at Syncrude. “With the aging workforce, we have to make sure there’s a transference of knowledge and experience to the younger staff, so students are trained, then paired with a mentor.”
Chau, like many Concordia Co-op alumni, contacted his alma mater when he saw opportunities to match students with placements. He says, “It benefits Syncrude too, because when a student has a positive work term, they go home and promote the company to other
students and their family and friends.”