We are always looking for employer/mentors to help students. If an employer is to take on an RVTC Co-op student, they must agree:

• To provide Workers Compensation Insurance if the student is paid.
• To conform to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those that:
  • Prohibit discrimination against any applicant or employee because of race, age, sex, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry or handicap.
  • Restricts both the hours of employment and type of occupations that minors can work in order to safeguard their well-being, health and safety, and progress in school.
• To allow the Cooperative Education Coordinator access to the worksite to assess safety conditions, observe and evaluate the student.
• To provide a work schedule of sufficient length as to enable the student to gain competency in the occupational/technical field detailed in the training plan.
• To monitor progress of student and assist with on-site evaluations at appropriate intervals.
• To assist school in designing work-based learning curriculum.
• To structure learning by assigning appropriate work tasks.
• To notify the Cooperative Coordinator if the student is to be terminated. To provide an on-site mentor.
• To comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the following criteria must be met:
  • Training is for the benefit of the student;
  • Students do not displace regular employees, but work under their supervision;
  • The employer derives no immediate advantage from the career work experience;
  • Training is similar to that which would be given in a vocational program;
  • The student is not automatically entitled to a job following the career work experience; and
  • All parties understand that the student will not receive wages for time spent in the career work experience program.