For Employers

Every year, Print Futures has a new crop of great writers looking for work-experience opportunities in research, writing, editing, and document design and print production, or some combination of these areas.

Get in touch with coordinator Maureen Nicholson at printfutures@douglas.bc.ca or 604-527-5292 to discuss work-experience options for your company, or to circulate a temporary, continuing, or contract job posting to program graduates.

Recommended deadlines for prospective employers:
February 15 for summer term (May to August)
June 15 for fall term (September to December)
October 15 for winter term (January to April)

Employers usually want to know the answers to these questions:

1. What is Print Futures?
Established in 1991, this two-year diploma program provides intensive instruction in technical, public relations, business, magazine, and trade-publication writing. Students also receive training in research, editing, and document design and production. By graduation, they are skilled users of MS Word, Dreamweaver, and InDesign. They also are familiar with Photoshop, Framemaker, and Freehand.

2. How will my company benefit?
You'll have a smart, skilled, deadline-oriented student to help you with specific writing and related projects over a substantial period of time. At Douglas College, the work-experience course is a minimum of 180 hours to a maximum of about four to five months. Typically, the course is organized to accommodate the employer and the student. For example, a student might work full-time for six weeks or part-time for 10 hours a week for four or five months. A letter of agreement will confirm the details of the work-experience term.

3. When do students do their work experience?
All students must complete a work-experience course to graduate from the program. Most students complete their work experience in the summer (mid-April to August) between their first and second year of full-time studies, though part-time students may be available throughout the year. About 30 students participate in the course each year.

4. How much are students paid during their work experience?
Hourly rates for Print Futures students have ranged from $10 to $25, with most students being paid an hourly rate of $12 to $14. Paid work-experience terms have a salary cost to your company of $1,800 and up, but the benefits are proven. Douglas College's Workers' Compensation Board policy covers students on unpaid work experience; the employer is responsible for WCB coverage for students on paid work experience. We prefer paid work-experience terms, though some students will work on an unpaid basis for nonprofit groups or for companies that offer invaluable opportunities. Unpaid work-experience terms are restricted to 180 hours.

5. Any other expectations?
The work-experience course is a learning opportunity for your student. You'll evaluate your student's work and progress. The student will write a report on his or her work-experience semester. And the student will schedule a site visit for the Print Futures coordinator, work-experience supervisor, and student to discuss the student's performance.

6. What's your track record?
Since 2000, Print Futures program participants have worked with the following companies, government offices, publications, and organizations. Their jobs ranged from editorial assistants and reporters, to technical writers and report writers, to communications assistants and public relations officers, and more.

7. I've got a project. What's my next step?
Contact the coordinator, Maureen Nicholson, at 604-527-5292 or printfutures@douglas.bc.ca . You'll then work with her to develop a job description that is posted to eligible and interested Print Futures students. Students apply directly to the company or through the Print Futures coordinator, whichever you prefer. You then interview as many or as few students as you wish, and you choose the student who best fits your company's needs.

Participating employers from 2000 to 2008 include:

20/20 Vision
ACL Services Ltd.
Alive Publishing
Amelia Douglas Gallery
Anvil Press
Aquademics
Arcana Studio
Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia
Astro Records
The Arthritis Society
Automotive Retailers Publishing
Bongarde Media, Penticton 
BC Biomedical Laboratories
BC Sports Hall of Fame
Brooks Automation
Burns Bog Conservation Society
Business in Vancouver
Canada Wide Media
Canadian Cancer Society
Canadian Home Builders' Association of B.C.
Carnegie Community Centre
City of Surrey
Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia
Credit Union Central of British Columbia
CreoScitex
Cycling B.C.
Delta Controls
Douglas College
Dowco Consultants, Inc.
Dundurn Press, Toronto
eReservation, Inc.
Event Magazine
Fincentric Corporation
Food Supplies Company
Forensic Panel, New York
Fraser River Discovery Centre
Fraser River Port Authority
Gemcom Software
Global Online Entertainment
Government of British Columbia, Ministry of Attorney-General
Health Action Network Society
Imrie Print Group
inCollaboration
Inex Pharmaceuticals
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Knowledgeware Solutions
Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE) BC
Lift Communications, Toronto
Line Contractors' Association of B.C.
London Drugs
Lookout Emergency Aid Society
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times
Momentum Magazine
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (BC Division)
North American Montessori Center
National Coaching Institute
Newton Advocacy Group Society
North Delta Evangelical Free Church
North American Montessori Center
North Shore Community Resources
North Shore Disability Resource Centre
North Shore Studios
Office of the Yukon Ombudsman and Privacy Commissioner
Pacific National Exhibition
Planned Parenthood B.C.
Powell River Peak
Progressive Housing Society of British Columbia
Raytheon Canada
Realm Magazine
Samson V Maritime Museum
Self-Counsel Press
Selkirk Financial Technologies
Serebra Learning Corporation
SFU Centre for Systems Science
SFU Executive Education Programs
SFU Faculty of Applied Sciences
SFU Great Canadian Scientists Project
SFU Learning Strategies Group
Sierra Wireless
Silent Witness Enterprises Ltd.
Spirit of Vancouver
Stenberg College
SubTERRAIN
Teldon Publishing
Tourism Whistler
TP Systems Ltd.
TransLink
Trillium Digital Systems
UBC Applied Research and Evaluation Services
United Way of the Lower Mainland
Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture
Vancouver Board of Trade
Vancouver Eastside Educational Enrichment Society
Vancouver Giants
Vancouver Magazine
Vancouver Review
Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Bid Corporation
VCC Graphic Communications and Production Technology
Wenco International Mining
Westcoast Family Resource Society
Western Living
Westminster Club
WHERE Vancouver
Xa:ytem Longhouse
Yasodhara Ashram Yoga Study & Retreat Centre