·    A work-study program is a partnership that allows students who opt for a program of study offered in an educational institution to learn a trade or technology in the classroom as well as on the job.

·   A work-study program is the result of an agreement between school and company in which training conditions and terms of participation are decided jointly.

·    A work-study program is an opportunity for business and industry to help build a work force that meets labour market needs.

Practicum

- The practicum as a mandatory part of the program of study

The practicum is an objective of the program of study, for example, the integration practicum in vocational education programs or the clinical practicums in technical education programs that come under an agreement between the ministère de l'Éducation and the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, or are required by a professional corporation and prescribed in college-level programs. In this case, the practicum is compulsory.

- The practicum as an educational strategy to attain an objective of the program of study

The practicum is related to an objective of the program of study. For example, to attain the objective on the trade and the training process (vocational education program) or on the preparation of a final project (technical program), the institution may choose to organize a practicum in the workplace. The practicum is not mandatory, but it will help the students attain a program objective.

- The practicum as part of a training process based on a partnership between a school and a business

Practicums are included in work-study programs. Although they are not mandatory for the programs of study, they become a requirement of the educational institution for certification of studies. Thus, depending on the goal of the program, the practicums focus on:

• the total or partial acquisition of one or more competencies specified in the program of study; or

• the transfer of competencies already acquired and evaluated in school and the gradual integration of the student into the labour market. (The "Cooperative Education Model" is an application of this type of work-study program.)

Other work-study programs including practicums in the workplace may also be planned:

• to help young people with difficulties become independent adults and responsible workers (life skills education and work skills education programs);

• to prepare students for semi-skilled trades (Section 2 of the Experimental Program for Offering a Greater Variety of Options to Young People in Vocational Education).

  The practicum as a complementary activity

The practicum may also complement the objectives of the program of study. For example, the exploration practicum helps students make a career choice and the integration practicum helps recent graduates integrate into the labour market.