What is CWE?
Cooperative Work Experience is a program that lets you earn college
credit while gaining on the job experience in your area of
study. You can practice the skills you've learned in the classroom
in real job settings. You gain practical work experience, gain an
advantage in the job market through the cooperative effort of you,
the college and an employer.
For instance, if you are going for the 1-Year Mechanical Inspector
Certification, your objectives would include doing Mechanical Plan
Reviews, and doing both Commercial and Residential, Mechanical
Inspections.
You should also seek to observe the permitting process, from the
customer's application at the counter, thru the entire process of
issuing the permit, creating a permit file, sending the application to
plan review, filing the plan revisions and correspondence, collecting
the fees, and eventually issuing the permit. Next comes the inspections,
filing the inspection results, corrections, re-inspection fees, and
field notes and revisions. The process isn't really over until the
filing of the finaled permit after the job is completed.
The number of credits earned is
based on the amount of time you spend working. Each credit earned
requires an average of three hours per week for a minimum of 10 weeks.
So, how much credit you earn depends on the time requirements of the
employer, your availability, and course requirements. You may repeat
cooperative education training at one site, or
you may train with more than one employer. BIT programs require
cooperative education; others consider it an elective course.
Are you
ready for CWE?
Do your home work! Find out all you can about the jurisdiction that you are looking into.
Know the name of the Building Official!
A side story by Terre Gift:
"The first time I went in to see the Building Official for Clark County
about CWE, I asked for 'Mr. Larry Collins', and was embarrassed when the
secretary told me that he hadn't worked there for 3 years!
LOL, ...I had looked up the name on the WABO website, not knowing it was
outdated. Well, after I wiped the egg off my face, I explained where I
had gotten my info, and then learned that the BO was Lou Adams."
For more details about CWE
contact Denise Roy. (droy@pcc.edu)
