Employment of Co-op/Intern Student
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Agencies may consider high school students:
- Who are enrolled on a full-time basis at an accredited Kentucky school.
- Who are enrolled in at least their junior year of high school and have been certified by their school as being enrolled in a program or course of study for which practical, on-the-job experience is an integral part.
- Who are enrolled in structured training or tech prep for which practical, on-the-job experience is an integral part.
High school students must meet the Program requirements and the State and Federal Child Labor Law requirements with respect to age and working hours.
All eligible cooperative education and internship high school students are required to complete an online application in the Career Opportunities System and self-nominate to the Co-op/Intern Program posting. Interested students must also submit the Academic Credit Agreement form and an unofficial copy of their transcripts to the Co-op/Intern Program Coordinator. The Academic Credit Agreement form must be signed by a counselor, advisor or cooperative education coordinator at their respective educational institution.
International students enrolled in Kentucky schools must be in the country legally with an educational visa. The J-1 visa for academic purposes is for exchange students in high school. If the J-1 visa has expired, the high school student is no longer eligible to participate in the Program.
The documents must be mailed to: Co-op/Intern Coordinator, Personnel Cabinet, State Office Building, 1st Floor, 501 High Street, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601. The documents will be reviewed to insure all requirements are met before students are placed in the Program.
High school student applications may be requested from the Program's database. However, the agency can also find the applicant. If an agency finds an applicant, please direct the student to complete an online application in the Career Opportunities System and self- nominate to the Co-op/Intern Program posting. Students must also submit the Academic Credit Agreement form and an unofficial copy of their transcripts to the Co-op/Intern Program Coordinator.
On occasion, educational administrators request exceptions from the 2.5 GPA requirement when the GPA is less than 2.5. The request is indicated on the Credit Agreement form and requires the signature of a counselor, advisor or cooperative education and internship coordinator. It is not required that the agency hire the high school student; however, the educational institution has determined that if placed, the student would benefit from the on-the-job experience.
When hiring students, it may be necessary to request the Governor's Office of Policy and Management to adjust the interim caps to accommodate the hiring of students. All students are hired as non-merit employees and coded as interim. The job classification is Co-op/Intern (9901) at pay grade 48 (see attached schedule).
Benefits
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A Co-op/Intern shall receive holiday pay for the hours the employee is scheduled to work. If the student is scheduled to work four (4) hours, he or she will receive four (4) hours of holiday pay (Reference Personnel Memo 99-14 (PDF - 46 KB), December 13, 1999). A student shall receive overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.
Recruitment
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Efforts to increase the applicant pool for the Program are made on an on-going basis. The Coordinator's office should participate in recruitment and outreach programs, form partnerships with other agencies and work with educational institutions for eligible students.
Salary Range Guide (Effective May 1, 2004)
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Pay Grade 48 Varies
If you have any questions or problems, please contact the Personnel Cabinet's Co-op/Intern Coordinator:
Rebekah Singleton
Personnel Cabinet
Department of Personnel Administration
Division of Career Opportunities
State Office Building, 1st Floor
501 High Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
(502) 564-8030
(502) 564-0512 (Fax)
E-mail: rebekah.singleton@ky.gov