This is a core unit aimed at preparing students for the workforce. The unit requires careful organization starting at the end of second year. It consists of two parts, work experience, and work preparation. Students are required to find a placement in an environmental organization, from which they can get 80 hours of work experience. The placement must be approved and confirmed by the course administration and is completed throughout the semester. The placement is generally volunteer work and many students choose placements in the field, but the option of office work is available. Students gain 10% of their mark via a tick box form completed by their supervisor, but are also required to complete various other assignments. One is a 10 minute professional seminar with precise criteria (a rubric (scoring matrix) is given to the students prior to the presentation). Another is a report or summary of what work they undertook during their placement. This can sometimes be a report that they completed as part of the placement, but is usually a detailed assessment of their work placement and how their placement fits into the broader field of environmental science. This report is not simply a diary of their activities but must also incorporate the 'bigger picture'.
The second part of the unit is aimed at helping students in their preparation for gaining employment. Many students have no real experience in resumé writing and interview skills, so this unit provides classes on resumé writing (by staff within the university) and also pays for the services of a professional recruitment agency. The assessment in this part of the unit takes the form of a self-analysis and a resume. For the self analysis, the students are required to outline their own short and long-term career aspirations, the goals and aspirations of their chosen placement organization and an analysis of how the two gel (or maybe how they differ.) The resumé is written during three professional development sessions provided by the recruitment agency and is assessed in a concrete, no-excuses way, mirroring what happens in the real world. Students then have the option (which all of them usually take) of having a follow up 'interview' with the recruitment agency. The interview costs $35 per student and is undertaken in all seriousness. The students receive extensive feedback on their strengths, weaknesses and interview behavior.