Some companies have deeply integrated business student recruitment into their culture and practices, while others are just beginning to realize the benefits and rewards of bringing a student onto their team. And some companies, like Traffic Tech, find that over time, the value of hiring student talent is so beneficial that they grow their student recruitment exponentially.

Erica Dixon is a Human Resources Advisor at Traffic Tech, a global company that provides international transportation and logistics needs through high-level facilitation of shipments across air, land, and sea.  “We decided to hire Dal business co-op students because we are able to offer guidance and mentorship opportunities in the field of logistics, and the students are in turn able to assist us in temporarily filling our workforce needs,” says Erica. Traffic Tech had been hiring a few Dalhousie business students each semester, and in 2021, they decided to ramp up their co-op student recruitment. So far this year, the company has hired 27 Dalhousie co-op students.

At Traffic Tech, co-op students get hands-on experience in the logistics industry. They assist the company in negotiations with shippers and carriers, prepare documentation, and track shipments. They even help staff solve a wide variety of issues as they arise. When a student starts working at Traffic Tech, the company uncovers their strengths and assigns tasks based on how those strengths can best serve the team. “Overall, co-op students bring new perspectives on workflow solutions and management which has been an asset to the company,” Erica says. “We are happy to say that we have had students come back or stay on for an additional semester, or even work part-time between semesters. Our students have been eager to learn and make an impact at Traffic Tech.”

Erica shares that their students provided important support when the company recently built a new algorithm to queue and prioritize shipments. “The feedback from the students has been very valuable and that will help our algorithm get better and better,” she says. “Traffic Tech has benefitted immensely from the Dalhousie business co-op program and I would recommend it for any company. It gives the students an opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge into a work setting and gain hands on experience. Our students have been eager to learn and make an impact at Traffic Tech.”

Interested in hiring a Dalhousie business student? Contact our Employer Development team:

Ayse Dai-Gammon, Employer Development Manager
ayse.gammon@dal.ca

Cindy Ryan, Employer Development Coordinator – NS
Cindy.Ryan@dal.ca