Regardless of industry, any organization can benefit from hiring students with a business lens. These students bring a range of skills such as finance, accounting, and marketing to the team. Companies from across sectors hire Dalhousie business students year over year, including platform technology company META (formerly Metamaterial Inc.).
Ahmed Shebl is the Group Controller at META, which develops high-performance functional materials and intelligent surfaces, enabling global brands to deliver breakthrough products to customers. The company has a long history of working with Dalhousie students, and last summer, their finance department began hiring Commerce Co-op students.
“We understand the importance of academia and the private sector working together to provide hands-on experience,” says Ahmed. “For our finance team, with our recent rapid growth and listing in NASDAQ, we wanted to build a team that can work in a fast-paced environment and get the opportunity to learn different accounting standards and processes for a NASDAQ-listed company. We are always looking for new talented people and this also provides the students an opportunity to learn about us, and us about them.”
Ahmed says that deciding to bring student talent onto META’s finance team initially led to a rehire. “We had a summer co-op student who excelled in his role, and we ended up hiring him on a part-time basis after the end of his co-op term. He was committed, a fast worker, and a fast learner. This inspired the finance team to work with Dal students on a more regular basis.”
Ahmed acknowledges the win-win value that student employees bring to an organization. “Not only do co-op students gain valuable experience that is crucial to start their career and distinguish themselves, but they also make truly valuable contributions to their employers,” he says. “I really like the Commerce Co-op program Dalhousie offers. Having three co-ops and with a study term between each allows students to experience different work environments and possibly different career paths. It also gives them an advantage in the job market.”
Interested in hiring a business student or grad, or learning about funding programs? Contact our Employer Development team:
Ayse Dai-Gammon, Employer Development Manager
Ayse.Gammon@dal.ca
902-220-2237
Cindy Ryan, Employer Development Coordinator – NS
Cindy.Ryan@dal.ca
902-219-2548
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