Co-op program details

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Program details

Credential: 1-Year Ontario College Graduate Certificate

This one-year Graduate Certificate program builds on prior education to prepare students with the specialized knowledge and skills to develop and maintain secure software applications against threats by malware and hackers.

Students develop a strong practical knowledge of security models, protocols, and techniques for secure software programming in networked, web and mobile applications.

In order to achieve the broad range of skills this field requires, cryptography, privacy of personal data, cyber law, ethics and security management skills are also covered in detail.

Graduates are well-prepared for careers in the evolving software security field, leading to positions that require a high level of technological sophistication to management positions in the software industry.

Student availability & wage data

Conestoga College facilitates recruitment on an ongoing basis - there are no hard deadlines. Typical time frames for work terms are listed below.

Postings are accepted beginning four months before the start of a term until all students have secured employment provided the minimum 12 consecutive weeks of full-time work is met.

Work/Study Sequence

Year Semester Semester Semester
Year 1 Classes Classes Work Term*: $17-30

*Note: students are available for work term each semester: fall (September to the end of December); winter (January to the end of April); spring (May to the end of August).

Conestoga College collects data on hourly wages of co-operative education students and offers suggested ranges as a service to employers for the purpose of establishing fair and competitive compensation.

Our experience has been that employers increase wages as skills increase, particularly when employing students for more advanced work terms. The Co-operative Education Office can provide assistance to employers in establishing appropriate wage rates.

Work term capabilities

  • Perform security threat analysis and audit to detect and eradicate vulnerabilities in software applications
  • Design and develop security solutions for business processes and applications in order to protect business resources
  • Develop plans to incorporate security protocols into software development processes and integrate emerging technologies safely into new software products or computer systems
  • Develop policies and procedures that protect the property and privacy of the clients, owners, employees and other stakeholders of an organization
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of a security system through security audits to identify and correct security issues
  • Develop and deliver appropriate security training to ensure compliance with security policies
  • Communicate security, protocols, policies and audit results and related documentation to any level of the organization
  • Develop asset management and risk management plans to protect the physical, and intellectual properties of an organization

Sample job titles

  • Security Analyst
  • Software Security Designer/Developer
  • Application Developer/Programmer
  • Application Security Auditor
  • Security Architect
  • Ethical Hacker
  • Software Security Manager
  • Software QA Specialist

Post a co-op job now

Setup an account or login to Conestoga's MyCareer to post a job.

Contact information

Do you need help developing a recruitment plan or job posting, accessing wage information, or connecting with a talented co-op student? Contact:

Darren Pearson
Employer Relations Consultant
Dpearson@conestogac.on.ca