Using data collected from co-operative education students at two different times over a four-month long work term, we test and find support for the hypothesis that students' approaches to learning explain the relationship between their lifelong learning characteristics and work adjustment. Students' lifelong learning characteristics were positively associated with a deep approach to learning and negatively associated with a disorganized approach to learning (and unrelated to their rational approach to learning), and these in turn influenced work adjustment. We conclude that the development of lifelong learners contributes to students' school-to-work transitions in work-integrated learning programs. The development of lifelong learning characteristics may be an important part of preparing students for organizational entry.