Overview

The Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, Research Excellence and Security funds Riipen Networks Inc. to deliver the Advance Ontario program. The program provides eligible postsecondary students with 60-hour remote paid internship opportunities with Ontario employers to support experiential learning and career readiness.

How information is collected

Riipen asks postsecondary students who have completed internships through the Advance Ontario program to complete an exit survey following their internship. Pursuant to paragraphs 4, 6, and 7 of subsection 15(1) of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act, the ministry will collect information from these exit surveys and internships projects from Riipen.

The ministry will collect depersonalized information on participating students’ postsecondary schools and programs, including but not limited to:

  • year of study
  • gender (if provided)
  • their status in Canada (citizen, permanent resident, international student, refugee)
  • if students are members of an underrepresented group
  • internship project
  • if the project qualifies academic credit

The ministry will not collect identifying information such as:

  • student names
  • age
  • contact information
  • individual responses to exit surveys

The ministry will not take any steps to use the information it collects to identify students who participate in Advance Ontario internships.

How the information will be used

The purpose of this collection is to understand student and employer outcomes from the Advance Ontario program. This data will help the ministry assess how this program contributes to Ontario’s workforce needs and helps inform future policy decisions.

The ministry will identify outcomes and assess:

  • student and employer satisfaction with internships
  • the sectors in which projects took place
  • the schools attended by interns

This information will be used for:

  • planning, delivery, evaluation or monitoring of training related programs or services funded by the ministry
  • activities to improve or maintain the quality of programs and services funded by the ministry
  • research and analysis conducted by or on behalf of the ministry related to post-secondary education and training
  • public communication of project success stories

If you have any questions about this notice of collection, please contact:

Postsecondary Innovation and Policy Unit
Postsecondary Education Policy Branch
Strategic Policy and Planning Division
Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security
315 Front Street West
Toronto, Ontario, M7A 0B8