Empowering Students to ‘Level UP’

Riipen’s innovative work-integrated learning program is helping students from diverse backgrounds gain the experience they need to successfully transition to the workforce

Students who are ready to enter the workforce often encounter a frustrating paradox—many of the jobs they want to apply for require relevant work experience, but to get that experience they need a job. Internships and work-integrated learning opportunities can be one solution, but come with their own challenges: opportunities can be difficult to sift through, are often competitive, and are sometimes unpaid. Founded in 2017, Riipen offers post-secondary students a solution, providing the opportunity to gain valuable work experience as part of their program studies, ensuring they have what they need to excel in the job search when they’re ready to enter the workforce. 

Riipen offers students work experience that can range from projects to micro-internships. Once the scope of work has been identified, employers work with a post-secondary institution to embed that work experience within a course. 

Giving students, especially those from diverse backgrounds who may not otherwise have access to these crucial work-integrated learning opportunities is core to Riipen’s Level UP program, launched in 2021. Exclusively available to students enrolled in post-secondary studies and eligible to work in Canada, the program is funded in part through the Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative established by Employment and Social Development Canada. It offers students the opportunity to take part in paid, short-term remote internships facilitated through its marketplace. 

“Our Level UP program is intended to help bridge the gap between learning and work, giving students relevant training and experience,” says Midia Shikh Hassan, Strategic Partnership and Thought Leadership Manager with Riipen. “We’re disrupting the idea of a traditional internship with our flexible opportunities that offer the chance for students to build connections with a variety of employers. It’s also a win for employers, who can be connected with diverse talent from across the country.

Rather than taking part in a placement as part of a course, the Level UP program allows students to seek out and apply for these work-integrated learning opportunities directly with their employers of choice. Each placement lasts 80 hours, spanning anywhere from two to eight weeks, and comes with a set $1,400 stipend. Students are able to participate in up to three placements each year, giving them experience with a variety of employers before they ever graduate. Students can highlight that work experience on their resumes and platforms like LinkedIn to set themselves apart from other candidates in their field. 

About 70 per cent of students who have participated in Level UP opportunities belong to an underrepresented group, including racialized and visible minority communities, Indigenous communities and language minorities. And because each placement is facilitated entirely remotely, it provides opportunities for students in remote and rural communities a chance to work for a company they may not have otherwise had access to. Enhancing equity and helping to end graduate underemployment are both key to the program’s mission. 

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to connect students from underrepresented backgrounds with meaningful, real-world experience that can help them develop their skills, grow their networks and become better prepared to enter the workforce after graduation,” says Shikh Hassan.