Thirteen post-secondary institutions from
across Canada will connect
students with practical work experience
TORONTO, Oct. 9, 2019 /CNW/ - To help young Canadians
prepare for the future of work, RBC Future Launch and Riipen have
partnered to provide students with the opportunity to develop the
skills and gain the work experience they need for the jobs of
tomorrow. The Riipen platform will be made available through the
support of the RBC Foundation to students at thirteen
post-secondary institutions from across Canada.
"Work-integrated learning can truly be a social and economic
leveler. It's also an opportunity that roughly 40 per cent of
Canadian students miss out on," said Mark
Beckles, Senior Director, Youth Strategy and Innovation,
RBC. "Too many young Canadians are caught in a 'no experience, no
job' cycle. We have a collective opportunity to help change that by
offering students the chance to gain the type of real-world
experience that employers are hiring for."
Phase one of the partnership, which officially starts this fall
will launch at the following post-secondary institutions:
- Bow Valley College (Alberta)
- British Columbia Institute of Technology (British Columbia)
- Carleton University (Ontario)
- Fanshawe College (Ontario)
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University (British Columbia)
- Maple League
-
- Acadia University (Nova Scotia)
- Bishops University (Quebec)
- Mount Allison University
(New Brunswick)
- St. Francis Xavier University (Nova
Scotia)
- Red River College (Manitoba)
- Saskatchewan Polytechnic (Saskatchewan)
- Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology (Alberta)
- Thompson Rivers University (British
Columbia)
Programming for these schools can be linked to at:
https://www.rbc.com/dms/enterprise/futurelaunch/experiential-learning-by-riipen-and-rbc-future-launch.html
"Our team is excited to be working with RBC Future Launch to
help deliver work-integrated experiential learning initiatives
across Canada. Students today face
numerous challenges in gaining the experience, career clarity and
professional networks they need to succeed. Work-integrated
experiential learning not only helps students kick-start their
careers, but also helps organizations build their brand with an
emerging generation, gain insights around business challenges and
opportunities, and recruit talent in a more authentic and efficient
way," said Dana Stephenson, CEO and
Founder of Riipen. "We are excited that Riipen has been selected as
an RBC Future Launch partner to help young people prepare for the
future of work."
Riipen's software enables customized, online work-integrated
learning, one of the most scalable ways of giving students access
to opportunities for skills development and professional
networking. Riipen's platform embeds real-world, employer-designed
projects and competitions on campus and often directly into the
curriculum through project-based work-integrated learning. These
virtual internships and co-ops help students prepare for the future
of work in an economy undergoing rapid digital transformation. By
bringing together students with post-secondary institutions and
off-campus partners of all geographies and sizes, Riipen creates a
collaborative ecosystem where these partners work together to
create meaningful and scalable work-integrated learning
opportunities.
"The immersive experience I gained through the Riipen platform
was extremely valuable, said Rahma
Ali, McMaster University
graduate. "Working on projects through Riipen taught me a different
set of skills than I was learning in the classroom – how to
effectively work within a team, how to break out projects into
manageable tasks and to meet deadlines. With these skills in my
toolkit, I was more confident and better prepared as I interviewed
to land my first career experience".
Members of the Riipen community receive access to:
- Real-world projects co-developed by academic institutions and
employers (both for-profit and not-for-profit) focused on preparing
students for the future of work
- The world's largest online library of curriculum-embedded
work-integrated learning
- Project management tools that help instructors manage and scale
work-integrated learning
- Student portfolios, with skills that have been validated by a
network of employers
- Tools for tracking and reporting on the growth of
work-integrated learning on campus
- Valuable data on workforce-relevant skills
RBC Future Launch is a decade-long commitment to help Canadian
youth prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, through access to work
experience, skills development opportunities, networking solutions
and/or mental well-being supports and services. For more
information, visit: www.rbc.com/futurelaunch.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with
a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading
performance. Our success comes from the 86,000+ employees who bring
our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients
thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank, and one of the largest
in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified
business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional
experiences to more than 16 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 34 other countries. Learn
more at rbc.com.
We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives
through donations, community investments and employee volunteer
activities. See how at rbc.com/community-sustainability.
About Riipen
Riipen is North
America's largest online work-integrated learning
marketplace, where organizations of all sizes connect with
educators to collaborate with university and college students on
short-term projects and competitions. Their mission is to "enable
all students from all backgrounds and geographies to access
work-integrated experiential learning (WIEL) to support learners of
all backgrounds to bridge the skills gap, gain career clarity,
network with potential employers, and find jobs they love."
SOURCE RBC