We are pleased to announce that we have launched the Indigenous Internship Program (IIP) in partnership with the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF)
What is the Indigenous Internship Program?
First launched in 2018 at MNRF, the Indigenous Internship Program (IIP) is a 12-month paid internship designed to provide recent Indigenous graduates with the opportunity to gain practical professional-level work experiences in their career field and helping them build transferable work skills that they can use to gain professional-level employment.
Interns are hired on a fixed-term contract through an OPS competitive process and must meet the following eligibility requirements:
· Candidates must self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit)
· Graduated within the past five years from a college or university with a diploma, degree or post-graduate certificate
· Participants must be legally entitled to work in Canada
Why was the IIP Created?
The IIP was created to help address some of the systemic employment barriers within our organization that disproportionately impact Indigenous and other racialized employees. This program is one strategy to help improve equity of opportunity within various Ministries and Agencies of the OPS. The IIP was designed to recognize and consider the disparities in the experience of Indigenous employees. It is set out to foster an inclusive environment to bring Indigenous people into the organization by creating the necessary supports for retention and allowing participants to reach their full potential. It is our responsibility to lead by example to promote racial equity to ensure all staff are meaningfully included and respected in the workplace.
Key program objectives include:
· Reducing gaps and barriers faced by Indigenous people in obtaining OPS employment.
· Attract professional-level candidates to build a talent stream for future full-time Indigenous employees and enhance distribution of Indigenous peoples at all levels.
· Increasing an inclusive workforce which bridges cultures and opens dialogue, where we remove systemic employment barriers, discrimination, racism, and bias.
· Increase Indigenous representation in ministry demographics.
· Providing Indigenous individuals with valuable work experience as well as building transferable work skills and experience that can be used to gain professional-level employment in the Ontario labour market.
· Providing a venue through which Indigenous professionals can bring their knowledge, experiences, values, and perspectives, and through participation in the work of the Ontario Science Centre, influence policy and programs.
IIP’s Launch at the OSC
We are excited to announce that we currently have seven job postings for Indigenous internships. These positions are linked below and we encourage you to share this great opportunity with your networks:
· Business and Financial Planning Intern – Membership and Marketing (indigenous) | Job ID: 182708 Department: Membership and Marketing | Posting Status: Open | Deadline to apply: June 20, 2022
· Project Management Intern (Indigenous) | Job ID: 182707 Department: Partnership and Development | Posting Status: Open | Deadline to apply: June 20, 2022
· Communications Intern (Indigenous) | Job ID: 182706 Department: Science | Posting Status: Open | Deadline to apply: June 20, 2022
· Program and Service Delivery Intern (Indigenous) | Job ID: 182705 Department: Security | Posting Status: Open | Deadline to apply: June 20, 2022
· Business and Financial Planning Intern – Financial Administration (Indigenous) | Job ID: 182704 Department: Finance | Posting Status: Open | Deadline to apply: June 20, 2022
· Human Resources (HR) Analyst – Indigenous Intern | Job ID: 182702 Department: Human Resources | Posting Status: Open | Deadline to apply: June 20, 2022
· Indigenous Relations Project Intern | Job ID: 182701 Department: Design and Production | Posting Status: Open | Deadline to apply: June 20, 2022