Please refer to the Eligibility Criteria found on the Virtual Career Accelerator page.

Please note International students who have graduated from a designated postsecondary institution and granted a work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program are eligible (those with a 900 series SIN are not eligible per the Skills Development Fund eligibility guidelines). Proof of status is required.

#RealTalk, as Black, Indigenous and women of colour ourselves, we’ve been there and experienced imposter thoughts. Did you know, imposter thoughts are a systemic problem and not a personal one? We want to see more of us thrive in the workplace. Our programs are designed for YOU.

There are benefits to applying to the program, regardless of the outcome. If your application is not successful, it does not speak to your experiences and qualifications. We are limited to the number of participants we can intake. Depending on the number of spots, we may extend an invitation for you to attend the Career Readiness bootcamp components of the program. Also, with your permission, we will place you on our list of invitations to our upcoming events. 

We encourage you to give yourself permission to go for this wonderful opportunity, today!

• You will need to complete and submit your application in one sitting so that you don’t lose your responses. Prepare your answers in a separate document to take advantage of spelling, grammar and word count tools, then copy/paste your answers into the corresponding box on the application form.
• Take time to understand AHF’s mission and the goals of the Virtual Career Accelerator.
• Take your time, answer the questions being asked, be authentic with your responses giving specific examples, and review before submitting.

Each submission will be anonymized (names and schools/companies removed) and reviewed independently by two selection committee members. Criteria will include: meeting eligibility criteria, availability to attend all programming requirements and complete supplementary activities, clear expression of what you hope to get out of the program, and clear articulation of goals aligned with the Virtual Career Accelerator goals. 

There is no fee to apply. There is no registration fee for those selected to participate in the 2022 Virtual Career Accelerator.

This is a 16-week cohort-based program. It includes two weekend career readiness bootcamps (one in September and the second in December). Participants will complete a technical upskilling fundamentals training in one of three tracks. Over a 6-8 week period (each track differs in length), participants will attend two (2) evening, three (3) hour sessions plus complete homework. Expect 6-10 hours of weekly work for the technical upskilling component of the program. Upon completion of the technical upskilling track, participants will complete a project-based experience. Each participant will contribute 20 hours over 4-5 weeks working on a project for a small or medium-sized organization. Participants will also participate in Group Mentorship Circles. Participants are required to complete program surveys including an exit survey. The program is designed to allow you to manage multiple priorities such as school or work while investing in your future self.

Accelerate Her Future will place participants in each technical upskilling track into small peer groups and matched to 1-2 mentors to form a group mentorship circle.  Mentors have experience in Data Analytics, Intro to Front-End with JavaScript or UX Design & Digital marketing. The Group Mentorship Circles will participate in an orientation session covering Accelerate Her Future’s strength-based, reciprocal mentorship model and will subsequently meet 4 times over the duration of the program in a structured format. Participants will also have access to career coaches who will provide feedback on marketing tools such as resumes and small group career coaching sessions until March 30, 2023. A program schedule including group mentorship and group career coaching sessions will be made available at the start of the program. 

This is a virtual program which means that you will need access to a laptop or computer. To participate you must have a computer with working speakers, a microphone, a modern operating system (MacOS 10 or higher, Windows 7 or higher, or equivalent), a webcam (it doesn’t have to be the greatest quality) and a strong and consistent internet connection (at least 10Mbps download and 5Mbps upload — you can check your speeds for free here). This is to ensure software and tools needed for your technical upskilling component run smoothly. To make the most of your live online learning experience, we also recommend noise canceling headphones, a comfortable desk and chair, and a positive attitude!

In your application, you are asked to select a top and secondary choice from one of three technical upskilling tracks available. Successful applicants will be notified of the tracks into which they have been accepted. 

• The Data Analytics Fundamentals track is an 8-week upskilling part-time course delivered by Juno College of Technology. 
• The Intro to Front-End with JavaScript track is a 6-week upskilling part-time course delivered by Lighthouse Labs. 
• The UX & Digital Marketing Fundamentals track is an 8-week upskilling part-time course delivered by Our Wave Hub. 

When participants move into the technical upskilling component of the program, they will attend live online sessions held two evenings a week for 3 hours per session for the 6 or 8 week duration of this component. You are required to provide a written notification by email in advance if you anticipate being late or unable to attend a session. Where more than 25% of the part-time course is missed, a certificate or letter of completion will not be issued to a participant. Where a participant has missed a session, it is their responsibility to review session recordings and complete all activities of the missed session. While these 6-8 weeks of upskilling will give you a great introduction to the technical track you are in, for those wanting to pursue a career in Web Development, UX Design & Digital Marketing, or Data Analytics you will need to pursue additional courses or training. 

The technical upskilling tracks are entry-level part-time courses – so there is no prerequisite knowledge required. For those in the Data Analytics Fundamentals track, if you have existing coding or spreadsheet knowledge, it may be easier for you to grasp some key data analytics concepts, but Juno College of Technology’s Data Analytics course is an entry-level course and absolute beginners are welcome!  

After you’ve completed your technical upskilling track, you will be placed in groups to collaborate on an organization-led, project-based work experience. Accelerate Her Future and Riipen have teamed up with selected organizations to carefully craft projects for you to show your learning and gain real work experience. 

In teams of 3-4 participants, you’ll be assigned to a team and required to complete 20-hours of work individually over a 4-5 week period. Prior to starting your project, you will be on-boarded onto Riipen’s platform and participate in a kick-off session where you will learn more about your project, key milestones and deliverables. The organization will outline what they need you to produce and from there you should feel comfortable working on the project. You will complete your work in teams virtually and outside of the Riipen platform. Once you have completed your work and uploaded the deliverables onto Riipen, you and the organization will be prompted to provide public feedback on each other that can be used in the future as a reference. 

Virtual Career Accelerator participants will work in small teams on one project for a small or medium-sized organization based in Ontario between November – December 16, 2022. Projects must be submitted by December 16, 2022 in order to receive a $500 stipend.

No. Virtual Career Accelerator participants are neither employees of the organization they do a project for, nor of Accelerate Her Future (who will pay their stipend). As such, participants do not qualify for any employment benefits at either organizations. Upon completion of a Virtual Career Accelerator project, AHF will require participants to submit personal identification information so that we can issue tax forms as needed.

Virtual Career Accelerator participants will be paid a $500 stipend for the project. The stipend will be paid directly by AHF upon completion of the project milestones, submission of the final deliverable, feedback provided by the organization and other Virtual Career Accelerator program surveys. Further information about the stipend payment process will be shared at a later time with successful candidates.

Unfortunately not. Virtual Career Accelerator participants will be paid once the project is submitted and exit survey is completed, in the form of a stipend. For that reason, participants who do not fully complete the project will not be paid.

If you are claiming Employment Insurance (EI) and expect to start/continue claiming EI during any part of the Virtual Career Accelerator, it is your responsibility to disclose that you are receiving EI benefits in the Virtual Career Accelerator application form. As an approved program, Accelerate Her Future will work with successful applicants who have indicated EI as a source of income to complete any required approval request forms to send to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development for reporting to the Employment Insurance system.

The project-based component of the Virtual Career Accelerator is not deemed as employment. After successful completion of the program and payment (no tax withholdings or deductions), participants will also receive a T4A slip to report on their annual tax filings. Participation in this program should not affect your eligibility to claim employment insurance benefits, if you are already doing that. That said, it is your responsibility to track income earned in this calendar year to determine if your cumulative income level will result in any requirements to repay amounts received from any of these benefit programs.

Participants who successfully meet the completion requirements of the Virtual Career Accelerator will receive a certificate of completion. Participants who successfully complete the requirements of their upskilling training component of the program in one of three tracks, will also receive a certificate or letter of completion from the relevant training provider for that track.

Participants are responsible for providing written notification by email in advance if they anticipate being late or unable to attend a Virtual Career Accelerator session. Where more than 25% of the program is missed and/or the project-based deliverables are not completed, a certificate of completion will not be provided to a participant by Accelerate Her Future. Where a participant has missed a session, it is their responsibility to review the recordings and complete the activities missed. Note: where more than 25% of the technical upskilling track part-time course sessions are missed, a certificate or letter of completion will not be issued by the training provider to a participant. 

Awesome! Refer to the Become a Mentor section above and check out the Mentor application form to apply.