CreateAction

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What is CreateAction
Previous Hosts
How does CreateAction work?
Professional Development Webinars

The opportunity to submit host organization applications to CreateAction is now closed.  No further calls for applications are currently planned. 

What is CreateAction?

The Canadian CED Network’s CreateAction program is the only work experience program that provides paid learning opportunities for youth involved in community economic development (CED) in their own communities. This internship program is funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada through their Youth Employment Strategy Career Focus program. The purpose of CreateAction is to offer a six month internship to young post-secondary graduates who are considering a career in CED.

The CreateAction internship program is now in its 9th incarnation!.  

Previous Host Organizations

To review the host organizations for the 2013 intake please click here. 

How does CreateAction work?

Organizations submit applications by email or fax  to the Canadian CED Network to host a participant (see contact info below). The Canadian CED Network selects the host organizations and the host organizations in turn hire the participants according to job-specific placements.

Eligible work experience placements may include project management, participatory research, communications, social entrepreneurship, business planning, social marketing, CED financing and asset mapping, to name a few. A special focus for this intake will be on building capacity and sustainability of innovative community enterprises and supporting the development of new community enterprises.

The Canadian CED Network requires host organizations to be members of the Canadian CED Network or to become members once their applications for hosting work experience participants are approved. For information about being a member, click here.

The Canadian CED Network selects host organizations based on the following criteria:
  • relevance of proposed work experience to community economic development (for the Canadian CED Network’s definition of CED, click here);
  • commitment and organizational capacity to assist participants with their daily work, mentoring and career development;
  • geographic diversity (e.g. rural, remote, Aboriginal, northern, francophone communities outside of Quebec, and urban disadvantaged communities with recent immigrant populations);
  • track record in hosting work experience placements, students or interns;
  • dedication to leveraging the work experience into full-time employment or study for the participant;
  • ability to recruit participants from diverse backgrounds.

The Canadian CED Network gives preference to organizations that can successfully recruit participants who are Aboriginal, francophone, visible minorities, and/or disabled.

The Canadian CED Network is responsible for:
  • manage the CED Work Experience Program;
  • employ participants, including participant Mandatory Employment Related Costs or statutory benefits;
  • coordinate monthly intern teleconference calls to share experiences and to network;
  • provide peer learning and mentoring opportunities to the participants to support the development and implementation of a presentation project with a sub-group of their peers related to a specific aspect of social enterprise development relevant to their interest and placement;
  • contribute ongoing career coaching and employment related support to the participants.
The host organizations are responsible for:
  • supervise the work experience participant;
  • contribute to the work experience participant’s learning opportunities;
  • contribute ongoing career coaching and employment related support to the participants;
  • allow the work experience participant to spend approximately one day per week to work on their presentation project;
  • support the development of the participant's presentation project by integrating the work of the organization into the project.
To be eligible to participate in this program youth must be:
  • between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) at the time of intake/selection;
  • a post-secondary institute, college, university or CEGEP graduate;
  • out of school;
  • a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee status has been conferred;
  • legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations;
  • not in receipt of Employment Insurance (EI) benefits;
  • can demonstrate a lack of labour market attachment to field of study (under-employed or unemployed);
  • can demonstrate that working in the field of community economic development is a career goal; and
  • has not previously participated in a Career Focus work experience placement.

Professional Development Webinars

Interns through the CreateAction program receive ongoing support and education from the Canadian CED Network throughout their placements. One of the mechanisms for contributing to the professional development of interns is regular monthly webinars. Below you will find webinar presentations that have been delivered to the 2013 intern cohort.