Sign up to Connections Academy and the Riipen Platform
1. Visit https://learn.riipen.com/riipen-a-connections-academy-employers/ and view the current open Skills Lab programs.
2. Clicking the ‘Get Started’ on a program will direct you to submit a project. If you already have a Riipen account you can click “Log in”.
3. If you don’t already have a Riipen account you will be prompted to create one. To do so, fill in your name, email, and password in the indicated fields and click “Create account."
4. Next, add your job title, pronouns (optional), phone number, and choose up to 5 categories that interest you (ex: Marketing, Finance etc.)
5. Next, add your company information. If your company is already on Riipen, you can find your company by clicking the link provided in the yellow box.
Create and submit your Skills Lab project
1. Once in the portal, select ‘Request Match’ on the Connections Academy program for the experience you're looking to match a project to. You can match an existing company project, or create a new one using a template from our library or our AI tool. Before matching, there are a few questions to answer.
2. On joining the program, you will be asked to verify that you meet the Connections Academy eligibility criteria, as outlined in our Terms and Conditions here
You will be directed to our 3rd party identification provider, Persona, to complete a 5 step identity and verification process.
To complete these steps you will be required to:
Verify your US Business registration including EIN number
Verify the registered address of your business
Complete a personal identification process with government issued ID
We recommend that you have these items available to you at sign up so that you can enter the program as smoothly as possible. For more info on the verification process, view this article here.
3. Creating a project is a 5-step process in the project creation wizard.
Add a descriptive title, and summarize the work you want the participants to complete. Make sure the expected outcomes for your business are clear to participants, and that they can get a sense of the scope of work from your description.
Given the short, remote nature of Connections Academy, we require a project-based experience. Make sure to provide a concrete scope for the team’s work and limit their work to a single project.
Projects should provide 40 hours of work per participant, for a team of 2-3.
Currently, there are no limitations to the number of projects an employer can submit. Employers are required to provide mentorship to each team member. Participants, on the other hand, will only complete one project.
Continue through the steps in the wizard. If you save your project as a draft, you can return to your project at any time to make edits.
4. Before your match can be accepted, you will need to click “Sign Agreements” and formally agree to the Connections Academy Terms and Conditions.
A few things to note:
The Riipen team will review your project within 5 business days and suggest any amendments as needed. This ensures a great match before you connect with our talented learners from Connections Academy.
Once matched to a program, a Connections Academy student team will be paired with your project. You will be alerted by email and can view the team page and student profiles from your dashboard.
If you'd like to create additional projects, you are welcome to do so. Currently, there are no limitations to the amount of projects an employer can create.
Connections Academy projects will take place over 7 weeks. Projects for the first program will begin on September 22 and must conclude by November 8.
There is no cost for you to post a Connections Academy project.