Tech education leader, Lighthouse Labs is partnering with Riipen, the leading work-based learning platform to provide an accelerated path to Canada’s thriving tech sector. Through hands-on, employer-led projects, this partnership will help aspiring cybersecurity professionals pave their way for success with in-demand tech skills and work experiences tailored for today's dynamic job market. Together they are creating an ecosystem of opportunities for all and creating a more inclusive and thriving tech sector. ICT Ignite Cyber is funded by Upskill Canada [powered by Palette Skills] and the Government of Canada.

ICT Ignite Cyber allows Lighthouse Labs learners to benefit from paid work-based learning experiences through 60-hour internships. Learners are able to enhance and showcase their digital tech skills, form employer networks, and connect with long-term employment opportunities. Completed remotely over 2-4 weeks, employer projects provide authentic experience and support career clarity to pave the way for success in the dynamic job market.

They are recent learners of an intensive retraining program in Cybersecurity, that equips learners with the most in-demand skills and knowledge to expertly navigate the workplace upon graduation. Lighthouse Labs learners are recognized across the tech industry for their skills, abilities, and drive.

Employers must be located in Canada and considered as one of the following:

Employers may not be:

You will be asked to verify your company information when joining the ICT Ignite Cyber program. You can find out more about our employer verification process here.

To sign up for Upskill Cybersecurity you will need to complete a short form to ensure you are eligible for the program. If eligible, you will then be invited to join the Upskill Cybersecurity portal where you can post your projects to be matched to them. On joining a program, you will be asked to verify that you meet the Upskill Cybersecurity eligibility criteria, as outlined in our Terms and Conditions here. For more info on the verification process, view this article here.

Projects should provide 60 hours of work per learner participating and align with our Cybersecurity curriculum. Each project must be completed within 2-4 weeks. For more information on how to create and submit a project for ICT Ignite Cyber, you can consult this article.

There’s no limit to how many projects an employer can submit to the ICT Ignite Cyber program. You will work with up to 5 learners per project, which means projects can be 300 hours.

Projects are assigned teams of 5 participants, which means your project should be able to be completed over 300 hours in total. If you think you will need more than this we recommend splitting the work and posting multiple projects to work with more than one ICT Ignite Cyber team. As Upskill Cybersecurity is an ongoing program you may create consecutive projects each month. This way multiple teams can ensure your larger-scale project is a success!

All ICT Ignite Cyber projects must be completed over 2-4 weeks and each learner is expected to contribute 60 hours to the project. A project timeline can be adjusted, as long it still meets those requirements and if both the employer and the learner team are in agreement to do so. To adjust the project timeline that is recorded on the Riipen platform, the employer can make a request from the settings page on the match. Instructions for how to do this can be found here. The ICT Ignite team will review and approve new date change requests within 2 business days.

ICT Ignite Cyber projects cannot be extended beyond the 4 weeks of their cohort timeline.

In an effort to create a good ICT Ignite Cyber experience for all parties, we have Terms and Conditions, which can be found here. Please take a moment to read through them. You will be asked to sign the T&Cs agreement when you post your project. We've also created a three-strike system. This means that if any ICT Ignite Cyber user goes against the Terms and Conditions, they will receive a strike. You will be notified via e-mail when/if you've received a strike. If you receive three strikes, you will be removed from the program and will no longer be able to participate.

ICT Ignite Cyber learners will collaborate on employer projects in teams of up to 5 - matched by the ICT Ignite program team. Each learner will have an individual workspace on the Riipen platform and will complete the milestones and track their hours using the work log individually. The employer partner will bring team members together for an onboarding and kick off meeting to present the scope of the project, set expectations and delegate areas of responsibility across the team. Team members will then keep in contact with each other and the employer to collaborate as the project is completed. You are welcome to communicate with them outside of the platform as well. Learners will need a dedicated contact to answer questions and provide access to any resources they need throughout the project. Learners must start and complete the work through the Riipen platform in order to receive the ICT Ignite Cyber stipend. Payment is provided by Riipen through the ICT Ignite Cyber program at the conclusion of the project. You can read further details on completing a project here.

No, ICT Ignite Cyber is a fully subsidized program. Upon successfully completing an employer project, each learner is paid a $1400 stipend by Riipen. For more information on confirming and completing an ICT Ignite Cyber project please consult this article.

ICT Ignite Cyber is different from traditional wage subsidy or grant funding programs that you might be used to. Riipen pays learners directly, which means that funding is attached to learners, not projects.

When a project is approved for the ICT Ignite Cyber program, that simply means that the project becomes available for learners to be matched with. Stipends are not locked in until a learner has started your project. Stipends are paid to learners as a one-time payment, which means that learners only receive payment upon successful completion of projects. Learners who do not fully complete the project will not be paid. Learners will not be permitted to take on more than one project.

No. Learners are neither employees of the organization they do a project for, nor of Riipen (who will pay their stipend). As such, learners do not qualify for any benefits and will not obtain any record of employment (ROE) from either organizations. Upon joining the ICT Ignite Cyber program, Riipen will require learners to submit their legal name, social insurance number (SIN) and mailing address so that we can issue the appropriate tax form(s).

No. While you are welcome to submit your project(s) to other courses and internship programs on Riipen, connections that you make outside of the ICT Ignite Cyber program would not have the stipend attached, even if the learners are eligible. Learners will only receive a stipend if they have applied and been accepted to your project through the ICT Ignite portal.

Yes. It is the responsibility of the company to provide software license/access to learners if required to perform the work.

Yes, ICT Ignite Cyber is available in French on the platform. If you'd like to use the Riipen platform in French, you can navigate to your dashboard, click the drop-down arrow in the top right corner, and again on "Settings". Under "Accessibility", you will be able to change your language preference to French.