Sheridan and ICTC partnership benefits students and employers in the digital sector

Sheridan and the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) are pleased to announce a partnership that will help support students and employers in the digital sector. ICTC has secured a number of funding spots for Sheridan Honours Bachelor of Game Design and Honours Bachelor of Interaction Design students who will be completing a co-op placement in the summer of 2019. Eligible employers who hire Sheridan students from these two cutting-edge programs will receive a significant wage subsidy.

Employers will benefit from working with Sheridan students who are equipped with the skills to tackle complex design challenges on multidisciplinary teams. In turn, students receive valuable work-integrated-learning opportunities and fulfill program requirements. “The applied curriculum in both game design and interaction design produces students who are creative, adaptive thinkers, well-prepared to add value to workplaces on co-op terms,” says Ronni Rosenberg, Dean of the Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design at Sheridan.

Wage rebates of 50 percent (up to $5000) are awarded to eligible employers at the end of the work term and can increase to 70 percent if the student hired is a member of an underrepresented group such as a woman studying in STEM, indigenous students, recent immigrants (in the last five years), persons with disabilities and first-year students. This offering allows workplaces who were previously reluctant to hire a student due to financial constraints the opportunity to do so.

“Co-op at Sheridan has existed in our programs for more than three decades,” says Matthew Rempel, Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Sheridan. “This type of work-integrated-learning is essential to the Sheridan experience. We’re excited about this partnership with ICTC as it’s yet another example of how we can match employers with our student talent which prepares them both for the workforce of tomorrow.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Sheridan College to enable quality work-Integrated-learning opportunities for STEM students in well sought after digital careers. Preparing tomorrow’s workforce is pivotal for Canada’s economy in an increasingly global and competitive context,” says Namir Anani, ICTC President & CEO.

The agreement between Sheridan College and ICTC extends to the summer of 2021 for which funding spots have also been reserved for students on co-op terms.

About the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)

ICTC is a not-for-profit national centre of expertise for the digital economy. It is the trusted source for evidence-based policy advice, forward-looking research, and creative capacity building programs for the digital economy.

ICTC’s WIL Digital Program

The ICTC WIL Digital Program is designed to work with academic institutions and industry to give students the skills needed to work in emerging technology sectors. Over four years, WIL Digital will create over a thousand high-quality work experiences for students across Canada. The program is funded by the Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program.