FuturePath: Your fastest way to start building real-world experience.

Getting started on your career journey can feel like waiting for the perfect opportunity to appear. But what if you did not have to wait? What if you could start sooner? Introducing Riipen FuturePath, our new program that helps students gain real-world experience by working on projects with employers, all while getting paid. These projects allow you to build skills, make connections, and stand out before graduation.

With FuturePath, you have two ways to begin building career-ready skills. You can join independently and explore existing projects on the platform, gaining valuable hands-on experience with employers. Or, you can take a more proactive route: bring an employer you already know and get started sooner. 

Whether it is a business in your community, a family friend’s company, or an organization you admire, inviting them to FuturePath allows you to shape your project and work directly with people you trust. For many students, this option is one of the fastest (and most rewarding) ways to build real work experience.

Why bringing an employer works.

Inviting an employer to FuturePath puts you in the driver’s seat. Instead of waiting for the perfect project to appear, you can create an opportunity that aligns directly with your interests. Plus, this approach makes collaboration smoother, as you work with people you already know. 

Sometimes, the fastest way to kickstart your experience is to reach out first. By inviting your own employer, you gain several advantages:

• Choose your own project type. Tailor your experience to align with your career goals.
  
• Build existing relationships. Strengthen a relationship you already have to help boost your career.
  
• Start sooner. Move quickly from “ready to work” to actively contributing to a project.
  

How to find people to invite.

Chances are, you already know someone who could benefit from your skills. A family member, neighbor, or friend who runs a small business might seek help with marketing, social media, operations, or more. Perhaps you have volunteered with a nonprofit that may have more work than they can handle and would welcome support. Even people on your campus, like professors, coaches, or your career center, often have connections with organizations that could use student talent. 

Every one of these connections represents a potential project—and an opportunity to gain practical experience. The key is to think about your existing relationships and recognize that many could become the foundation for a FuturePath project.

Here’s how to make it happen.

Once you have identified an employer who could benefit from your skills, there are two simple ways to bring them onto FuturePath:

1. Submit on their behalf. With their permission, use the Student Interest Form to share their contact information. Riipen will reach out directly to help them get started.
   
2. Let them follow up themselves. Send them the Employer Interest Form so they can learn more, sign up, and begin the process themselves.

By joining, employers can access talented students like you at a subsidized rate, thanks to FuturePath being partially funded by the Government of Canada's Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative.

It is a win-win—you get career-building experience, and they get the support they need.

Take the first step today.

The most exciting part of bringing your own employer is that you are not waiting for opportunity—you are creating it. Instead of hoping to get matched, you can take initiative and find work that excites you while making your connections work for you. 

Whether helping a local business grow, supporting a community organization, or collaborating with someone you already know and respect, this pathway enables you to start sooner and gain the experience employers seek.

Do not wait for opportunities to come to you; create them. Join FuturePath today.