The future of work starts with investing in today’s talent.

In this op-ed, Riipen Co-Founder and CEO Dana Stephenson underscores why investing in Canada’s emerging workforce is vital to national competitiveness. As employers face growing talent shortages and students seek meaningful pathways into the labour market, work-integrated learning provides a proven bridge between education and employment. By enabling learners to contribute to real business needs and supporting small and mid-sized organizations with critical capacity, programs like Level UP and FuturePath show how Canada can build a stronger, more inclusive future of work.