
About the Program
The Capital Heritage Mentorship Program is designed to connect experienced senior managers in the culture and heritage sectors with students wishing to embark on a career in heritage and emerging professionals who wish to move their career to the next level.
The initiative will invite 8 developing professionals to participate in small groups (2 Mentees and 1 lead Mentor) in a strategic program to help transition and plan for the coming years.
As Mentors, participants will be able to share their knowledge and provide useful training to their Mentees, as well as expand on their leadership within the community. Mentees will receive valuable feedback, guidance and networking opportunities, leading to more confidence and an expanded career network.
There are two streams within the program:
- Mentorship
- You will have the opportunity to work with 1 or 2 Mentees to provide guidance, support and leadership as they embark on a career in heritage.
- Together, you will create a plan of action and determine how frequent you would like to connect with one another. In addition, there may be monthly program meetings that will require all participants to attend.
- Minimum time commitment: 2.5 hours per month
- Each Mentor will give one Mentor Talk
- Mentorship + Internship
- You will have the opportunity to work with 1 or 2 Mentees to provide guidance, support and leadership as they embark on a career in heritage.
- Together, you will create a plan of action and determine how frequent you would like to connect with one another. In addition, there may be monthly program meetings that will require all participants to attend.
- One of your Mentees will have the opportunity to work in your organization to help increase your organization’s capacity. The internship is paid with funds from the Ottawa Community Foundation grant that CHC has secured for this purpose.
- Minimum time commitment for internship: ~ 20 hours per week for mentoring and supervision for the duration of the internship, and 2.5 hours per month for program activities.
Please select which stream you are interested in on the application form.
About Internship Funding
Apply to be a Mentor and host an intern at your heritage organization.
The program offers interns the opportunity to improve their skills while acquiring practical knowledge in a heritage field, such as conservation, research, interpretation, promotion or by working in a heritage organization.
Through this program, the CHC will fund an intern, who could help strengthen your organization’s capacity.
* Funding for two (2) interns are available for up to $6930 each. Positions may last up to 8 weeks, to be determined by the host organization. Interns must work 20 hours per week.
The funding will support:
- an internship for an unemployed or underemployed emerging cultural professional
The funding will not support:
- Related administrative costs;
- Salaries of staff that will supervise or work on the project.
As a Mentor and host organization, you will have the opportunity to select your intern based on the available applicants. (*Note: this choice may be impacted by the number of applicants any given year)
Who can apply
An organization may be eligible to receive funding if they:
- are willing to commit as a Mentor for the full duration of the work assignment;
- are a Member of the Capital Heritage Connexion in good standing;
- are able to provide supervision and direction to the intern during the work assignment.
Note: Priority will be given to organizations with an annual operating budget of less than $50K.
An intern may be eligible for employment if they:
- are willing to commit to the full duration of the work assignment;
- are unemployed or underemployed (cannot have another full-time job (over 30 hours a week) during the work assignment)
- are a participant of the Capital Heritage Mentorship Program
- are a Member of the Capital Heritage Connexion in good standing;
Note: Priority will be given to students who have not previously participated in a summer work experience program.
Employer Obligations
As a host organization, you must adhere to the Terms and Conditions of the program in which you are participating.
A host organization must:
- Provide the intern with sufficient training and support as applicable
- Include specific objectives for projects and tasks
- Establish a skills development plan with the intern that is tailored to their needs
- Complete a staffing report within the first 2 weeks of the work assignment
- Comply with applicable federal, provincial or territorial labour laws, regulations and statutes, including occupational safety standards and employment insurance or equivalent
- Complete an end of work term report and evaluation questionnaire.
Application deadline
Applications are now closed for Mentors!