Intern Program

Program Update

Rooftops Canada is pleased to announce that it has filled all of its 2009-10 internship positions. Rooftops Canada has placed fifteen qualified interns to work with partner organizations in Chile, Bolivia, South Africa, Cameroon, Egypt, Uganda and India. This six-month internship program is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy, facilitated by the Canadian International Development Agency’s Youth Action Division. To be eligible, candidates must have graduated from college or university and be between the ages of 19 and 30. We’ve selected candidates with backgrounds in planning, business, architecture, engineering, economic development, community development, communications, international development, environmental studies, women’s studies and/or cooperatives.



The positions can be accessed on the CIDA website

How it Works

Rooftops Canada ’s International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) offers recent graduates challenging work experience in an international environment. Internships focus on professional and cross-cultural skills development, enhancing participants’ career prospects.

All internships are designed to respond to the needs of our partners and add value to their work. The interns are an integral part of Rooftops Canada’s mission to improve housing conditions and build sustainable communities in disadvantaged regions of the world.

Rooftops Canada interns have helped our partners to develop low-cost and special needs housing, design income-generating projects, engage in housing and land rights research and advocacy, develop HIV and AIDS training modules, and strengthen global shelter networks.

Each intern receives a stipend to cover travel and living expenses for the six-month overseas placement. IYIP is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) under the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy.

Who is Eligible?

Candidates must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, between the ages of 19 and 30. Interns must be graduates of a university degree or a college diploma program, and be currently unemployed or underemployed. Individuals with previous professional experience working overseas in their field and former participants in programs supported by the Youth Employment Strategy are not eligible.

To Apply

To be eligible, candidates must have graduated from college or university and be between the ages of 19 and 30. Candidates must be unemployed or underemployed.

This six-month internship program is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy, facilitated by the Canadian International Development Agency’s Youth Action Division. Individuals with previous professional experience working overseas in their field and former participants in programs supported by the Youth Employment Strategy are not eligible. We need candidates with backgrounds in planning, architecture, business and finance, engineering, international development, women’s studies and/or cooperatives.

Send your resume, a cover letter that explains which Rooftops Canada internship you are applying for and why, and a Rooftops Canada application form to internships@rooftops.ca.Indicate the position(s) you are applying for in the subject line.  The deadline to apply for the 2009-2010 cycle has passed. Please check back in the Fall 2010.

Note: You may apply for more than one internship, but please submit only one resume, cover letter and application form.

Here is what some of the interns have said about their work with Rooftops Canada’s overseas partners.

The reality of my placement is exceeding my expectations. I have furthered my knowledge of the UN Human Rights System, learned a great deal about the operations of an NGO, and have had the opportunity to support the promotion of housing and land rights from an international law perspective. I have also been able to work directly with affected communities and provide support to grassroots community initiatives.

I wanted to learn about the realities that NGOs face and I am discovering them on the ground every day. I am inspired by the work, which beautifully complements my architectural training through a focus on relevant social issues. I plan to work in the area of international development and trust that this experience will help launch my career in the field.

Seeing poverty so starkly has definitely given a more human element to problems that I was previously exposed to in academia. It has made me appreciate the importance of economic development and I have become more interested in ways to unlock people’s entrepreneurial capability. I also feel confirmed in my thinking that environmentally sustainable economic development is hugely important. My time in India has definitely solidified my commitment to working on planning and policy responses to environmental problems.

Working for Housing Rights in Egypt [July 2009]
Supporting Africa’s Grandmothers [March 2009]
HIV Threatens Housing Security in Cameroon [December 2008]
Women in Peñalolén, Chile Seek to Live in Peace and Dignity [November 2008]
To Be but Not to Be: The Bedouin of the "Unrecognized Villages" [September 2008]
Building Houses for Persons with Disabilities in the Philippines [April 2008]
Microfinancing Improves Housing in Dar es Salaam [March 2008]