Authority for building inspector internship program

The authority for the program is set out in Article 3.1.4.3. of Division C of the Building Code.

Key parts of the regulation

Specifically related to internships, the key parts of the regulation are in Clause of Division C, Part 3 of the Building Code.

Qualifications for Intern Inspectors — 3.1.4.3. (1)

Allows municipal building departments to develop and administer their own internship programs, while also allowing municipalities the option to use the program already administered by the ministry.

Minimum Requirements — 3.1.4.3. (2) (a) to 3.1.4.3. (2) (g)

  • Administered by the CBO of the municipality.
  • CBO shall notify the director in writing within 30 days of the date an internship program is established, altered or revoked.
  • Written policy for the program to be made available to the public (for example, municipal website).
  • Program data to be submitted to the ministry on annual basis.

Duration — 3.1.4.3. (2) (f) and 3.1.4.3. (3)

18 months is maximum time duration for a program (with extensions under certain circumstances).

Notification Requirements — 3.1.4.3. (4) and 3.1.4.3. (5)

  • CBO to notify the ministry of any failure in construction or demolition or in enforcement associated with the internship program or a person enrolled in the program within 10 days.
  • Director may terminate program if they have reasonable grounds to believe the program has or will result in a failure in construction or demolition or in enforcement associated with the internship program.

Scope of Work — 3.1.4.3. (6)

Intern inspectors to be allowed to exercise powers of qualified building officials, provided they are supervised by someone in same class of registration in which they are practising.

Benefits of the internship program

The Ontario Building Officials Association has estimated that half of all qualified building inspectors will be eligible for retirement by 2027. At a time when the building profession is facing labour supply shortages, creating more qualified building professionals is critical to protecting public safety and helping municipalities maintain building permit review and approval timelines to support the construction of more homes.

To help ensure Ontario has sufficient numbers of building officials, the ministry amended the Building Code in 2022 to provide an additional streamlined option to the existing provincially-led program for building official internships. This new program option provides municipalities with the ability to develop and administer local internship programs to address municipal labour supply shortages due to these anticipated retirements and accelerated construction activity.

The amendments to the Building Code allow municipal building departments to create more qualified building officials and speed up inspections and approvals to build more housing faster.

Support municipal and provincial priorities

In 2019, the building sector was a $38 billion industry and a key driver of Ontario’s economy.

Challenges with building official recruitment have the potential to reduce the industry’s ability to provide new housing by slowing down the building permit review/approval and construction inspection processes.

Benefits of this program

The new program option provides the following benefits for interns and municipalities:

  • Provides intern inspectors with immediate experience, as well as a pathway to long-term employment in the municipal building sector.
  • Helps municipalities to meet their unique local enforcement needs, such as:
    • enforcement of Building Code requirements for different buildings/occupancies (for example, houses, multi-unit residential buildings and/or commercial), and for different sizes of municipalities (large or small urban, rural, northern communities)
    • participant eligibility criteria (for example, design and construction experience, post-secondary education)
    • Duration of program (up to 18 months unless certain circumstances are met).
  • Faster to establish, with no prior ministry approval required.
  • Reduces administrative burden compared with the 2005 ministry-led program approach, such as:
    • no formal application process to the ministry is required to establish a program (including Memorandum of Understanding agreements with the ministry)
    • less frequent updating of program information
    • provides a broader scope of practice for interns
  • Improves opportunity for critical knowledge transfer as interns are mentored by established inspectors who are nearing retirement and succession planning.
  • In the long-term, supports municipal recruitment of building inspectors to help avert current staffing shortages and impacts of future retirements.
  • Continues to uphold public safety and value of work undertaken by inspectors by maintaining that CBOs remain responsible and liable for the actions of their interns.
  • Provides an opportunity for staff lacking qualifications to contribute to the building department’s role to maintain public safety in compliance with the Building Code Act, while they gain experience and knowledge prior to completing their provincial qualification exams.
  • Provides flexibility for municipalities that do not wish to develop their own program under this new optional model, by allowing them to continue to access the ministry-led program model introduced in 2005.

What interns bring

Interns bring knowledge, skills and enthusiasm that build capacity and rejuvenate the building sector providing benefits that include:

  • new ideas and perspectives
  • energy, eagerness and initiative
  • willingness to learn and excel in the profession
  • creative approaches to challenges
  • strong research and communication skills
  • digital literacy and a diverse knowledge of technology applications
  • great ambassadors for working in municipal government
  • the opportunity to bring knowledge, training and experience from outside Ontario and Canada into the provincial building sector