Design your municipality’s internship program

Municipalities proposing to take on intern building inspectors under the new internship framework are encouraged to consider the following elements when designing their local program.

Program

  • Program scope of work to be undertaken by interns (for example, houses, small buildings or large buildings).
  • The number of inspectors anticipated to enrol in the program as interns.
  • Establishment of tiers or categories of internship based on the intern’s progressive level of Building Code knowledge, complexity of work undertaken, level of supervision required, etc.
  • The potential for reciprocal arrangement with other intern inspector programs. This could allow participants requiring a relocation mid-internship with the flexibility to receive a wider range of experiences and more options for their future careers while benefiting both programs.

Enrolment

  • Promotion of the program to intended audience, for example, post-secondary colleges.
  • Process for enrolment as an intern, for example, application form.
  • Minimum qualifications to apply for an internship, such as prior knowledge, examination completion, applicable experience, professional membership.
  • Criteria for successful completion of the internship program, and the methodology for evaluating whether an intern has met them.
  • Circumstances for terminating an intern’s participation in the internship program prior to their successful completion and allowing readmission into the program.

Intern support

  • Activities to be undertaken by interns, such as training, professional development, learning plans, mentorship, peer-to-peer networking and experience logs.
  • Conditions applied to interns seeking to transfer from an internship program in another municipality.
  • Activities in support of enrolment, including linkages with educational institutions and encouragement for foreign-trained building practitioners to participate in the program.

Intern supervision and enrolment verification

  • Method of supervising interns.
  • Approach to educating interns about the conditions placed upon their scope of practice by the Building Code, and the municipality’s policies and procedures for plans review and inspections.

Program administration

  • Record keeping and documentation, including proof of enrolment and completion of internships.
  • Financial administration related to costs associated with the internship program, if any.
  • Accountability for preparation of annual updates to be submitted to the ministry.

Implementing the program

Supervising interns

Interns can be supervised by an inspector or Chief Building Official (CBO) who is not an employee of the municipality, as long as the supervisor is qualified as per subclause 3.1.4.3.(2)(c)(ii) of Division C.

When designing an internship program, the CBO must establish and maintain a written policy with respect to the supervision of interns. In developing that policy, the CBO may want to consider the relationship between the municipality and the supervisors and how to ensure that interns will be adequately supervised, given that relationship.

For example, an intern could be supervised by an official that is qualified in complex buildings, and also supervised by a different official from another municipality that is qualified in large buildings. Under this example, the intern gains experience under both types of qualifications.

Remote or virtual supervision

The ministry does not specify the form of supervision. The ministry recommends municipalities to include information about virtual supervision (if it is offered) in their written policies.

Updates on the program

Key dates for providing updates

Municipalities that develop and administer their own local internship program must make their written policies for the program available to the public (for example, on the municipality’s website).

Municipalities should submit all updates online through the ministry’s website, unless otherwise indicated by the ministry. Please contact the ministry at BuildingTransformation@ontario.ca for more information on how to submit your updates.

There are three updates due for each program:

  1. Initial establishment update:
    • Due within 30 days of the date an internship program is established in accordance with these program guidelines.
    • Ideally, this update would include a description of how the written policy regarding the enrolment of interns in the program, and the supervision of interns by an inspector or CBO, has been made available to the public; for example, by providing a link to the municipal website or description of public notice.
  2. Alteration or revocation update:
    • Due within 30 days of the date an established internship program is altered or revoked.
    • Includes details on the changes to the local program, or request for program revocation.
  3. Annual status updates:
    • Due annually (requested to be provided annually by February 15).
    • Includes the number of intern inspectors from the last 12 months in the program that:
      • entered or left the program
      • were enrolled in the program
      • were trained or practiced as building officials outside of Canada
    • The update must also account for the number of persons who were refused enrolment or were terminated from the program.

The ministry will use the information collected in these updates to track municipal progress on the implementation of local internships.

The ministry reserves the right to request additional updates related to an internship program from a municipality as required, in accordance with the Building Code, Division C, Clause 3.1.4.3.(2)(g).

Informing ministry of failure

A Chief Building Official must advise the ministry within 10 days of becoming aware of any failure in construction or demolition or in the enforcement of the Act or the Code that is associated with the internship program or a person enrolled in the program.

The Building Code Act, 1992 and the Building Code do not define the term failure. The requirement of Chief Building Officials to advise the ministry of failures related to internships is intended to promote public safety, support the ministry and municipal efforts to maintain a safe building sector, and to reinforce the public’s confidence in Ontario’s buildings.

A “failure” is generally considered to be something significant, such as a building or part of a building collapses or otherwise creates a dangerous situation as a result of actions of an intern. A Chief Building Official could consider these uses of the term “failure” when determining whether a situation constitutes a building failure.