Focus Area Information
The Ontario Internship Program places interns across the Ontario Public Service in 7 focus areas. Each focus area represents a line of work that is essential to serving the people of Ontario. You are encouraged to select the focus area that matches your skills and interests when you apply to the program. Check out the various focus areas to learn which stream will provide you with the best opportunity to reach your career goals:
- Business and Financial Planning
- Communications
- Human Resources
- Information and Information Technology
- Labour Relations
- Policy Development
- Program and Service Delivery
Program and Service Delivery
The Ontario Public Service (OPS) is committed to service excellence in the delivery of all of its programs. The OPS strives to meet the needs of citizens in a cost-effective and efficient manner. In fact, Ontario is recognized both nationally and internationally for innovation in program and service delivery. With a vast range of program and service offerings across the province, the OPS continuously improves on the delivery of our programs and services for all Ontarians.
As a program and service delivery intern, you will have the opportunity to be part of a team focused on delivering better programs and quality services. Your work may include reviewing programs, researching service delivery models, analyzing current service delivery processes and recommending improvements, assisting in consulting program stakeholders on program improvements and supporting plans to ensure quality services and customer satisfaction.
Assignments will be located in regional and operational offices and will be especially appealing to those interested in applying a well-rounded approach to the development and implementation of program and service delivery initiatives in the OPS.
Program and Service Delivery applicants should pay particular attention to which ministries and offices are located in their preferred work location as this is a key consideration when matching successful applicants to their placements and will also determine the nature of work in the placement. Visit Info-Go to browse information on Government of Ontario offices by location. To search by city, click on the "Offices" tab and use the name of the city as the keyword.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
We are seeking candidates who possess certain knowledge and can demonstrate a variety of skills and abilities including:
Knowledge
- Business-planning: involves identifying key business objectives and goals for the organization, considering the variety of factors that impact the organization and establishing goals that account for those factors
- Evaluation: involves determining the effectiveness of a service or program based on existing practices, systems, and/or policies
- Process improvement: refers to the ability to identify and implement changes in work processes that can be expected to produce measurable enhancements
Skills and Abilities
- Analytical skills: refers to the process of analyzing and synthesizing information (including data), to ask and answer questions, to identify trends and relevant themes as to support the development of evidence-based findings and recommendations
- Collaboration: involves working with others to solve a problem or achieve a common goal that is mutually beneficial
- Communication skills: involves presenting information using traditional and/or digital media in a clear, concise and accurate manner through effective written, oral and visual communication
- Customer service skills: involves anticipating and identifying client needs to respond and provide better services with a goal of maximizing client satisfaction. Customers and clients may include the public, colleagues, partners, and peers
- Flexibility: refers to the ability to adapt to and work effectively within a variety of situations and with various individuals or groups to achieve results
- Influence: refers to the ability to bring about change by compelling others to action
- Problem-solving skills: refers to the ability to recognize, understand and resolve a problem by breaking it apart into smaller pieces, and evaluating options and identifying alternative solutions
- Relationship management: involves building and maintaining strong working relationships with clients, stakeholders, partners and colleagues and demonstrating respect, ethics and extending trust in order to achieve organizational goals
- Research skills: refers to the ability to ascertain relevant questions/concerns about the identified topic and determine the most appropriate method(s) to acquire the knowledge and or information needed to address, as fully and accurately as possible, those questions/concerns
- Work management: involves prioritizing tasks, managing competing priorities as to effectively manage time in order to meet deadlines.
What to Expect
As a program and service delivery intern, your work could include:
- Participating in development of standards, processes, methods, benchmark techniques and performance measures to ensure the efficient delivery of programs and services to stakeholders
- Assisting in processes, risk assessments and program evaluation to develop options for program improvements
- Reviewing the quality and accessibility of publicly-available program information and recommending improvements
- Working in a team-based environment on project-planning and implementation activities related to research, needs assessments and service delivery
- Conducting research and analysis, developing recommendations, preparing papers/reports to improve programs and their efficiency
- Consulting stakeholders, such as program managers, ministry staff and/or other jurisdictions, to discuss how program and service functions, business practices and related processes can be improved while maintaining ongoing business relationships
- Analyzing how well programs and services meet established operational goals and service standards
- Assessing the impact of new or revised operational policies, systems, and procedures on program and service delivery using customer satisfaction surveys and process reviews
- Preparing briefing materials, planning documents and reports to support ongoing programs and services.
Looking Ahead
This is just the beginning of your career in the Ontario Public Service. An internship in this area can prepare you for a career as a/an:
- Program/Project Advisor
- Program/Project Analyst
- Program/Project Consultant.