Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

PathSpark ("we," "us," or "our") is the employment bridge program of the GTA Community Ecosystem — a coordinated network of six nonprofit programs serving the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. PathSpark connects youth, school leavers, and newcomer young people with GTA employer partners committed to hiring for potential.

We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable Ontario privacy laws.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information necessary to match youth candidates with employer partners and facilitate placement. This may include:

• Your name, contact information (email, phone), and location within the GTA
• Educational background and work experience you choose to share
• Skills, interests, and career goals provided during your assessment
• Pathway selection — LaunchReady, BridgeForward, or SecondChapter
• Training and certification records from CommunityRise
• Mentorship participation records from YouthForward
• Contact details provided by employers registering as PathSpark partners
• Technical information such as IP address or browser type, collected automatically when you visit our website

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information solely to:

• Build your PathSpark profile and match you with appropriate employer partners
• Coordinate your skills training through CommunityRise and mentorship through YouthForward
• Facilitate personal introductions between candidates and employer partners
• Support you through the interview and placement process
• Connect you with applicable federal hiring incentives where eligible
• Report anonymized, aggregate placement outcomes to grant funders as required
• Improve our matching process and program delivery

We will never use your information for marketing purposes or share it with advertisers.

4. Sharing With Employer Partners

This is the most important privacy section for PathSpark participants to understand.

We will only share your personal information with an employer partner when:

• You have completed the relevant pathway and are actively seeking placement
• You have explicitly consented to be introduced to a specific employer or category of employer
• The information shared is limited to what is necessary for the introduction — typically your name, pathway, training certifications, and a brief profile summary

We never share your full contact details with employers without your explicit consent. We never send your information to employers speculatively or without your knowledge. You control every introduction.

5. How We Share Your Information

Beyond employer introductions described above, we may share limited information only in these circumstances:

• With ecosystem programs — with your explicit consent, we may share relevant information with YouthForward, CommunityRise, VoiceToValue, or FeedingTogether to coordinate wraparound support
• With grant funders — anonymized, aggregate placement outcomes only, as required by funding agreements
• With service providers — Formspree for contact form submissions, in accordance with their privacy policy
• As required by law — where legally required to disclose

6. Employer Partner Data

Information provided by employer partners — organization name, contact details, hiring preferences, and participation level — is used solely to facilitate candidate matching and program coordination. Employer partner information is not shared publicly beyond their listed partner status on the PathSpark website, unless they have explicitly consented to additional visibility.

7. Contact Form & Third-Party Services

Our website contact form is powered by Formspree (formspree.io). When you submit a message, your submission is processed by Formspree and delivered to us by email. Formspree may store submission data in accordance with their privacy policy at formspree.io/legal/privacy-policy.

Our website is hosted on IONOS, which may collect standard web server logs as part of normal hosting operations.

8. Cookies & Analytics

Our website may use basic cookies to ensure proper functionality. We do not currently use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking. If we introduce analytics in the future, this policy will be updated and data will be used only to improve our matching process and participant experience.

9. Data Retention

Participant profiles and placement records are retained for a minimum of three years to support grant reporting and program evaluation. Contact form submissions are retained for a reasonable follow-up period. You may request deletion of your profile at any time — noting that active placement processes may require a reasonable wind-down period before deletion is completed.

10. Your Rights

Under PIPEDA and applicable Ontario law, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we hold about you
• Request access to your personal information and PathSpark profile
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Withdraw consent for employer introductions at any time
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Request that your information not be shared with specific employers or categories of employer

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below.

11. Changes to This Policy

PathSpark is a growing platform and this Privacy Policy will evolve as our programs develop. When we make material changes — particularly around employer data sharing — we will notify active participants directly and update the effective date at the top of this page.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us: